Using Games to Improve Network Security Decisions
Timeline
How to participate
Contact
Concept
Downloads
"A computer lets you make more mistakes faster than any invention in human history - with the possible exceptions of handguns and tequila" -Mitch Ratcliffe
Apr 9 - Deadline medio april
The game prototype is expected to be ready for testing and release shortly after medio april.
New screenshot
Feb 26 - First prototype will be released this week.
In the meantime you can check out the editor version, which is ready for download.
Click here to download.
NB! Please ensure that you have the .NET framework version 2.0 installed or visit the windows update site to get it (http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/)
Screenshot (click to enlarge)
Feb. 2 - First conceptual draft
Feb. 1 - Test program ready for download
The problem
Too often, knowledge about network- and information- security is accumulated through first-hand experiences, or "learning by burning". The implications of security breaches can be enormous in both cost and reputation, and in some worst-case scenarios, companies or enterprises might never recover from these events. Numerous security breaches could have been avoided if people had better knowledge so that they could make better security decisions, both prior to an incident, and afterwards to reduce the damage caused by these incidents.
Most users know little about information security. Large scale attacks are often accomplished through the use of hosts in home networks, which in turn were compromised because its owners didn’t know how to secure their systems.
Although there are tools, games and simulators, that can be used to increase people’s knowledge, they seem to focus on special areas of interests, and are often aimed at experts in these areas. Also, access to these tools is often restricted.
Knowledge can be built through literature, but it can be hard to know what to look for, when you don’t know what the problem is, or what the challenges are. Average users seldom look for literature to improve their knowledge, due to lack of motivation or awareness.
Research Questions
How can a game about network security be motivational and at the same time improve knowledge on how to make better network security decisions?
These questions and others related to network security and learning are the ones we would like to answer in this thesis. This project is a part of the MSc course in Information Security at Gjøvik University College (GUC) and the Norwegian Information Security Laboratory (NISLab).
