Cyber Attack! A Story-driven Educational Hacking Game
Ersin Dincelli, Alper Yayla, Łukasz Kusyk · SSRN Electronic Journal · 2020
There is an urgent need for cyber-security professionals as large-scale data breaches and hacks are becoming daily occurrences. However, several perceived barriers prevent the young generation from pursuing a cyber-security-related career. One of the major barriers is the perception that cyber-security is a purely technical field that requires expertise in computer science. Attracting young people to join the cyber-security workforce requires innovative pedagogical methods that go beyond the traditional cyber-security education, especially to make the field more accessible. We postulate that game-based learning can motivate young generations to learn more about cyber-security and reduce the perceived barriers that prevent them from considering cyber-security-related career paths. To pursue this thesis, we developed Cyber Attack, a story-driven cyber-security video game that incorporates various gamification elements that focus on fundamental cyber-security concepts. This paper details the design principles we followed for the early version of Cyber Attack.