Increasing engagement in a cyber-awareness training game

Abstract

Today’s workforce is generally uneducated in cybersecurity, largely complacent, and fails to embrace the reality that ‘a risk to one is a risk to all’. A cyber-aware mindset must be instilled in improved training across the workforce. We are developing a training game designed to improve cyber awareness with the goal of inculcating “cyber mindset” to reduce vulnerabilities to and increase vigilance toward cyber threats. The game stresses critical thinking, intellectual engagement, and countering cognitive biases. We introduce the design and implementation of the training game. Creating effective cyber awareness training is often challenging due to resistance and disinterest from target populations. We outline the current implementation of the training game and introduce additional features or “mechanics” we have developed and also continue to investigate to attempt to improve the game’s effectiveness in developing a cyber mindset.