Cybersecurity Awareness Month, D3: Learning can be fun

As you may have noticed, Day 3 of Cybersecurity Awareness Month is a Saturday. That's my excuse for making this third article in my "31 days of Cybersecurity Awareness" a shorter one. (Plus, I was busy earlier today presenting my talk on "How Hackers Save Humanity" at an online event: CornCon 2020.)

Although this post is a short one, it is hopefully a fun one because it features a computer game that combines hand-eye coordination and quick thinking with IT security awareness. 

The game is part of something called Descobrim, a game platform created by my brother, Mike Cobb. One of the many cool things about Mike is that he's an ace coder as well as a Certified Information System Security Professional (CISSP).  

Mike originally developed the game to be played over the internet in a browser on a laptop or desktop computer using the arrow keys on a regular keyboard. But when he created a test version for mobile devices—played by tilting your device—the feedback was so positive that Descobrim is now an Android game, available from the Google Play store. 

You can learn about the game platform on the Descobrim website. The individual games are referred to as "exhibitions" and cover a wide range of topics—from animals and nature to food and sports—with more being added all the time. For example, here's a description of the IT Security Awareness exhibition (which was curated by me).

Each exhibition has a number of images arranged in layers which can be painted or revealed by moving tools around the screen, scoring points, earning rewards, and trying to beat the clock while avoiding hidden obstacles. 

For each image revealed there are relevant facts, useful tips, or helpful pieces of related information. This gives Descobrim considerable educational potential when combined with the very engaging game play. Here's what it looks like on my phone, where I am the player called Hexlibra, about to start the IT Security Awareness exhibition:

If you're interested and have an Android phone or tablet you can go to the Google Play store, search for Descobrim, and try it out today, and not just for the IT Security Awareness exhibit—there is one about Smiles that I really like (many exhibits leverage great photos shared @Unsplash, as well as Pexels and Pixabay). 

Please leave me feedback if you have questions, comments, or suggestions (messaging via @zcobb works quite well for that). In 2021, I may be revising the IT Security Awareness exhibit and/or creating new ones.

"Do Your Part. #BeCyberSmart."