What Security Awareness Questions Appear in Customer Questionnaires?
Customer security questionnaires often ask about awareness because employee behaviour affects phishing, data handling, incident reporting and customer trust. The questions may look simple, but they require evidence behind the answer.
If your startup prepares the answers before the questionnaire arrives, the process becomes less stressful and more credible.
Customer questionnaires may ask whether employees receive security awareness training, how often it happens, what topics are covered, whether phishing is included, whether records are kept and whether contractors or new starters are included.
Questionnaire questions to prepare for
- Do employees receive security awareness training?: Prepare a clear answer and link it to records.
- How often does training happen?: Document onboarding, reminders, annual refreshers and incident follow-ups.
- What topics are covered?: List phishing, MFA, passwords, data handling, incidents, tools and policies.
- Is phishing covered?: Prepare your phishing guidance, reporting route and reminder evidence.
- Are training records kept?: Keep dates, audience, topics and completion records.
In this guide
- 1. Do employees receive security awareness training?
- 2. How often does training happen?
- 3. What topics are covered?
- 4. Is phishing covered?
- 5. Are training records kept?
- 6. Are new starters trained?
- 7. Are contractors included?
- 8. How are incidents reported?
- 9. Are policies acknowledged?
- 10. Who owns security awareness?
What Security Awareness Questions Appear in Customer Questionnaires?
Use this as a practical founder checklist. Each section turns the question into a behaviour, record, owner or action your team can actually use.
1. Do employees receive security awareness training?
This is the basic yes/no question, but customers may expect proof.
What to do: Prepare a clear answer and link it to records.
2. How often does training happen?
Customers may want to know whether awareness is repeated.
What to do: Document onboarding, reminders, annual refreshers and incident follow-ups.
3. What topics are covered?
A vague answer can look weak.
What to do: List phishing, MFA, passwords, data handling, incidents, tools and policies.
4. Is phishing covered?
Phishing is a common customer concern.
What to do: Prepare your phishing guidance, reporting route and reminder evidence.
5. Are training records kept?
Customers may ask for evidence of completion.
What to do: Keep dates, audience, topics and completion records.
6. Are new starters trained?
Onboarding shows awareness starts early.
What to do: Keep new starter checklist or module evidence.
7. Are contractors included?
Contractors may access data or systems.
What to do: Explain when contractors receive awareness and how it is recorded.
8. How are incidents reported?
Awareness should teach people what to report and where.
What to do: Document the reporting route and communication evidence.
9. Are policies acknowledged?
Customers may ask whether employees acknowledge security policies.
What to do: Track acknowledgement for important policies.
10. Who owns security awareness?
Ownership shows the process is managed.
What to do: Name the function or role responsible for awareness.
How to Turn This Into Evidence
Security awareness becomes easier to prove when every topic has an owner, a simple action, a review date and a record of what was communicated.
| Awareness Area | Action to Take | Evidence to Keep |
|---|---|---|
| Do employees receive security awareness training? | Prepare a clear answer and link it to records. | Owner, date, reminder/training record and supporting evidence |
| How often does training happen? | Document onboarding, reminders, annual refreshers and incident follow-ups. | Owner, date, reminder/training record and supporting evidence |
| What topics are covered? | List phishing, MFA, passwords, data handling, incidents, tools and policies. | Owner, date, reminder/training record and supporting evidence |
| Is phishing covered? | Prepare your phishing guidance, reporting route and reminder evidence. | Owner, date, reminder/training record and supporting evidence |
| Are training records kept? | Keep dates, audience, topics and completion records. | Owner, date, reminder/training record and supporting evidence |
| Are new starters trained? | Keep new starter checklist or module evidence. | Owner, date, reminder/training record and supporting evidence |
Which Next Step Fits?
If you need clarity
Use the quiz to identify visible security gaps across awareness, access, vendors, risk and evidence.
Take the quiz →If you need awareness structure
Use the toolkit to turn awareness into onboarding, reminders, scenarios, records and repeatable team behaviours.
View the awareness toolkit →If you need judgement
Book a consultation if awareness is connected to audit readiness, customer pressure or unclear security ownership.
Book a consultation →Security awareness next step
Turn security awareness into behaviour your team can repeat.
Use practical prompts, onboarding, phishing guidance, evidence records and reminders so awareness becomes part of how your startup works.
Get a Security Readiness AuditFind the gaps first
Not sure where awareness fits into your security gaps?
Use the security quiz to identify visible gaps across awareness, access, vendors, risk and evidence before customer or audit pressure makes them harder to fix.
Take the security quiz to identify gapsFrequently Asked Questions
What security awareness questions appear in customer questionnaires?
They often ask about training frequency, topics, phishing, records, onboarding, contractors, reporting and ownership.
How should startups answer these questions?
Answer with the current state, evidence and any planned improvements rather than guessing.
What CTA fits this page?
A Security Readiness Audit fits because customer questionnaire answers need evidence and consistency.