Does CMMC compliance require security awareness training?

Yes. CMMC Level 2, built on NIST SP 800-171, requires an awareness and training program covering security risks and each user’s responsibilities. Espresso Labs delivers this training as part of the same platform that tracks your CMMC controls, so completion status maps to the specific requirement automatically.

Does SOC 2 compliance require security awareness training?

Yes. SOC 2’s Trust Services Criteria expect organizations to train personnel on security policies and procedures relevant to their role. Espresso Labs’ security awareness training is aligned to SOC 2 as well as CMMC, so the same training program can support both.

How is Espresso Labs' security awareness training different from a standalone training vendor?

A standalone training vendor can deliver courses and quizzes, but someone still has to manually pull completion reports and map them to your compliance requirements. Espresso Labs’ training is integrated directly into its GRC platform, so completion status, quiz results, and phishing simulation performance flow automatically into the same dashboard as your other controls and evidence.

Does the training include phishing simulations?

Yes. Alongside role-based training tracks and knowledge check quizzes, Espresso Labs runs ongoing phishing simulation campaigns to test whether training is actually changing behavior, not just being clicked through.

Security Awareness Training, Built Into Your Compliance Program

CMMC compliance, SOC 2 compliance, and other frameworks require security awareness training. Espresso Labs delivers it as part of the same platform that tracks your controls, so completion status maps to regulatory requirements automatically.

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Why CMMC Compliance and SOC 2 Compliance Both Require Security Awareness Training

Security awareness training is a required control for both CMMC compliance and SOC 2 compliance: your people have to be trained on security, not just your systems. Espresso Labs delivers that training as part of the platform, not as a separate product you have to buy, deploy, and track on your own.

Because training is integrated into the same GRC platform that tracks your controls, it becomes one part of a single compliance record instead of a standalone checkbox.

What's Included

CMMC & SOC 2 Aligned Content

Training content mapped directly to the awareness and training controls each framework requires.

Role-Based Tracks

Different roles get the training relevant to them, instead of one generic course for the whole company.

Knowledge Check Quizzes

Short quizzes confirm the training was understood, not just clicked through.

Phishing Simulation Campaigns

Realistic simulated phishing campaigns test whether training is actually changing behavior.

Built to Actually Change Behavior, Not Just Check a Box

A once-a-year course rarely holds up against how people actually get compromised. Espresso Labs' program is built around a few principles that make the training stick:

✓Short, recurring lessons, not a single annual course — regular, bite-sized refreshers keep security top of mind between the yearly training cycle instead of fading a month later.
✓Simulations based on real attack patterns — phishing tests are modeled on the kinds of campaigns Espresso Labs' monitoring actually sees, not a generic template.
✓Content that keeps up with current threats — course material is refreshed as new attack techniques emerge, instead of sitting static for years.
✓Visibility for leadership, not just a completion checkbox — see who's completed training, who's clicking on simulated phishing emails, and where your organization's risk actually sits.
✓Mapped to the exact controls that require it — including the CMMC Awareness and Training practices (AT.L2-3.2.1 and AT.L2-3.2.2), as well as the training requirements behind SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI DSS, and GLBA.
✓Scenarios built for smaller organizations, not generic enterprise content — training reflects the phishing, spear-phishing, and supply-chain-style attacks that actually target small and mid-sized defense contractors and suppliers.

One Tool, Not a Separate Subscription

Training only counts toward compliance if you can prove it happened. Because Espresso Labs' training integrates directly into its GRC platform:

✓Completion status maps automatically to the specific regulatory controls it satisfies.
✓Evidence of completion, including quiz results and phishing simulation performance, is gathered automatically.
✓Auditors and assessors see training status alongside every other control, in the same dashboard.

You get a single, all-in-one tool for training and compliance, instead of a training vendor and a GRC tool that don't share data.

How It Works

Assign Role-Based Training

Employees are enrolled in the training track relevant to their role and the frameworks that apply to your business.

Confirm Understanding

Knowledge check quizzes confirm the material was understood, and results are logged automatically.

Test Real-World Behavior

Ongoing phishing simulations measure whether the training is translating into safer behavior day to day.

Map to Controls Automatically

Completion status flows into the GRC dashboard, mapped to the specific control it satisfies, with evidence attached.

Training That Shows Up as Evidence

Not just completed training, but training that's mapped, measured, and ready for your next assessment.

All-in-one tool for training and compliance tracking

Auto

Evidence gathering for completion status, no manual exports

CMMC / SOC 2

And other frameworks, mapped to the same training program

Security Awareness Training FAQs

Training That Counts as Evidence, Not Just a Checkbox

Get security awareness training that's mapped to your controls automatically, in the same platform you already use for compliance.

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