Tackling the global issue of cyber security

Eukleia, now known as LEO GRC, is a specialist governance, risk management and compliance training company. As a sister company to PRELOADED within Learning Technologies Group plc, they were the perfect partner to collaboratively tackle the global issue of cyber security.

For Eukleia’s roster of international clients, many of whom operate in the financial sector, the stakes could not be higher. Cyber criminals target every level of an organisation, so cross-generational appeal was essential, requiring a high-quality training game to increase engagement, convey the bigger picture and give learners the opportunity to see the impact of their actions.

MAKING THE INVISIBLE TANGIBLE

The key challenge in training cyber security vigilance is that the vast majority of cyber threats are largely invisible. Our aim was to combine instructional design, game design and the highest-quality visual execution to bring this battle to life, make it tangible and evoke an emotional reaction to increase engagement and therefore retention.

Players are under attack and must protect the data in their network at all costs by choosing which proactive countermeasure to play and where. The game board, seen as a collection of interconnected nodes, represents the moving parts of an organisation’s real-world network: mobile phones, laptops, servers, cloud storage and, of course, the staff themselves. The strength and frequency of incoming threats – from social engineering to browser attacks – gradually ramps up, leading to outbreaks that steal data and spread throughout the network.

Drawing on familiar tropes from card games, the interaction is incredibly straightforward but takes time to master, inviting learners to replay in pursuit of higher scores, bringing them into repeated contact with the full range of learning content. The more players learn about threats, outbreaks and countermeasures, the better they will perform and the more rewarding their experience will be.

This online game is accessible via the majority of Learning Management Systems (LMS) so learner progress and key decisions are logged every step of the way. Alongside our partners at world-leading SCORM and learning measurement companies Rustici Software and Watershed, we have integrated the latest tracking technology to generate remarkable insights for managers.

EFFECTING BEHAVIOUR CHANGE

It might sound obvious, but keeping it simple was the key to designing Zero Threat. We wanted to simulate the real-life relationship between incoming threats and mitigating actions in an engaging format that would genuinely lead to behaviour change and positive habit building.

The game also needed to be directly applicable in a day-to-day work environment. Designing a game that was more closely related to the games the employee tended to play when travelling to work, as opposed to a traditional eLearning course, was the key to ensuring employees are compelled to engage. The rich visual effects aren’t simply ‘eye candy’ for players, but carefully designed to create dramatic tension that drives home the impact of cyber security flaws.