Simon Gibbs & Devika Gibbs -- Building Bridges with Games

Security education often struggles because the people in the room are being talked at instead of invited to participate. Simon and Devika Gibbs, the duo behind CyberSec Games, explain how tabletop games can turn abstract security concepts into shared experiences that connect developers, security practitioners, and business teams. They trace their path from agile stationery into threat-modeling games, describe what they learned from Elevation of Privilege and OWASP Cornucopia, and discuss the community that helped shape their work. The pair also introduce the Cybersecurity Game Challenge, including who can enter, how ideas are judged, and what winning makes possible. Their larger argument is simple: play lowers barriers, creates conversation, and can make difficult security lessons memorable enough to change behavior.

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Connect with Simon and Devika Gibbs:
→ Simon Gibbs on LinkedIn
→ Devika Gibbs on LinkedIn
→ CyberSec Games

Mentioned in this episode:
→ CyberSec Games
→ Cybersecurity Game Challenge
→ Elevation of Privilege
→ OWASP Cornucopia
→ Threat Modeling Manifesto
→ Adam Shostack
→ EU Cyber Resilience Act

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Chapters:
00:00 Meet Simon and Devika Gibbs
02:39 From business analysis to game design
05:36 Printing the Threat Modeling Manifesto
06:27 What is CyberSec Games?
08:38 Games bring people together
11:13 A welcome from the security community
14:34 Building bridges across disciplines
18:00 Discovering Elevation of Privilege
19:35 The return on a simple card deck
22:45 How popular are security games?
26:21 The Cybersecurity Game Challenge
28:43 Judges and community contributors
30:33 What can the winner receive?
32:12 A future security-game reality show
33:29 How and when to enter
35:07 The audience homework assignment