May 2017
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Gamifying Cybersecurity

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

For many organizations, employees are the weakest link in the cybersecurity chain. Hackers know this and exploit human nature to gain access to valuable data. “Successful attacks often involve poor processes and exploit human tendencies,” says Sean Duca, Palo Alto Networks' vice president and regional chief security officer for Asia Pacific. “To reduce an organization’s threat surface, the focus of regular employee training needs to shift from reaction to prevention. Companies need to put themselves ahead of emerging threats.” He says that for cybersecurity training initiatives to be successful, education must move away from compliance-driven approaches. One way to do this is through the gamification of security training. First, organizations should develop exciting and engaging training exercises to show employees how to avoid cyber attacks, and also learn about security vulnerabilities. “Gamifying will help make the training process more exciting and engaging for employees, increasing employee awareness of cybersecurity practices, including how to deal with attacks correctly," Duca says. Second, incentives and rewards should be built into the program. By rewarding positive outcomes, employees are more likely to engage in more secure behaviors in their day-to-day work.

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