If you want to perform at your best, then taking regular breaks from work is essential. As studies have shown, focusing on a single task for extended periods of time causes our brains to lose focus.
Our brains simply need time away from work in order to rejuvenate.
Experts proclaim taking short breaks from work help to restore our energy, sharpen our focus, and boost our productivity. Suggested activities include going for a walk, taking a 15-minute nap, practicing yoga, and snacking on healthy foods.
You could also play a game. But if you’re tired of the classics (i.e., Solitaire, Minesweeper, Sudoku, Crossword Puzzles, etc.), alternatives exist.
Being that October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, what better way to take a break from work than by playing a game designed around cybersecurity?! The advantages are two-fold. Not only will you be able to recharge your batteries, but you’ll also increase your cyber awareness.
Below is a list of five games you can play during your work breaks that’ll put your cyber defense knowledge to the test.
Cybersecurity Games
Keep Tradition Secure
If you’re an alumnus of Texas A&M, you’re bound to love this game. Created by the University’s Division of Information Technology, the game aims to test the user’s knowledge of both cybersecurity and Texas A&M traditions. In it, a hacker codenamed “Bad_Bull” is threatening Texas A&M traditions and the onus is placed on the user to accurately answer a series of cybersecurity questions and riddles to stop him.
Hot Spot
In this game, you’re challenged with hunting down habitual cybersecurity violations in a simulated work environment. The idea is that by finding and fixing these security violations, you will intuitively learn how to react to similar violations in real life.
Cybersecurity Lab
Created by NOVA Labs, this is a game in which players discover how they can keep their digital lives safe while developing an understanding of cyber threats and defenses. In it, players work for a start-up social network company that has become the target of increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks. In order to grow the tiny company into a global empire, players must complete challenges to grow their cyber defenses and thwart their attackers. There are four major gameplay components: a coding challenge, a password challenge, a social engineering challenge, and a series of cyber battles.
Targeted Attack: The Game
An educational game offered by Trend Micro, Targeted Attack: The Game is based on the format of the “Choose Your Own Adventure” books. As the CIO of The Fugle, a global organization on the verge of making the first release of a biometrically authenticated mobile payment app, you are tasked with steering the project through its final stages. To be successful, you must make the right choices to keep the project on time, on budget, and safe from attack.
If you have a little more time on your hands, and enjoy playing games in a team setting, you may enjoy:
CyberEscape Online
An escape room is a game in which a team of players discover clues, solve puzzles, and accomplish tasks in one or more rooms in order to accomplish a specific goal in a limited amount of time. CyberEscape Online uses that concept and puts a cybersecurity twist on it. Designed by Living Security, this is a team-based cybersecurity training platform meant to make learning about cybersecurity fun. The experience requires users to answer questions and solve puzzles before time runs out in order to “escape” the room.
