Information Security Essentials: cybersecurity awareness training for every employee, online
Most security incidents in Philippine companies start with a person, not a firewall: a payment instruction that looked like it came from the boss, a password reused on a breached site, a spreadsheet of customer data pasted into a public AI tool. Information Security Essentials on Sterling Academy trains every employee to recognise those situations and to act on them, in about ninety minutes, with a final exam and a certificate for each person.
It is the course that satisfies the awareness requirement across the frameworks Sterling implements: ISO/IEC 27001:2022 clause 7.3 and Annex A control 6.3, PCI DSS Requirement 12.6 (security awareness education for all personnel), the HIPAA Security Rule’s security awareness and training standard (45 CFR §164.308(a)(5)), the awareness-raising and training a data protection officer oversees under GDPR Article 39(1)(b), and the personnel training expected under the Philippine Data Privacy Act of 2012 and its implementing rules. One course, one record, every framework.
Contact usSee the course on Sterling AcademyWatch the sample video →
At a glance
| Who it is for | Employees who handle business information — in practice, everyone |
|---|---|
| Format | Self-paced online video with practice checkpoints |
| Structure | 10 modules · about 94 minutes of video · final assessment |
| Access | 12 months |
| On completion | Sterling Academy Certificate of Completion, numbered, verifiable online |
| List price | From US$19 per learner (51–200 learners), excluding taxes |
Inside the course
Ten modules on the situations people meet at work, each with practical examples and a learning check, followed by a final assessment.
- Phishing: how to recognise it and what to do
- Payment fraud and impersonation
- Passwords and multi-factor authentication
- Handling and sharing information
- Data privacy at work
- Working safely anywhere
- Devices, malware and ransomware
- AI tools and unapproved apps
- Physical security and clear desk
- Spotting and reporting incidents
What learners can do afterwards
- Recognise common phishing and payment fraud scenarios and stop them.
- Use safer password and information-handling practices.
- Recognise the risks of AI tools and unapproved applications at work.
- Report an incident through the approved channel instead of hoping it goes away.
Where the course fits
Assign it to everyone with an e-mail address or a keyboard, including contractors and new hires, and repeat it annually. Pair it with ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Awareness when you are implementing or maintaining an ISMS, and with the 93 Annex A Controls course for the people who own controls. For PCI DSS, SOC 2 and HIPAA programmes it is the awareness evidence your assessor or auditor samples first.
For Sterling consulting clients. Sterling consulting clients benefit from preferential course access and special pricing on Sterling Academy through their Sterling consultant, including complimentary security awareness training for your people as part of your engagement. Your consultant sets up your client administrator, you add your people, and every learner who completes the course and its final exam receives a numbered Certificate of Completion, verifiable online.
Related courses
Contact usSee the course on Sterling AcademyWatch the sample video →
This records course completion. It does not confer ISO certification or a professional auditor qualification.
How Sterling Academy fits the Sterling system
Sterling delivers ISO and GRC certification through Sterling OS™ — our delivery operating system: Design™ (guided) or Drive™ (fully managed), then Sustain™, Automate™ and Revise™. Sterling Academy is the training layer of that system: awareness for everyone during implementation, practitioner courses for the people who run the system, and refreshers and new-hire training under Sustain™. Not sure which standard is right for you? Use our Select the Standard™ tool, or request a gap analysis.
What clients say about working with Sterling
Our proof is our clients. Read verbatim feedback from organisations Sterling has taken through ISO and GRC programmes across the Philippines and beyond — named signatories, real letters.
Frequently asked questions
1. Is this an ISO 27001 course?
No. ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Awareness explains the standard and the management system. Information Security Essentials teaches the everyday behaviours that keep information safe, whichever framework you follow. Many organisations assign both.
2. How long does it take?
About 94 minutes of video plus the learning checks and the final assessment, spread over as many sittings as the learner needs within 12 months of access.
3. Which frameworks does it support?
ISO/IEC 27001:2022 (clause 7.3 and Annex A 6.3), PCI DSS Requirement 12.6, the HIPAA Security Rule’s security awareness and training standard, GDPR Article 39(1)(b) and the Philippine Data Privacy Act’s organisational security measures. The completion record is the evidence.
4. Can we see a sample first?
Yes. Every course page on Sterling Academy carries a short sample video.
5. What does it cost?
List price from US$19 per learner for 51–200 learners, excluding taxes. Sterling consulting clients benefit from preferential course access and special pricing through their Sterling consultant, including complimentary security awareness training as part of the engagement.