29 Cyber Security Survey Questions for Employees

Phishing and Social Engineering Survey Questions

Real-world threat detection is where awareness gets tested

Why & When to Use

Use this part of your cyber security questionnaire to measure how well your employees recognize suspicious messages, fake identities, and manipulation tactics before they turn into expensive mistakes.

It fits especially well after phishing simulations, security awareness campaigns, or any stretch where phishing-related incidents start creeping up. Sadly, scammers do not take coffee breaks.

Here’s the thing: this section works for both a security awareness survey and a cyber security quiz for employees, depending on whether you want honest self-assessment, knowledge checks, or a mix of both.

Focus your questions on real situations people actually face, not just textbook examples. That means email, SMS, collaboration tools, and phone calls should all show up in your questionnaire on cyber security.

It also helps to separate awareness, confidence, and behavior, because those are not the same thing. Someone may know the signs, feel unsure anyway, and still click because the message looked urgent.

Use this information security quiz for employees to uncover patterns like:

• strong awareness but weak reporting habits

• high confidence with poor real-world judgment

• confusion around urgent payment or credential requests

• blind spots in chat impersonation, text scams, or phone-based social engineering

Plus, compare responses with phishing simulation results for a fuller picture. That is where your cybersecurity questionnaire stops being interesting and starts being useful.

Sample questions

1. How often do you use unique passwords for different work-related accounts?

2. Do you currently use a password manager for work credentials, and if not, why not?

3. How easy or difficult is it to complete multi-factor authentication during your normal workday?

4. Have you ever shared a work account password or login access with another person?

5. What is the biggest challenge you face in following your company’s password and authentication policies?

Research shows phishing susceptibility is shaped by workplace context—not just knowledge—so employee surveys should assess awareness, confidence, and reporting behavior together (ScienceDirect).

Password, Authentication, and Access Control Questions

Secure access habits tell you what policy documents never will

Why & When to Use

Use this part of your cyber security questionnaire to understand how employees actually handle passwords, account access, password managers, and MFA in real work situations.

It works especially well during access policy updates, MFA rollouts, or recurring security reviews when you need more than a checkbox-level view of compliance.

Here’s the thing: a policy can look great on paper while everyday habits quietly do their own weird little dance. This section helps you spot the gap between what people know and what they really do.

Keep questions focused on behavior, not secrets. You want useful patterns for your information security quiz for employees, not anyone typing out actual passwords or sensitive access details.

On top of that, ask where password rules or MFA create friction. If login steps feel confusing, slow, or disruptive, your cyber security quiz for employees can uncover barriers that push people toward risky shortcuts.

Use responses to identify issues like:

• password reuse across work accounts

• low password manager adoption

• account sharing between coworkers

• MFA frustration that leads to workarounds

• weak understanding of access control expectations

Plus, this section pairs nicely with broader security questionnaire examples used in internal risk reviews. That way, your security awareness survey or questionnaire on cyber security becomes practical, not just politely terrifying.

Sample questions

1. How often do you use public Wi-Fi for work-related tasks, and what precautions do you take when doing so?

2. Do you regularly lock your screen when stepping away from your device?

3. How promptly do you install required software updates on work devices?

4. Are you clear on the company’s rules for using personal devices to access work systems or data?

5. What remote work security practice is hardest for you to follow consistently?

Device, Remote Work, and Internet Security Questions

Remote work habits can be secure without feeling like you need a bunker and a tinfoil hat

Why & When to Use

Use this part of your cyber security questionnaire to learn how employees handle security on laptops, phones, tablets, home networks, and internet connections during everyday work.

It is especially useful for hybrid teams, remote staff, and BYOD setups where work happens far beyond the office walls.

Here’s the thing: device security problems usually show up in small habits first. A missed update, an unlocked screen, or a quick login on public Wi-Fi can turn into a much bigger mess later.

This section helps your information security quiz for employees uncover how people actually behave when no one is hovering nearby with a policy PDF.

Ask about both company-owned and personal devices used for work, especially if your team accesses email, files, or internal systems from phones and home computers.

Use responses to spot patterns like:

• delayed software updates and weak device patching

• inconsistent screen locking when stepping away

• unclear rules around personal device use for work

• risky use of public Wi-Fi without secure VPN protection

• confusion about secure remote access tools and home network safety

Plus, this section gives your cyber security quiz for employees a practical edge by focusing on real internet security examples instead of vague theory.

