%0 Journal Article %J Technology Innovation Management Review %D 2015 %T Cybersecurity Skills Training: An Attacker-Centric Gamified Approach %A Mackenzie Adams %A Maged Makramalla %K cyber attackers %K cybersecurity %K entrepreneur %K gamification %K training %X Although cybersecurity awareness training for employees is important, it does not provide the necessary skills training required to better protect businesses against cyber-attacks. Businesses need to invest in building cybersecurity skills across all levels of the workforce and leadership. This investment can reduce the financial burden on businesses from cyber-attacks and help maintain consumer confidence in their brands. In this article, we discuss the use of gamification methods that enable all employees and organizational leaders to play the roles of various types of attackers in an effort to reduce the number of successful attacks due to human vulnerability exploits. We combine two separate streams – gamification and entrepreneurial perspectives – for the purpose of building cybersecurity skills while emphasizing a third stream – attacker types (i.e., their resources, knowledge/skills, and motivation) – to create training scenarios. We also define the roles of attackers using various theoretical entrepreneurial perspectives. This article will be of interest to leaders who need to build cybersecurity skills into their workforce cost-effectively; researchers who wish to advance the principles and practices of gamification solutions; and suppliers of solutions to companies that wish to build cybersecurity skills in the workforce and leadership. %B Technology Innovation Management Review %I Talent First Network %C Ottawa %V 5 %P 5-14 %8 01/2015 %G eng %U http://timreview.ca/article/861 %N 1 %1 Carleton University Mackenzie Adams is a serial entrepreneur, a Senior Technical Communicator, and a graduate student in the Technology Innovation Management (TIM) program at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. She is also a VP/Creative Director at SOMANDA, a consulting company. Over the past 15 years, Mackenzie has worked in a variety of fields ranging from social work to accounting and has used those experiences to develop strong strategic and analytical skills. She is interested in the fields of artificial intelligence and quantum computing, and how they relate to cybersecurity. %2 Carleton University Maged Makramalla is a current graduate student in the Technology Innovation Management (TIM) program at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechatronics Engineering from the German University in Cairo, Egypt. For three years, he has been working as Manager of the Sales and Marketing Department of TREND, a trading and engineering company based in Cairo. His primary research interest lies in the improvement of educational techniques by introducing experiential learning into the regular curriculum while promoting gamification of educational methods. %R http://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/861