The importance of information security has been steadily increasing for several years. A central element of information security is raising employee awareness of security risks, as the human factor is often neglected. This study examines the use of an escape room as an approach to promoting security awareness. The aim of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of this approach compared to traditional training and to analyze its impact on employees’ knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. To this end, a custom escape room was designed and implemented to convey specific learning objectives in IT security. In addition, three expert interviews were conducted to gather insights and experiences from existing security awareness escape rooms in companies. The evaluation was carried out using the Human Aspects of Information Security Questionnaire (HAIS-Q) to collect quantitative data before and after participation. The results of the study show that the traditional training only produces a statistically significant effect in the intensively covered topics. The security awareness escape room achieves outstanding results in improving participants’ knowledge and attitudes in both the covered areas and beyond. No effects were observed in behavior, which may be attributed to the short duration of the experiment. This study makes a significant contribution to the scientific community by closing the gap in the existing literature and providing empirical data on the effectiveness of escape rooms in the context of security awareness. Additionally, it offers practical implications for companies and organizations seeking to implement effective training measures to enhance their security culture.