Is cyber security training a box-ticking exercise in your organisation?
For too many companies, cyber security training exists to satisfy onboarding procedures or yearly requirements that use traditional approaches to share knowledge. You might have experienced these lecture-based models where one person used a presentation to discuss the anatomy of a phishing email. How much of the presentation did you remember?
If you struggled to remember most of the material, your attention span is not at fault. These training approaches do not encourage active participation or memory retention, and many other people would struggle to recall the material.
Here is why your current cyber security training program falls short and how gamified training reinforces good security behaviours.
Your training uses traditional, passive learning methods
Traditional cyber security training often feels like a great waste of time. Too many of us sit through these sessions thinking about deadlines that distract us from absorbing information. If your organisation has delivered lecture-based training – whether digital or in-person – some people might have completed work and tuned out the training.
Interactive sessions encourage immersion to help people actively engage with training and retain the knowledge gained. For example, the Learning Pyramid shows that a passive teaching method, such as lecturing, has a knowledge retention rate of 5%, while participatory teaching methods encourage 50 – 90% knowledge retention.
The immediate feedback and tips provided in gamified training further reinforce learning. Actively engaging with and applying the material in simulated scenarios enhances the likelihood of retaining and recalling information when facing real cyber threats.
It does not provide a fun cyber security training experience
Traditional, lecture-based cyber security training is not conducive to engagement. A gamified approach, such as escape rooms, changes this by giving teams a fun incentive to learn about cyber security. People engage with themes like hacking, piracy, or space exploration and apply cyber security knowledge to solve puzzles and codes.
Gamified training emphasises teamwork and practical problem-solving in time-sensitive situations, mirroring real-world cyber security challenges. This makes the learning process more engaging and equips learners with skills to quickly respond to real threats.
It does not transform your team into a human firewall
People often pose the biggest risk to a company’s cyber security. Human error accounted for 26% of data breaches reported to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) between January and June 2023.
Gamified training helps your team retain critical cyber security knowledge that transforms them from a risk into your first line of defence. It engages staff in practical scenarios where they apply cyber security principles, converting theoretical knowledge into practical skills.
Embedding these practices into the company’s culture strengthens your cyber security posture. Gamified training educates your team and fosters a proactive security mindset, turning staff into an effective, informed firewall.
Types of personal information involved in breaches
Source: OAIC.
Conclusion
Gamified approaches, such as Escape Rooms, transform cyber security training into an interactive, fun experience that encourages knowledge retention. The information gained becomes ingrained when your team actively applies what they have learned and collaborates on solutions. This means people have the tools to respond quickly in a real cyber security scenario. Gamified training decreases the chances of human error and turns people into the company’s first line of defence.
Gamify cyber security training with Layer 8’s Escape Rooms
We designed our Cyber Escape Rooms using scientifically proven methods that help people gain and retain cyber security knowledge. They are an opportunity to bring everyone together, with physical rooms for in-office teams or virtual options for distributed workforces.
We have over 5,000 participants who have earned their Level 1 in our Cyber Awareness certification. Visit our Cyber Escape Rooms page to book a preview.
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