Why do we have to do Cybersecurity Awareness Training annually?

Learning how to be more cyber secure is an important part of keeping data, privacy, and IT systems protected and secure. In this training, you will learn valuable cybersecurity practices that will help you to protect UW–Madison’s data and systems, as well as your own personal data at work and at home.

This annual training is mandatory per UWSA Policy 1032 (Source: wisconsin.edu) for all employees (including undergraduate and graduate student employees). This includes undergraduate and graduate student employees, as well as retirees and those in unpaid positions who access UW–Madison information technology resources.

This training must be completed annually, every 365 days (or earlier if required by your area) and is a part of your required employment obligations.

Training Options

There are two online training options and one paper-based training option (for employees who do not use computers in their UW–Madison job).

1. Option 1 - visual training. This option is a highly visual and interactive version of the Cybersecurity Awareness Training. It is less accessible for people who are blind, have low vision, or use screen readers. It is only available in English.
2. Option 2 - text training. This option is a text-based version of the Cybersecurity Awareness Training. It is accessible for all people. It is only available online in English.
3. Paper-based training. If you do not use a computer for your work with UW–‍Madison, you may be eligible to take the paper version (available in our 6 campus languages) of the Cybersecurity Awareness Training. Please reach out to your HR representative or supervisor to see if you qualify. If you are an HR representative, please contact the Cybersecurity Awareness Team for guidance on how the simplified training process works.

How long will it take me to complete the training?

It should take you 30 minutes or less to complete.

What date is my Cybersecurity Awareness Training due for this year?

You are required to complete the training annually, every 365 days (or earlier if required by your area). Go to your Employee Transcript to find the date of your last Cybersecurity Awareness Training by following these steps:

To access your Employee Transcript:

1. Go to My Registrations and Learning Transcript webpage (Source: talent.wisc.edu) on the Office of Human Resources website. You may need to sign in with your NetID and password.
2. Click on the TRANSCRIPT tab.
3. Go to the EVENT column to find Cybersecurity Awareness Training (previous year).
4. Look at the DATE column (one column over to the right)
5. You need to complete the training annually
6. If you do not see the training listed in either place, you have not yet registered for the training.

You may want to add a reminder to your calendar to complete the Cybersecurity Awareness Training for the following year.

How do I return to the training after I've already started it?

You can return to the training by going to your Canvas dashboard (Source: canvas.wisc.edu) and clicking on the Cybersecurity Awareness Training for which you registered. Please do not register for more than one training option.

What do I need to do to pass the Cybersecurity Awareness Training?

• Complete all 8 sections in order
  • There are links to additional resources in the training (you will not be tested on these resources). You can read them while taking the training or access them later. They will also be emailed to you after you pass the quiz.
• Take the quiz at the end
  • Correctly answer 12 of the 15 questions
  • Take the quiz as many times as you need to pass
  • You can check your score in the Grades tab in Canvas.

How can I verify that I've passed the Cybersecurity Awareness Training?

You will receive an email stating: “Congratulations! You have completed your 2024 Cybersecurity Awareness Training” within 48 hours of passing the training.

You can also view the completion in your Employee Transcript:

1. Go to My Registrations and Learning Transcript webpage (Source: talent.wisc.edu) on the Office of Human Resources website. You may need to sign in with your NetID and password.
2. If you see Cybersecurity Awareness Training 2023 listed in the REGISTRATIONS tab and you believe you passed the quiz, click on the name of the training to immediately pull your completion into the TRANSCRIPT tab. If it doesn’t move to the TRANSCRIPT tab, you have not passed the quiz.
3. If you don’t see Cybersecurity Awareness Training 2023 listed in the REGISTRATIONS tab, click on the TRANSCRIPT tab. You should see it there. Look under the ATTENDED column to verify that it says Complete.
4. If you do not see the training listed in either place, you have not yet registered for the training.

Is the training ADA compliant?

At this time, the visual training is not ADA compliant. All the text training is compliant. For more information on the accessibility and usability of the visual training and how to get assistance or report an accessibility barrier, see the Cybersecurity Awareness Training - Accessibility & Usability Information (Source: kb.wisc.edu).

Are new employees required to take Cybersecurity Awareness Training within 30 days of hire?

Our department includes employees who do not use computers for their UW–Madison job. Are these employees required to take the training?

Yes, employees who do not use a computer in their campus job should reach out to their HR representative or supervisor and ask about taking the paper-based version. This is a shortened version of the required training that does not include a quiz. This version is available in six languages, including English, Spanish, Hmong, Tibetan, Chinese, and Nepali.

What happened to the translated versions of the Cybersecurity Awareness Training?

We are no longer translating the full version of the Cybersecurity Awareness Training as those options were underutilized.

A paper-based version of the training has been translated into our six languages, including English, Spanish, Hmong, Tibetan, Chinese, and Nepali.

This version is for employees who do not use computers in their UW–‍Madison jobs. Employees who are in this category should reach out to their HR representative or supervisor for assistance.

I am a retiree, do I have to take the Cybersecurity Awareness Training?

If you access UW–Madison information technology resources using your NetID, you are required to take this training annually, every 365 days (or earlier if required by your area). 

Register for the training (on the page you're on now) using your NetID. You will NOT be able to access the training using a Guest NetID. 

I have an unpaid position (or do not receive payment for my work). Do I have to take the Cybersecurity Awareness Training?

If you access UW–Madison information technology resources using your NetID, you are required to take this training annually, every 365 days (or earlier if required by your area). 

Register for the training (on the page you're on now) using your NetID. You will NOT be able to access the training using a Guest NetID. 

I'm a student, do I need to complete this training?

If you are employed by the university, you are required to complete the training annually, every 365 days (or earlier if required by your area). 

Students not employed by the university are encouraged to complete the training to become more cyber secure, but are not required to take it.

Register for the training (on the page you're on now) using your NetID. You will NOT be able to access the training using a Guest NetID.

I am an employee with a Guest NetID and can't register for the required Cybersecurity Awareness Training, what should I do?

Employees MUST register for the training using their campus NetID. You will NOT be able to access the training using a Guest NetID. 

I work at UW-Extension and can't register for the training. Why?

If you work at Extension and get an error message stating, “Authentication Failure” you must select UW–Madison as your campus (instead of UW-Extension) when registering for the training. This is due to the fact that our campuses use different versions of Canvas.

Why isn’t the Cybersecurity Awareness Training appearing in my Canvas dashboard?

You must register for the visual or text option training on this page (see above). If you’ve registered and it’s still not showing up, contact the Help Desk (Source: it.wisc.edu).

I completed a different Cybersecurity Awareness Training in 2024. Do I have to complete this training too?

If you've taken a different cybersecurity awareness training in 2024, please fill out this form Cybersecurity Awareness Training Completed Outside of UW–Madison (Source: app.smartsheet.com). We will review the information and contact you if your cybersecurity training does NOT meet requirements.

I'm using Safari and the videos for the English Visual Training do not load, what can I do?

1. Click on "Safari "on the upper left of your computer screen.
2. Click on "Preferences"
3. Go to the "Security" tab
4. Check the "Enable JavaScript" (we recommend you also check the box in front of Fraudulent sites) as shown in the image.

If I find an issue with the training, how do I report it?

Contact the Help Desk (Source: it.wisc.edu).