3 ms·

The actual term of war gaming dates back to the 19th century, where generals would simulate battles or campaigns to practice and determine the viability of stra

The actual term of war gaming dates back to the 19th century, where generals would simulate battles or campaigns to practice and determine the viability of strategies. Modern militaries will conduct war games (distinct from military exercises, though sometimes both are done together) involving dozens of people on each side. I actually think that would be pretty cool to try and implement for cybersecurity, having multiple people working together as an APT group, or a security operations team. Especially if you have both sides competing against each other. I imagine that would be really difficult to implement, making it realistic while not having it take months to play.

mcguire 5y ago
There are certainly such games existing, although I can't recall any particular cybersecurity games offhand. One resource for more entertainment games is the megagaming thing (https://megagamecoalition.com/ https://megagamecoalition.com/ is a starting point): "Megagames combine the physical mechanics of board games with the fluid emergent gameplay of role‐playing games at large player counts (40‐80 players). Players are encouraged to be creative but must act within the existing game mechanics and established setting. Megagames range in time length, ranging from two hours to entire weekends. A team of moderators (Control) coordinate the game, adjudicate rules, and make sure players have the best experience possible!" Another semi-professional ("Professional games" being run by the DoD or various militaries for training or analysis.) option is the National Security Decision Making Game (https://paxsims.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/the-national-security-decision-making-game/ https://paxsims.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/the-national-securi...). Pre-COVID, they ran a pandemic game several times that was at least somewhat prescient. Oh, and I'd be remiss to not mention the Connections group of conferences (One or more on every continent except Antarctica, I think.) (https://connections-wargaming.com/ https://connections-wargaming.com/) They have discussions primarily of professional games, but topics like megagaming, cybersecurity, and the NSDMG are common---it's open to anyone who wants to take gaming seriously. There will be a (free!) Connections Online in Summer 2022; strongly recommended. The History of Wargaming Project (http://www.wargaming.co http://www.wargaming.co) has branched out to print several books on cybersecurity gaming. Naturally I can't get to their website now, but a couple are The Handbook of Cyber Wargames (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086WMMYS4/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i43 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086WMMYS4/ref=dbs_a_def_r...) and Dark Guest (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J3OVJXG/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i81 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J3OVJXG/ref=dbs_a_def_r...) There's a giant rabbit hole here if you're interested.

mcguire 5y ago

There are certainly such games existing, although I can't recall any particular cybersecurity games offhand. One resource for more entertainment games is the megagaming thing (https://megagamecoalition.com/ https://megagamecoalition.com/ is a starting point): "Megagames combine the physical mechanics of board games with the fluid emergent gameplay of role‐playing games at large player counts (40‐80 players). Players are encouraged to be creative but must act within the existing game mechanics and established setting. Megagames range in time length, ranging from two hours to entire weekends. A team of moderators (Control) coordinate the game, adjudicate rules, and make sure players have the best experience possible!" Another semi-professional ("Professional games" being run by the DoD or various militaries for training or analysis.) option is the National Security Decision Making Game (https://paxsims.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/the-national-security-decision-making-game/ https://paxsims.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/the-national-securi...). Pre-COVID, they ran a pandemic game several times that was at least somewhat prescient. Oh, and I'd be remiss to not mention the Connections group of conferences (One or more on every continent except Antarctica, I think.) (https://connections-wargaming.com/ https://connections-wargaming.com/) They have discussions primarily of professional games, but topics like megagaming, cybersecurity, and the NSDMG are common---it's open to anyone who wants to take gaming seriously. There will be a (free!) Connections Online in Summer 2022; strongly recommended. The History of Wargaming Project (http://www.wargaming.co http://www.wargaming.co) has branched out to print several books on cybersecurity gaming. Naturally I can't get to their website now, but a couple are The Handbook of Cyber Wargames (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086WMMYS4/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i43 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086WMMYS4/ref=dbs_a_def_r...) and Dark Guest (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J3OVJXG/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i81 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J3OVJXG/ref=dbs_a_def_r...) There's a giant rabbit hole here if you're interested.