Educational Games to Teach Fundamental Principles of Cybersecurity

The benefit of using serious games in education has been known for more than a decade [Dicerbo, 2012; Guillen-Nieto, 2015]. Recently, the use of games to introduce cybersecurity principles to students in grades 5-12 has been conducted. Results have been very positive and the potential to replicate what was done in cybersecurity for other STEM disciplines has been proposed. This paper will address the use of the Cyber Threat Defender (CTD) Collectible Card Game to introduce cybersecurity principles to students. Of importance, especially to rural and Title I schools, is the use of the game along with lesson plans which have been developed to be used by teachers who have no background in cybersecurity. A second game, the Community Cybersecurity Game, was also briefly introduced as a companion that addresses a separate aspect of cybersecurity.