The curse of knowledge can damage awareness programmes: Here's how to defeat it

Abstract

Now, more than ever, cybersecurity professionals need their messages of security to reach the people who work for their organisations. But a phenomenon known as the ‘curse of knowledge’ may be standing in their way. This ‘curse’ – knowing so much about a subject that explaining it to beginners is difficult – plagues many human risk programmes, according to industry reports, and can actually damage programmes and negatively affect the credibility of those who run them. This paper shows how cybersecurity practitioners can overcome the curse of knowledge by examining its destructive path and identifying key steps to manage it. Techniques like removing certain terminology from cybersecurity messaging and tools like the De-Jargonizer can bring practitioners in line with their audience and lead to successful programmes and more security for organisations.