Disconnected is a new game by Kaspersky to play at work

Kaspersky has released a new, rich in stories, video game, designed for mobile devices, entitled [Dis] connected. The interactive adventure is essentially a dip in the daily life of a person in the near future, who strives to balance in a healthy way his professional and personal life and to succeed both professionally and personally. In order to enhance traditional cybersecurity awareness-raising training programs aimed at businesses, the game emphasizes the benefits of safe behavior and can be used to enhance employees' existing knowledge. The game is suitable for educational and multimedia projects nationwide.

According to a recent survey by Kaspersky on IT and cybersecurity professionals, 50% of businesses currently have cyber hygiene programs. However, employees may be reluctant to participate in these training programs. Staff members may consider it possible to take on someone else's work, as companies have a specialized department working around this area and simply do not realize how cyber security affects their lives. As a result, even when they have completed the training program and learned the best practices, they still act as before completing the training.

As a recognized leader in safety awareness training in 2021, included in the integrated SA&T vendor functionality section of Forrester's Now Tech report, Kaspersky is constantly evolving its training programs and inventing new state-of-the-art learning techniques. So, in order to make the training more attractive and to increase the interest of the employees in issues related to information security, the company presented its new game [Dis] connected.

In the game, players live one day (24 hours) into the future, at a time when smart devices are able to cook breakfast, while underwater houses and human augmentation have become commonplace. Despite technological advances, some of the issues that concern people today still exist. For example, the character of the game has to solve a series of professional and business tasks at the same time. She loves working with an innovative implant maker. However, it will be acquired by a competitor and the terms of the acquisition depend to a large extent on how successfully the player's mission will be fulfilled. In his personal life, the goal is not to break up with his / her partner, who is upset that they spend less time together, while maintaining good relationships with colleagues and remaining productive.

The choices made by players in the various fields ultimately prove to be interrelated. For example, in the event of a conflict with a colleague, players will not be notified of significant changes to their project. Conversely, if the conversation with colleagues lasts too long, players will miss their project deadlines.

Cybersecurity elements are naturally embedded in the plot, to show how decisions related to that particular sphere can help achieve or break down character goals. For example, players who decide to save time and not update their implants will not boost their productivity and therefore will not be able to complete their tasks on time. In total, during the game, a user will need to discover the solution to a total of 24 cases that cover topics such as passwords and accounts, email, cyber browsing, social networking and messaging applications, computer security and mobile devices.

The story has many alternative endings depending on the decisions that are made. Users will receive a brief report on how successfully they have completed their project and managed developments in their personal lives, as well as an assessment of their security skills and knowledge.

The one-hour play is provided with fragmented access, with each session lasting up to ten minutes. This makes it easier to understand and helps the player maintain their knowledge. The game can be offered after employees take training courses in order to cross-check all the knowledge they have acquired about cyber security and motivate them to put their skills into practice. When used in urban or national projects, the game raises public awareness of cyber security.

[Dis] connected is currently only available for corporate clients. It runs on Android and iOS smartphones.