On top of that, it fits neatly into broader security questionnaire examples, a security awareness survey, or a change readiness survey questions that needs to reflect how people actually work today.

Sample questions

1. How confident are you in identifying which company information is sensitive or confidential?

2. Before sharing files externally, how often do you verify that the recipient and permission settings are correct?

3. Do you know the approved tools for storing and sending sensitive work information?

4. Have you ever been unsure whether certain data could be shared, downloaded, or copied?

5. Which data handling topic would you like more guidance on: file sharing, data classification, retention, disposal, or privacy rules?

NIST telework guidance recommends employee survey questions on home Wi‑Fi security, VPN use, and patching because remote work security depends heavily on these everyday device habits (source).

Data Handling and Privacy Survey Questions

Good data habits are where privacy, common sense, and fewer panic-filled email recalls all meet

Why & When to Use

Use this part of your cyber security questionnaire to measure how employees handle sensitive information, customer data, internal files, and regulated records in day-to-day work.

It works especially well for teams that deal with confidential data, compliance requirements, or frequent file sharing across email, cloud platforms, and shared drives.

Here’s the thing: a cybersecurity questionnaire should test more than policy memory. It should also show whether people follow safe habits when they are sending files, printing documents, storing records locally, or deciding what can be shared.

A strong information security quiz for employees helps you see whether employees understand classification, storage, sharing, retention, and disposal rules before a small mistake turns into a very expensive oops.

Use this section to uncover gaps like:

• uncertainty about which information counts as confidential or regulated

• risky file sharing through unapproved apps or incorrect permissions

• storing sensitive files on personal devices or local desktops

• confusion about printing, document disposal, or retention timelines

• weak understanding of privacy rules tied to customer or employee data

Plus, this section adds real-world value to a cyber security quiz for employees because it focuses on actual workflows, not fluffy policy jargon.

On top of that, it fits neatly into security questionnaire examples, a security awareness survey, or a questionnaire on cyber security designed to improve both knowledge and everyday behavior.

Sample questions

1. Do you know exactly how and where to report a suspected cyber security issue?

2. How comfortable would you feel reporting a mistake you personally made that could affect security?

3. What, if anything, would stop you from reporting a suspicious event immediately?

4. How quickly do you believe security concerns should be reported after discovery?

5. Do you feel the company treats security reporting as helpful and blame-free?

Incident Reporting and Security Culture Questions

Fast reporting beats perfect reporting every single time

Why & When to Use

Use this section of your cyber security questionnaire to find out whether employees feel ready, safe, and clear on how to report suspicious activity, accidental mistakes, or possible incidents.

It works especially well after a real incident, during a culture improvement push, or anytime you suspect problems are being noticed but not reported.

Here’s the thing: a strong security culture is not just about spotting threats. It is also about feeling safe enough to speak up without worrying that one wrong click will turn into a career drama series.

A useful information security quiz for employees should not stop at knowledge checks alone. Plus, this section complements a security awareness quiz for employees by focusing on action, speed, and confidence in the moment that matters.

Use these questions to uncover issues like:

• unclear reporting channels or messy escalation paths

• fear of blame after honest mistakes

• uncertainty about what counts as serious enough to report

• slow reporting caused by second-guessing or confusion

• low trust that managers or security teams will respond helpfully

On top of that, this part of a cyber security quiz for employees fits well into broader security questionnaire examples, a security awareness survey, or any cybersecurity questionnaire built to improve real behavior, not just correct answers.

Sample questions

1. How relevant was the recent cyber security training to your daily work responsibilities?

2. Which training format helps you learn security topics best: short videos, live sessions, quick reference guides, scenario exercises, or quizzes?

3. After training, how confident do you feel applying what you learned in real situations?

4. Which cyber security topic would you like more training on in the next quarter?

5. How often would you prefer to receive short security refreshers throughout the year?

Training Effectiveness and Learning Preferences Questions

Good training should stick longer than your last password reset headache

Why & When to Use

Use this part of your cyber security questionnaire to measure whether training is clear, useful, memorable, and actually connected to the work people do every day.

It fits especially well after awareness sessions, annual training cycles, or when you are planning cyber security awareness training for employees questions and answers that need to be more practical, not just more plentiful.

Here’s the thing: not every learning tool does the same job.

A security awareness survey helps you gather opinions and preferences, while an information security quiz for employees checks knowledge recall, and a formal assessment goes deeper into whether someone can apply what they learned correctly under pressure.

