Delivering cyber security training reminders in Microsoft Teams puts them where your people already are. Microsoft's last official figure put Teams at 320 million monthly active users, and for most office workers it is the first screen they open each day. A reminder that arrives as a chat notification during the working day competes with far less noise than a training email sitting between a supplier invoice and a lunch special.
This 2026 guide walks through the integration options, setup steps and troubleshooting for delivering Cyber Aware training reminders through Microsoft Teams.
Why this matters
Email reminders decay. A training nudge gets skimmed, and the completion date passes. A Teams notification uses the same interruption pattern for something useful: a short course that is due.
There is a security benefit too. When staff routinely receive and act on messages from a known internal bot in Teams, a suspicious message from an unknown sender stands out. That contrast trains scepticism without a single simulation.
The alternative is worse than silence. Australian organisations reported 84,700 cybercrime incidents to ASD in FY2024-25 — one report every six minutes — with small businesses losing an average of $56,000 per incident. Staff who complete short, regular training report suspicious messages faster, and faster reporting is what limits the damage when a real phish lands.
What the integration options are
Cyber Aware sends due and overdue reminder emails as learners approach their deadlines. Teams is an additional delivery channel layered on top, built with Microsoft's own tools:
| Route | Best for | Effort | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power Automate workflow (webhook trigger) | Team-wide training broadcasts | Low | Buy |
| Power Automate flow on reminder emails | Per-user reminder cards | Medium | Buy |
| Automation platform (Zapier / Make) | Scheduled reminders plus completion tracking | Medium | Buy |
| Email-only reminders | Organisations that block bots | None | Hold |
Route 1 - Post reminders to a channel with a Power Automate webhook
Important context for 2026: Microsoft is retiring the classic Office 365 Connectors in Teams. New connectors are being blocked, and Microsoft directs builders to Power Automate Workflows using the When a Teams webhook request is received trigger instead. Start there — the classic channel Connectors menu may already be missing from your tenant.
- In Power Automate, create a new automated cloud flow with the Microsoft Teams trigger "When a Teams webhook request is received".
- Add a "Post card in a chat or channel" action, pointed at the channel that should receive reminders (a Training channel or General).
- Copy the workflow's HTTP POST URL. Treat this URL like a password: anyone who holds it can post to your channel. Store it in a secrets vault.
- Schedule the posts: either add a Recurrence trigger to the same flow, or post to the webhook URL from Zapier, Make or a scheduled script on the days your courses are due.
Expected result: the channel shows a test card confirming the flow is active.
Keep the card short: course title, one-line why, due date, and the training link. Microsoft's Workflows support Adaptive Cards and Message Card format.
Route 2 - Trigger reminders from Cyber Aware's own schedule
A broadcast on a fixed day reminds everyone at once, but the sharper reminder fires when an individual course is due or overdue.
- In Cyber Aware, confirm reminder emails are enabled for the cohort, and route reminders to one shared mailbox as well as to learners, so the flow has a single place to watch.
- In Power Automate, create a flow with the trigger "When a new email arrives (V3)" on that shared mailbox. Filter the subject line to training reminders only.
- Add a condition so only due or overdue notices pass the filter.
- Add a "Post message in a chat or channel" action with the course name and deadline in the message body.
- Test with one learner before enabling for the whole cohort.
Expected result: when a course is flagged as due, the training channel shows the reminder within minutes.
Route 3 - Use an automation platform for completion-aware reminders
The webhook and email routes remind; they do not track who actually completed the course. If you want the Teams message to change based on completion status, wire the platforms through Zapier or Make:
- Confirm your Cyber Aware plan exposes the admin reporting or export you need for completion status per learner.
- In Zapier, create a Zap with a Schedule trigger (for example, every Monday at 9am).
- Add a Filter step so only learners with an overdue course proceed.
- Add a Microsoft Teams action: Send channel message, personalised with the learner's first name and the course title where the trigger provides it.
- Test with a synthetic learner before switching on.
This route is the one to pick when training completion is a compliance metric with a hard deadline. It also pairs well with human risk reporting, because the reminder loop feeds the same completion data into learner-level scores.
Before you start
- Confirm who owns the channel. Post reminders in a channel the team actually watches. A dead Training channel nobody reads teaches staff that security messages are ignorable.
- Check your tenant allows the flow. Some Microsoft 365 tenants restrict webhook-triggered workflows for security reasons. If the trigger is missing, your IT team has scoped it — work with them rather than around them.
- Decide the cadence before building. A reminder three days before the due date, plus one overdue nudge, is enough. More than that and staff mute the channel.
- The gotcha: workflow ownership. Microsoft warns that webhook-triggered workflows are linked to their owner, not the team. If the owner leaves, the flow becomes an orphan. Assign a co-owner when you create it.
Troubleshooting
- Posts fail with 400 or 410 errors. The workflow URL was regenerated or the flow disabled. Re-copy the URL from the flow's trigger and update the stored secret.
- Reminders post but nobody reacts. The channel is too noisy or the cadence too aggressive. Cut to one reminder per course, three days before due.
- The email-trigger route never fires. The flow watches the wrong mailbox, or the subject filter is too narrow. Send a test reminder to the shared mailbox and check the flow's run history.
- Duplicate reminders. Two reminder paths are active. Pick one per course and pause the other.
- Staff report the reminder as phishing. Good instinct, wrong target. Add a consistent bot name and card format, and mention in the training channel that reminders come from that bot. This confusion is itself a teaching moment worth two minutes in the next course.
What to do next
The Teams connection is a delivery channel; the programme it delivers is security awareness training. Once reminders flow, add phishing simulations to the same cadence so the channel carries both courses and practice. If you are comparing platforms before committing, the platform comparison shows how delivery channels differ.
FAQ
Does Cyber Aware have a native Microsoft Teams app?
No one-click Teams app is listed in Microsoft AppSource. The connection is built with Power Automate workflows, reminder-email triggers, or an automation platform like Zapier or Make. All three routes take under an hour to set up.
How long does the integration take?
The webhook route takes about 30 minutes including a test card. The email-trigger and completion-aware routes take 30 to 60 minutes each, mostly spent on filters and test runs.
Can reminders go to individual people in Teams?
Yes. Power Automate's "Post message in a chat" action sends to a one-to-one chat, and automation platforms can target the learner's Teams handle directly. Per-user reminders need the email-trigger or completion-aware route.
Should we still send email reminders?
Yes — keep email as the baseline and treat Teams as an additional channel. Some staff work in email-first roles or on shared machines where Teams notifications do not land.
Is the webhook URL safe to share?
No. Anyone with the URL can post to the channel. Store it in a secrets vault, rotate it if it leaks, and scope the flow to the one channel that needs it.
What happens if a reminder arrives during a real phishing incident?
Nothing bad. A routine reminder card looks different from an urgent message asking for credentials or payment. The contrast is useful: staff learn that genuine internal security messages are calm and scheduled, while attackers use urgency.
One last thing
Check the channel you plan to use for reminder volume before you add another source. If staff already mute that channel, the reminder never lands. A quiet channel with a consistent, short training card trains people to read it.