Cybersecurity Has a Motivation Problem

I’ve worked in cybersecurity long enough to see that our biggest challenge isn’t a technical one, it’s motivational.

We can build the strongest firewalls, design the smartest detection systems, and run endless awareness campaigns, but none of it matters if people don’t want to care.

That’s the uncomfortable truth; cyber security has a motivation problem.

The Problem With “Nothing Happening”

When you do cybersecurity well, nothing happens. There’s no visible outcome, no immediate reward, no dopamine hit. You don’t see the data breach you prevented, or the ransomware attack that didn’t occur. Success in this field is invisible, and that’s the heart of the cybersecurity motivation challenge.

Human beings are wired to respond to visible rewards and immediate consequences.

That’s why sales teams are motivated by targets, and marketers thrive on engagement metrics. But in cybersecurity, our best outcome is silence. We’re asking people to stay motivated about something that, by design, doesn’t show results.

And when something doesn’t feel rewarding, people stop caring.

What Comes First, Motivation or Habit?

I asked attendees at the most recent Threat Watch Live webinar for their opinion. The results didn’t surprise me.

• 67% stated that they believed there is a motivation problem in cybersecurity;
• 17% felt that there was not;
• 15% were not sure.

One question that was raised in the webinar was the thought that maybe it was a habit or routine problem and not motivation. This is a good point; however, motivation comes before habits and routines.

Let’s frame it this way, if I want to lose weight, I must eat healthy food and exercise. The long-term strategy to achieving this is to make it part of my routine, so that I automatically choose healthy foods from the fridge rather than a bar of chocolate. That I routinely visit the gym after work on a Tuesday evening, for example.

But all this only happens if I am motivated at the start of the journey. Motivated to create the routine and push myself to stick to it in the early days.

Compliance Doesn’t Build Motivation

Over time, the industry has built its systems around compliance, not belief. We’ve turned security into a list of checkboxes.

Have you completed your annual training? Tick.

Have you changed your password? Tick.

Have you read the policy no one understands? Tick.

The problem is that compliance motivates the bare minimum. It doesn’t inspire genuine care or curiosity. When you build a culture around rules instead of values, you get people who do what they have to do, not because they understand why it matters, but because someone told them to.

That’s not motivation. That’s obligation. And it’s a fragile foundation for something as critical as cyber security.

Cybersecurity Motivation Is a Cultural Challenge

People often assume cybersecurity failures are caused by weak passwords, unpatched systems, or outdated tools. While these issues matter, they’re just symptoms. The real problem is culture.

Culture shapes what people prioritise, how they make decisions, and what they believe is worth their time. You can’t solve a cultural issue with another tool or training module, you solve it by making cybersecurity motivation part of who the organisation is.

If your company values trust, reliability, or innovation, then security must be embedded in those same values. It shouldn’t sit off to the side as an IT initiative, it should represent how you keep promises, protect reputations, and deliver your mission.

Make It Real for Everyone

I recently spoke about Operational efficiency at the Brigantia Partner day. I used multiple examples to demonstrate the importance of culture to enforce my message.

Let’s use an example to bring what I am saying to life.

Let’s say you’re a mid-sized manufacturing company. Your brand promise is reliability, “our bolts never fail.” But if a ransomware attack knocks your production offline, that reliability disappears overnight. Cybersecurity isn’t just about data or compliance, it’s about keeping that promise alive.

When people understand that connection, that cyber security protects what they value, it becomes meaningful. It stops being a technical burden and becomes part of their professional pride. That’s where motivation begins and it’s when we all start pulling in the same direction.

The Same Problem Exists at Home

This motivation problem doesn’t just live in boardrooms or offices. It’s in our personal lives, too.

Lots of us know we should use stronger passwords, enable MFA, update our devices, but we don’t, because the reward is invisible. The payoff for doing it right is that nothing bad happens. And nothing happening doesn’t feel like winning.

So, we delay, we ignore, we “get away with it.” Until, eventually, we don’t. I have seen this reality many times whilst working as a cyber detective.

Changing that mindset starts by reframing cyber security as an act of self-respect, something we do to protect our time, our identity, our peace of mind. Not because someone told us to, but because it’s part of how we take care of ourselves in a digital world.

Making the Invisible Visible

If we want people to care about cybersecurity, we need to make its benefits visible. We must connect cybersecurity motivation to what people already value: trust, reputation, and reliability.

When cybersecurity becomes part of a shared purpose rather than a checkbox exercise, motivation follows naturally.

Ultimately, people protect what they believe in, not what they’re told to.

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Keep the Cybersecurity Motivation Going

Cybersecurity motivation doesn’t end with awareness, it grows through shared insights and real-world stories. That’s why we created The MSP Security Playbook Podcast, brought to you by Heimdal.

Each episode dives into the challenges and successes MSPs face daily, from building security culture to sustaining motivation across teams.

You can watch or listen to all episodes on Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Podcasts.

And don’t forget to stay on track with the latest discussions and updates by following The MSP Security Playbook on LinkedIn, your go-to hub for continuous learning and cybersecurity motivation.

Adam Pilton

Adam is the Cybersecurity Advisor at Heimdal. With over 15 years in law enforcement, where he served as a Detective Sergeant leading Covert Operations and Cyber Crime teams, Adam transitioned to cybersecurity in 2016. Known for simplifying complex topics, Adam leverages his investigative and communication experience to engage leaders and end users alike, driving stronger cyber resilience.