Nobody likes to think about the impact that a cyber attack could have on their business, but unfortunately, it's not something you can ignore. Cyber attacks are rising all the time, with organizations of all sizes and across all industries experiencing attempted - and often successful - ransomware, phishing, and assorted malware hits. 

It's partly because there are so many more opportunities in 2022; the rising volume of tech devices used for business offers a massive number of endpoints for hackers to target. Ernst & Young research has found that 33.6% of companies had detected malware in their systems and 65% found phishing emails. 

Additionally, our digitally connected world means that every business is linked to every other business through far less than seven degrees. No company is too minor, no vertical too obscure. Hackers consider everything worth a try. Every organization and each employee is a target.

But it's not so easy keeping your employees on their toes and alert to social engineering attacks at all times, and it's only natural to adapt to threats and let your guard down over time. Ironically, your cybersecurity effectiveness can be the victim of your success at protecting your company. The more time goes by without an attack, the more your employees are likely to relax, potentially clicking through on a nefarious message. 

Fortunately, deploying gamified security awareness can help CIOs and CISOs to maintain awareness across the entire organization. Here are seven reasons why gamification is key. 

1. Ensure employees are engaged

It's a lot easier to organize cybersecurity awareness training seminars than to make sure that everyone attends and, more importantly, pays attention. Gamifying the process turns training into something enjoyable, and even addictive. Employees are a lot more likely to remain focused throughout the entire course when it's closer in flavor to Call of Duty than a high school math lesson. 

Gamified cybersecurity awareness can hit those dopamine receptors in the brain that cause a happiness rush, making your employees eager to complete the training and try again if their scores don't measure up, helping boost participation and completion rates. 

2. Boost memory retention

It's human nature to remember more about a fun experience than a disagreeable one. Introducing gamification turns training into something that has pleasant associations, rather than a sense of wasting time in a boring lecture, and that helps employees retain more information.  

Gamified training rewards participants with points and prizes, which creates feedback loops that help them internalize the underlying lesson. Because it's immersive, it can engage more of the senses, which further increases the likelihood that employees will remember material. Finally, the fully experiential nature of gamified learning also encourages positive changes on a behavioral level, rather than just an intellectual one, which are more likely to last. 

3. Make training realistic

Your cybersecurity lecturer or awareness workshop isn't going to be able to accurately replicate a real life cyber threat, no matter how good it is. Gamification, on the other hand, offers the opportunity to place your employees in a real life situation with a threat that looks, feels, and sounds authentic. 

You don't want to wait for a genuine danger to come along before your employees get the chance to carry out the right actions. Once you gamify your training, you can accurately simulate realistic security risks that deliver a more effective practice experience. Gamified awareness training allows you to expose them to circumstances that could be perilous for your business safety, without actually taking any extra risks. 

4. Raise employee alertness

You want your employees to take email scams and other cyber threats seriously enough that they remain cautious and aware at all times, but it's hard to convey that level of severity through traditional training programs. 

By putting them into immersive, multi-sensory gamified situations, you'll bring home the dangers that cyber attacks pose not just to your business, but to everyone's daily lives. This can stimulate an adrenaline response which leaves a lasting impression, helping everybody to grasp just how important it is to stay focused around cyber security today, tomorrow, and every day after that. 

5. Keep your training relevant

Hackers are constantly evolving their attack modes and refining their tactics, so you need your cybersecurity training to keep up. 

It's hard to update traditional awareness programs to the latest threat intelligence or new hacking techniques when they're changing so quickly, raising the risks that your training could already be out of date. But gamified training uses digital platforms that can be adjusted quickly and easily, so you can update the experience as soon as new threats appear. 

6. Run training constantly

If you only run cybersecurity training once a quarter, or even once a month, there's plenty of time for employees to forget what they learned and for awareness to fade. Gamified training, however, can be run constantly, on demand, and in bite-size sessions. 

This way, employees are constantly honing their skills. There won't be any extended pauses between training sessions when their skills can lapse and alertness can fade. 

7. Personalize training for employee needs

One size rarely fits all, and that's true for cyber security awareness training as well as for clothing. Some employees are naturally harder to deceive with a phishing attack, while others are more trusting and more likely to click to download apparently innocent software. 

Gamifying your training allows you to deliver a more personalized experience for each employee, providing effective training to each one. A gamified platform captures data about each employee's responses, so you can see their individual weaknesses and shape their training to strengthen the areas most in need. 

Gamification strengthens your organization's cyber defenses 

Keeping employees aware of the risks of a cyber attack is top of the list for every enterprise, and gamification is one of the best ways to achieve it. By using gamified cybersecurity awareness training, you can deliver the realistic, up to date, and personalized experiences that boost engagement and alertness among your employees, helping protect your company from malicious attacks.