Cybersecurity awareness and training with a difference: EU Cyberpolicy Forum under the banner of KIPS

Jochen Michels, Head of Public Affairs Europe, Kaspersky

The clock is ticking. The United Nations First Committee is under attack – and you have to detect, mitigate, and react. In order to ensure international peace and stability. This is not a plot for the upcoming James Bond movie. It is the challenge you as an attendee of Kaspersky’s Interactive Protection Simulation (KIPS) scenario Cyber Stability Games have to master. At Kaspersky’s EU Cyberpolicy Forum held at the end of November, Members of Parliament, ministerial officials as well as employees of cybersecurity and police authorities from the EU and the Member States took part in such a training to increase awareness of the challenges of cybersecurity.

They acted as diplomats at the United Nations in a fictional world and became victim of a large-scale cyber-attack. This is how KIPS brings cybersecurity to life. Those involved become directly affected. They have actually to react to the incident, as a national delegation, in cooperation with other delegations, the UN, other international actors, CERTs, and the cybersecurity industry. KIPS is an interactive and engaging training simulation based on a gamification approach. It could take place both onsite and online.

Participants decide on funds and time to spend on certain activities and measures that could bring them closer to understanding the nature of the attack. They discuss and decide how to mitigate the consequences of the incident and to maintain the organization's ability to act. They discuss and decide how to provide appropriate and fact-based information to the public, and resolve the incident in a technically proficient manner. In doing so, the participants gain a first-hand experience about the difficulty of taking key decisions in situations of uncertainty.

As in reality, decisions are made under time pressure and under the influence of stress. This creates a personal involvement that can contribute more than facts to a change in awareness or sharpening of sensitivity. The feedback from the participants was accordingly: ‘A great experience’, ‘a perfect simulation’, ‘excellent introduction and moderation!’ to give just a few examples.

Are you interested in running such a simulation for your institution or together with partners, whether online or in-person? Please have a look at the dedicated brochure here. We hope to see you at one of our KIPS exercises soon! Moreover: Be excited about the four editions of the EU Cyberpolicy Forum 2022.