Cyber security gaming is a term that is thrown around a lot but hasn’t met a clear definition of it. So what is it? Let’s start with a misconception: cyber security gaming isn’t related to playing games. It’s learning games that are specifically designed to teach and develop cyber security skills. Let’s first clarify the difference between gaming and gamification.
Gaming defined
Gamification can be defined as a process of adding game elements into a non-game-related environment like a website to increase the quality of interaction. The goal of gamification is to digitally engage with customers or employees.
Game elements are rules, rewards and points systems, levels, missions, and leadership boards. Such dynamics are proactive and refer to a set of emotions that can resonate with people. For instance, by using leadership boards people compete; teams can collaborate in a mission, and users can unlock new levels or receive prizes or points. Gamification aims to influence and motivate people’s behaviour for a specific action.
Gaming is a learning experience itself. It is a play-based element. The goal of gaming is to achieve skill-building. It is more about the design, graphics, audio, and video interaction that a game includes. You learn a skill while you play a game.
What is the value of gaming in cybersecurity?
Gamification works for businesses as it gives people a sense of control over what they are doing while interacting. In other words, it can indicate their progress in tasks or actions.
What about the cybersecurity industry? When it comes to cyber security training, a standardised approach includes a course with game-related elements such as quizzes and multiple-choice questions.
When people engage in a gamified environment, they learn best through interaction with a product, a service, a brand, or a business. Gamification and gaming use game-related techniques. The principal difference between them is how game elements are integrated. A game is used for learning and building a skill while gamification is a game-like attribute to motivate and encourage.
Cyber security gaming is a new and innovative approach in the cybersecurity industry. Introducing a gamified cyber security environment to a business or organisation can
- boost cyber security understanding
- builds cyber security skills
- build cyber hygiene
- brings social behaviour change
- boost employee physical well-being
- release stress and anxiety over cyber security and cyber-attacks
MonkPhish is the next level of cyber security training. Team members learn how hackers try to breach organisations by creating and simulating personal attacks while an organisation reduces breach risk.
MonkPhish is a personalised game. It lets your employees use their inside knowledge to trick colleagues in peer-to-peer spear-phishing simulations. These simulations are way more cunning than the standardised ones as employees are the ones that know the business better than any cyber-criminal.
Achieving cyber security skills can be done practically. It is a step-by-step process that is possible for anyone.
