Cyber security awareness is gaining momentum after major breaches have been reported in mainstream media. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always translate to employees taking responsibility for cyber security in the workplace due to either lack of knowledge or apathy. This is often because cyber security training can be dry, dull and downright boring. Organisations are increasingly using new approaches such as humour and games to drive employee engagement and empowerment with cyber security. Here are three ways to gamify cyber security training and help your employees remain vigilant against threats:
1. Send regular mock phishing emails and allocate points and rewards to those who quickly identify the email as malicious
Conducting regular mock phishing tests can help educate employees on how to identify potential fraudulent emails and keep them actively engaged in cyber security awareness. Frequently testing employees this way also ensures that everyone is actively aware of the process involved in reporting potential phishing scams to the IT security team.
To further engage employees in this process, organisations can allocate points and rewards to employees that correctly identify the emails as malicious and report them to IT. Setting incentives for this engagement will keep employees vigilant, as they will actively be trying to quickly report mock phishing emails making them more aware of what to look for when a real scam email comes through.
2. Hold an online trivia/pop quiz about cyber security; reward the quiz champions
Mock phishing emails aren’t the only way to engage and reward employees for cyber security vigilance. It’s important to ensure that employees are regularly informed of changes to the cyber security landscape and potential threats that the company may face. Often, communication regarding this information can be content-heavy, overwhelming and dull, which reduces employee interest.
Distributing this information in the form of online trivia, pop quizzes or similar, with rewards for quiz champions and fast responses, can help to better engage employees with cyber security training and updates. Either scheduling these as surprise quizzes or planned quizzes with desirable rewards or prizes can encourage employees to actively monitor cyber security news for potential threats or changes that may come up in quizzes.
3. Conduct a cyber security bootcamp, where departments/work teams take on each other in cyber security scenarios
For a more hands-on approach to cyber security in the workplace, organisations may look to challenge employees on a cyber security bootcamp. This offers more intensive training and can help employees to better understand the need for vigilance and engagement in the company cyber security culture and strategy.
Departments and teams can be set up to compete with each in various cyber security scenarios to determine the best course of action to defend against cyberthreats, with prizes again being awarded for creative, inspiring and engaging scenarios based on fact.
Gamifying cyber security education in the workplace engages employees and can help keep them invested in the continued protection of company data. By allocating points and rewards, employees be more likely to internalise good cyber security habits and information and remain vigilant for potential threats.
For more information on how you can gamify cyber security processes to effectively integrate good cyber security hygiene into your workplace culture, contact Infotrust today.
