Symantec employees in the middle of the CyberWar Games (via Symantec)
The employees of Symantec, a cyber-security firm, work hard ensuring their customer's information is protected. But once every year they swap roles; they become the bad guys. Four years ago, the company introduced its CyberWar Games, an internal event where employees are challenged to become the criminal. How it works is by simulating an information breach modeled after a real life incident reported in the media. Employees then handle the attack as the malicious party. This year, over 1,500 employees registered to take part in the event and in February, the best teams from around the world traveled to Symantec's world headquarters in Mountain View, CA to compete in the finals.
This year the scenario dealt with a hospital conducting a clinical trial for a new drug. The attacker isn't happy about it and tries to stop the drug from going to market. In order to do so, the attacker has to sabotage data from the trial so the FDA can't approve it. The prize for the team that pulls it off is the satisfaction of being victorious.
While it sounds like a fun day at the office it's also a way to train employees on potential threats. The goal of this event is to help workers learn how cyber-criminals exploit applications, products, networks, and solutions, and what their motivation might be. It sounds unique, but many business and government-related organizations take similar measures by hiring ethical hackers or experts who attack a computer system on behalf of its owners to learn about its vulnerabilities. Who says all gaming is bad for you?
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