Is Gamification Working in Security Training?

… talent scouting and recruitment, a fact not lost on either budding or seasoned security professionals.

But the point here is that the friendly competition in gamified competitions is a great motivator in mastering security skills.

“I’ve met hundreds of security folks over the last 25 years and they’ve all been motivated by breaking into a system and building stronger frameworks to learn what works best. Security is about solving a problem, which makes gamification perfect for e-learning and training,” said Zvi Guberman, CEO of CloudShare, a provider of specialized virtual IT labs.

“The hands-on experience is one of the most effective ways to learn and teach to ensure companies stay ahead of competition and potential threats. It’s why security conferences use Capture-the-Flag-type games for training. In fact, creating and delivering gaming scenarios to educate IT and security pros is a very popular use of our virtual IT labs.”

Things to Look for in Successful Security Training Gamification

All the evidence points to resounding success in using gamification for security awareness and training as long as the gaming elements are smartly designed with specific learning goals in mind. To aid MSSPs in evaluating – or even designing their own – gamified security training programs, here are three things to look for or work towards:

1. “Key messages are reinforced and become sticky as trainees learn by discovery and problem solving rather than just reading,” says Marie White, President and CEO at Security Mentor, a Pacific Grove, California-based provider of security-awareness training.
2. “Techniques like awarding points, badges and giveaways provide further positive incentives to complete training, and foster friendly competition between employees,” added White.
3. “Unlike traditional passive teaching methods, gamification concentrates on content immersion, relevancy and scalability. Gamification, combined with cloud-based platforms allow for constant availability to real day-to-day threats, tactics and procedures,” says Circadence‘s Keenan Skelly, VP of global partnerships and security evangelist. “It has been scientifically proven that learners remember an overwhelming 90 percent through immersive gamified simulations; the ‘learn by doing’ approach works by deploying connected, interactive, social settings that allow learners to excel.”