That difference matters because training fatigue is real, and nobody wants another slide deck that vanishes from memory before lunch.

Use these questions to improve future learning formats, including:

• microlearning modules for quick refreshers

• role-based examples that match real job tasks

• short videos that explain one idea at a time

• scenario-based learning that feels closer to real decisions

• better cyber security quiz for employees follow-ups after training

Plus, this section can help you refine a questionnaire on cyber security, build better security questionnaire examples, and improve cyber security quiz questions and answers for employees so training feels useful instead of just mandatory.

Sample questions

1. Is this cyber security questionnaire mainly measuring awareness, behavior, training feedback, or overall security culture?

2. Are the questions simple enough for employees to answer quickly without guessing what the wording means?

3. Does this survey mix scaled responses, multiple-choice items, and open comments to give you better insight?

4. Have you clearly explained whether responses are anonymous and how the results will be used?

5. What action will you take after reviewing the results from this cyber security quiz for employees or security awareness survey?

Best Practices for Writing and Using Employee Cyber Security Surveys

A smart survey should feel useful, not like a pop quiz wearing a fake mustache

Why & When to Use

Use these best practices when you want your cyber security questionnaire to produce honest, usable feedback instead of rushed clicks and mystery data.

Plus, they help whether you are building an information security quiz for employees, a security awareness survey, or a broader questionnaire on cyber security for internal improvement.

Dos

Keep your survey focused and easy to finish.

• Align each survey to one goal, like awareness, behavior, training feedback, or culture.

• Use plain language, keep questions role-relevant, and skip jargon where possible.

• Mix rating scales, multiple-choice prompts, and open-text questions for stronger insight.

• Reassure employees that honest answers matter more than trying to sound “right.”

• Segment results by role, department, tenure, or work setup to spot patterns.

• Compare findings with phishing tests, incident trends, and audit data for context.

• Refresh your cyber security questionnaire over time so it stays relevant.

Don’ts

Avoid turning a helpful survey into a compliance cactus.

• Never ask for passwords, confidential data, or sensitive system details.

• Do not make surveys too long, or completion rates and answer quality will drop.

• Do not rely only on cyber security quiz for employees formats if behavior and culture are your real focus.

• Avoid leading questions and one-time surveys with no follow-up.

• Do not shame low-scoring teams.

• Do not copy vendor security questionnaire examples without adapting them for employee use.

On top of that, be clear about anonymity, send surveys at sensible times, run them on a steady but not exhausting cadence, and explain how responses to security questionnaires will support internal reporting and future training improvements.

Sample questions

1. Which survey responses point to the biggest employee-driven risks, not just the most common complaints?

2. Are low scores caused by weak awareness, confusing processes, or tools that make secure behavior harder?

3. Which issues should you fix first, such as phishing reporting, MFA friction, unsafe file sharing, or remote work gaps?

4. Have you matched each survey finding to a specific action like training, policy updates, or manager follow-up?

5. How will you measure whether your cyber security questionnaire for employees actually improved behavior over time?

How to Turn Survey Insights Into Action

The real win is not collecting answers, it is turning them into safer habits

Why & When to Use

Use this step after your cyber security questionnaire, security awareness survey, or cyber security quiz for employees is complete and you are ready to act on what people told you.

Here’s the thing, even great cyber security survey questions only help if they lead to clearer decisions, better habits, and fewer avoidable risks.

Prioritize Findings by Risk and Behavior

Sort results into practical buckets so you can act faster.

• High-risk behaviors, like unsafe file sharing or ignoring phishing red flags

• Low-confidence topics, like MFA, password hygiene, or reporting suspicious activity

• Process barriers, like unclear reporting steps, slow tools, or remote work confusion

Start with issues that carry the most risk and show up often, especially phishing reporting, MFA friction, risky sharing habits, and remote work gaps.

Match Actions to Survey Results

Low awareness should trigger education, while confusing workflows should trigger process fixes.

On top of that, use role-based training, manager reinforcement, simpler policies, and targeted reminders so your information security quiz for employees leads to action, not just spreadsheets having a little nap.

Build a Continuous Improvement Cycle

Run follow-up surveys after training or policy changes to check progress.

Plus, compare your cybersecurity questionnaire results with incidents, support tickets, and simulation data to see what is actually improving.

The best cyber security questionnaire and security awareness quiz for employees are the ones that create measurable gains in behavior, culture, and risk reduction.