In the gloom of the operations room the five Presidents huddled together with the arbitrator. The flickering of the electric lights, as the generator strained to maintain the required current, was the only sign that they were deep underground in a bunker. But that was far from the minds of these individuals, elected as leaders by their respective super-states, who were now completely focussed on saving the world from nuclear Armageddon.
The participants in this event had been brought to the safety of a secret nuclear bunker, with a clear mission to save the world, two days beforehand. They needed to decommission the world’s weapons and destroy infected computer systems before a rogue AI could wipe out humanity. In the charged atmosphere there were key decisions to be made. The most important was whether they should share resources to help weaker states, thereby risking their geo-political supremacy, or face oblivion together.
As the meeting concluded the message was clear, they would work together to save everyone, but in doing so some of the Presidents had handed away their political and technological advantage. As the final traces of the AI were wiped away alongside the weapons it had sought to exploit, a victor could now be crowned.
These were the final frantic scenes at the 2017 edition of MWR InfoSecurity’s immersive training event, called HackFu. Behind all the challenges, political positioning and fun there were some interesting outcomes to reflect on. These are the aspects that make it far more challenging than any other event of its type and is an important aspect of chronyko’s approach to training and development.
Over the course of 48 hours 100 attendees, split into 5 different teams, had worked hard to solve puzzles and challenges that tested a wide range of skills required in Cyber Security roles. From technical knowledge to Leadership, Negotiation Collaboration and even the hardships of surviving in a cold and damp bunker for 2 days, they had tested themselves to the limit. For HackFu is more than a simple Capture the Flag event, it is an immersive assault course that tests critical business skills through to high-end technical prowess and everything in between.
While the individual puzzles at the event provided their own challenge, the specific scenario created via the storytelling tested something far greater. It presented four separate outcomes to the event that directly linked to the teams’ ability to work towards both shared and individual goals. More importantly, these potential outcomes created conflicting choices for the participants. Should they attempt to win for their team at all costs, should they co-operate and forget individual ambition or would they take the dangerous route and find both shared and individual victory.
One of the key aims of HackFu is to create a safe space for the participants to play with scenarios that they might encounter in the real world. In this instance the construct examined the challenges around working inside an industry with competitive pressures but shared aims and goals. The cyber security industry is focused on protecting its clients and in many ways all of us as employees, consumers and citizens, but with the knowledge that no one company can solve the challenges on its own.
Many organisations face a similar scenario to that found in HackFu, how much effort should they invest in working with their competitors for shared success and how much for their own individual business success? HackFu gave the participants the opportunity to test this real-world challenge out for themselves and to learn practically what it means and what some of the implications are.
The outcome showed us that when teams have a clear vision and understanding of their goals then competitive differences can be put to one side. A common good can be reached, especially when shared failure is the other option. It also showed us that co-operation and competitive spirit are not mutually exclusive and if our teams and the organisations they work for understand this then the future is bright.
HackFu is an immersive team based event run by F-Secure for its employees and invited guests from the cyber security industry and beyond. The event is facilitated by chronyko who have over 10 years experience working with MWR on this and many other immersive training and skills development events.