Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2025: 4-Week SMB Plan

By | September 25, 2025

October is almost here and for Phoenix-area businesses, that means more than just pumpkin-themed marketing and Q4 prep. It marks Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2025, a milestone that’s no longer optional for small and midsize firms in healthcare, finance, and professional services. 

Why? Because your clients, insurers, and auditors are watching. Many now expect documented cybersecurity awareness training as a basic standard of due diligence. If you’re not offering it, they’re wondering why not. 

But here’s the problem. It’s late September. You’re managing Q3 reporting, 2026 budgeting, and a team that’s already stretched thin. Building a training program from scratch probably sounds like a luxury you don’t have time for. 

That’s exactly why thirtyone3 technology, a Phoenix-based MSP, developed a simple, done-for-you strategy any SMB can launch without hiring a security team or writing a single training module. 

This guide delivers a ready-to-run 4-week training plan for October 2025. It’s designed for real-world teams with limited time and zero appetite for technical complexity. Let’s make your people aware, get your compliance boxes checked, and your business better protected before the month is over. 

A 4-Week Cybersecurity Training Plan You Can Launch in a Day 

Forget theory. You need a practical rollout you can hand to your office manager, administrator, or compliance officer today. Each week in October includes one core activity, optional add-ons, and guidance for how to execute with minimal time investment. 

Let’s break it down. 

Week 1 – Kickoff and Risk Awareness October 1 to 4 

Start Cybersecurity Awareness Month with a clear message that security isn’t someone else’s job. It’s everyone’s responsibility. 

What to do 

• Leadership kickoff 
  Send a 30-minute recorded video or team email from your managing partner or practice lead. Keep it human and high level. Explain that the goal is to protect clients, protect the firm, and prevent accidental mistakes. 

• Baseline risk test 
  Launch a phishing simulation or a five-question security quiz. These tools are available from most cybersecurity providers and give you a real time pulse on where your risks lie. 

• Set expectations 
  Tell your team they’ll complete four brief training activities, one each week. Most will take under 15 minutes.  

For downloadable templates, posters, and kickoff checklists, visit CISA’s Cybersecurity Awareness Toolkit 

Week 2 Phishing and Social Engineering October 7 to 11 

Phishing emails and social engineering tactics are still the number one way attackers gain access to company data. This week is all about helping your team spot the bait before they click. 

What to do 

• Short training module 
  Share a 10-minute video or microlearning course focused on how phishing and social engineering attacks work. Focus on common tactics like urgent requests, fake login screens, and spoofed domains. 

• Real world examples 
  Provide screenshots of actual phishing emails relevant to your industry. Show what to look for in the subject line, sender address, and embedded links. 

• Team challenge 
  Run a “spot the phish” contest in Slack, Teams, or email. Drop a mix of real and fake emails into a thread and ask your staff to call out the red flags. Offer a small reward for the most accurate or fastest responses. 

Week 3 Passwords, MFA, and Device Hygiene October 14 to 18 

Most breaches don’t happen through firewalls. They happen because someone reused a weak password or skipped multifactor authentication. This week helps your team lock down the basics. 

What to do 

• Checklist for staff 
  Share a simple checklist that covers strong password habits, avoiding reuse across platforms, enabling MFA, and keeping devices updated. Keep it short and actionable. 

• Explain MFA simply 
  Use a quick explainer video or visual guide to show how multifactor authentication works and why it blocks over 99 percent of automated account hacks. Use real world examples to connect the dots. 

• Optional workshop 
  Host a 15-minute virtual session to walk staff through setting up MFA on key platforms. This can be done live or recorded. If you work with a cybersecurity provider, ask if they can lead it for you. 

Week 4 Safe Remote Work and Public Wi-Fi Use October 21 to 25 

Whether it is a clinician logging into an EHR from home or a financial advisor checking email at a coffee shop, unsecured remote access remains a serious risk. This week helps your team stay safe when working outside the office. 

What to do 

• Real world scenarios 
  Share examples that are relevant to your team. For healthcare, that might be accessing patient records from a tablet at home. For finance, it could be opening a file from a personal laptop. Show what can go wrong and how to prevent it. 

• Wi-Fi safety tips 
  Provide basic but essential guidance for using public Wi-Fi. Include avoiding sensitive logins, using mobile hotspots when possible, and connecting through a VPN when remote access is needed. 

• Wrap up quiz 
  Send out a short five question quiz to reinforce what the team has learned. You can turn it into a game with small prizes or raffle entries for everyone who completes it. 

Why Cybersecurity Awareness Isn’t Optional Anymore 

Cybersecurity training used to be a nice to have. Today it is a baseline expectation. Your clients, regulators, and cyber insurers assume your team understands the basics. If they do not, you are not just increasing your risk, you are putting contracts, audits, and coverage at risk. 

What to know 

• Real world breaches are hitting small businesses 
  In 2024 alone, dozens of small firms across Arizona experienced breaches traced back to phishing emails, weak passwords, or unsecured remote access. These are not hypothetical threats. They are happening right now. 

• Insurers and auditors expect documentation 
  Cyber insurers increasingly require proof that you provide ongoing security training. So do auditors in healthcare and finance. Without that documentation, you may face denied claims or failed reviews. 

• Most attacks do not target your tech 
  According to industry reports, more than 80 percent of breaches start with human error. In the latest KnowBe4 phishing report, healthcare and financial services remain among the most targeted industries. That includes clicking the wrong link, ignoring an update prompt, or reusing the same weak password across systems. 

Tip: The best firewall in the world will not protect you if your staff does not recognize a fake login page. Awareness is your first and strongest line of defense. 

You Don’t Need In-House IT to Deliver This 

Cybersecurity awareness training should not require a full-time security team or a complicated internal rollout. If your staff know how to open an email, they can complete this training plan. If your business has a trusted IT partner, even better. 

What to consider 

• Ask your IT provider for support 
  Many managed service providers already offer tools like phishing simulations, short training videos, and help desk support for users who get stuck. If you are not sure what is included, now is the time to ask. 

• You can outsource the rollout 
  You do not need to assign this to your busiest team member. An external partner can coordinate the emails, track completion, and even host the live sessions for you. 

• This is a low effort way to show leadership 
  Clients, partners, and regulators notice when you invest in security. A four-week training plan shows that you take cyber risk seriously without draining your team’s time or energy. 

Conclusion Start Small Show You Are Serious 

Cybersecurity Awareness Month is not just another item on the compliance checklist. It is a chance to send a clear message to your clients, your staff, and your partners. Security matters here. 

You do not need a complex system or an internal IT department to take action. You just need a plan and the right support to carry it out. 

This four-week strategy is your starting point. It keeps things simple, actionable, and focused on real world risks. Even better, it helps create a culture where your people understand that security is not someone else’s job. It is theirs too. 

thirtyone3 technology works with small and midsize businesses across the Phoenix Metro to make cybersecurity awareness simple and effective. If you are ready to put this plan into action, we are ready to help.