18 Nov - Zachary N. J. Peterson - Can Games Fix What’s Wrong with Computer Security Education?

Abstract:

Year after year, we see reports, in both the US and the UK, on an ever increasing gap between the number of computer security professional we need and the number we expect to produce. While the reasons for this trend are varied, there is a perception (particularly among those new to computing) that security can be asocial and isolating, that it is void of creativity and individual expression, and lacks positive social relevance. But, as we all know, security can inherently have all of these qualities, which perhaps manifest themselves most clearly in cybersecurity games. Indeed, the freedoms of play inherent in games may directly address the qualities deficient in security pedagogy, with many educators now turning to security games, in and out of the classroom, as a meaningful tool for outreach and education. In this talk, we take a critical look at the use of games in cybersecurity education, and explore some of the ways games can (and cannot) fix computer security education.

Bio:

Zachary Peterson is an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, California. His technical background is in applied cryptography, particularly as applied to storage systems. He also has a passion for creating new ways of engaging students of all ages in computer security, especially through the use of games and play. He has co-created numerous security games, including [d0x3d!], a network security board game, and is the co-founder of ASE, a new USENIX workshop dedicated to making advances in security education. He is the recent recipient of a Cyber Security Fulbright Scholarship which he will use to continue some of his research at University College London, exploring the use of digital and non-digital games for teaching computer security concepts to new, young, and non-technical audiences.