NATO SAS 129: Gamification of Cyber Defence and Resilience

The final, unclassified report of NATO SAS (System Analysis and Studies) research task group 129 is now available on the NATO STO website.

Readers of this final report can expect to find a comprehensive guide to understanding, designing, developing, onboarding, and deploying game-based learning systems. The team gathered their collective expertise and their own lessons learned gained during their study developing and testing various game-based learning systems for cyber security. This guide is targeted to experts who are focusing on game-based learning approaches for enhancing current defence and education training and education methods. Critical distinctions are provided in the report for understanding and differentiating games, serious games, gamification, simulations, and wargames. The most common development problems and lessons learned from cyber security serious game projects are compiled within this report. Chosen design and development methodologies are discussed in depth for providing a quick guide to best practices to serious game development. These discussions were supported by case studies based on the SAS-129 team’s own prototype development experience. The report also contains key information for experts looking for information on understanding the transformational needs of an organisation wishing to integrate game-based learning systems into its larger educational framework. Finally, the report includes a taxonomy of Cyber Security related game-based approaches that SAS-129 either developed or examined during its study. The taxonomy provides an overview of the full spectrum of game-based learning methodologies applicable to cyber security training.

SAS-129’s main objective is to effectively enhance information security and cyber defence education and training through the use of serious gaming and gamification approaches. PAXsims associate editor Tom Fisher was one of the contributors to the study and report.