On July 11, 2017, Nextgov.com, an all-day information resource for federal technology decision makers, highlighted Comic-BEE and the use of comics to boost cyber training.
During a Homeland Security Department conference Tuesday, the company Secure Decisions presented a new interactive tool it’s developed that allows companies and educators to lay out cybersecurity lessons into interactive web comics without hiring a developer or graphics designer.
The tool, Comic-Based Education and Evaluation, or Comic-BEE, was developed with funding from DHS’ Science and Technology division.
Organizations that use the tool can storyboard various cybersecurity challenges, projects and dilemmas using cartoon figures and thought bubbles, Laurin Buchanan, Secure Decisions’ principal investigator for cybersecurity education research, said during a demo at DHS’ Research and Development Showcase.
They can also set up logic chains of correct and incorrect responses and track how well students and trainees perform, Buchanan said.
Buchanan showed a sample page in which a woman names Alice must choose whether to share her password with someone on the phone who claims to be “Bob in IT.” (Hint: Bad idea, Alice.) Other tutorials can tackle more complex cybersecurity topics, Buchanan said.
The tool has been piloted at Stony Brook University in New York and at cyber-focused summer camps, including GenCyber, sponsored by the National Security Agency and the National Science Foundation, Buchanan said. It’s now available free to government agencies.
