Cybercrime is a hot topic. So much so that there is now a genuine cybercrime escape room. It is a mobile escape room that can be rented for a full or half day. Participants are "hacked" for half an hour and then debrief with a professional about what exactly occurred and how to handle it.
This has been developed by Escape Room Designer from Stampersgat in Brabant. According to the company, it aims to make everyone aware of these dangers in an educational manner. The former commando trailer has been converted into an escape room where various topics within cybercrime are addressed.
Creator Frank Kastelein: "We have devised an engaging game in which we entice people to do things they should actually avoid. This includes using an unknown USB stick, paying ransom during a ransomware hack, and opening a phishing email. You notice that under time pressure, participants do everything wrong."
Cybersecurity experts
"You notice that under time pressure, participants do everything wrong."
Kastelein deliberately involves IT professionals in the development of the escape room. "IT students from Zoetermeer University of Applied Sciences helped develop props for the escape room. Additionally, participants receive a debriefing from a cybersecurity expert after the escape room. For this, we collaborate with partners such as De Gezonde Digitale Organisatie (DGDO), a subsidiary of IT service provider Nemesys Group from Oud-Beijerland."
Infosecurity and Data & Cloud Expo
The escape room was first introduced last autumn during the Data & Cloud Expo at the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht. "This was an immediate success. Following the introduction, many large banks, municipalities, companies, and healthcare institutions have already hired our escape room to make their employees more aware of the dangers of cybercrime. We are therefore busy developing a second escape room focused on cybercrime."
Russian spies
Kastelein was inspired by the significant publicity in October 2018 regarding Russian spies who attempted to hack the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague in April of that same year.
The participants in the escape room are supposedly in an MIVD trailer where these Russians have placed a bomb as an act of revenge after the MIVD publicly exposed them. The goal of the escape room is to defuse the bomb.
Defusing a bomb in Stampersgat: here is where you can do it
Sandra Moerland
A bomb has been planted in an MIVD military trailer. Because the Dutch government recently chose to publicly unmask the four Russian hackers, Putin sent his best spy, Natasha, to blow everything up. The bomb must be defused within an hour by completing various puzzles and tasks in the Cyber Security escape room by Escape Room Designer in Stampersgat.
The idea was dropped into owner Frank Kastelein’s (52) lap. He had been working on the mobile escape room for two years without knowing exactly what theme it would have. "I first thought of The Matrix, but I was still searching. When the news about the Russian hackers came out, I knew immediately that that had to be the theme. Cybersecurity is very hot right now," says Kastelein.
Puzzles
Various puzzles must be solved. The escape room is suitable for six to eight participants, and cooperation is essential to defuse the bomb within an hour. For example, there is a compartment with colored buttons that light up, and one must remember which button has which color. According to the designer, this is not something one can do alone without a photographic memory. Once the puzzle is solved, a door opens to the next part of the escape room. "The time pressure ensures that you become yourself within a minute. You move under the stress of a bomb that is about to explode, and it is interesting to see how everyone behaves then. It is all about cooperation and communication. We have a periscope that guides you through a maze when you look through it. You can go left and right. Using a joystick in another part of the room, you can move forward and backward. You only find that out by trying everything and communicating with each other."
Educational
The escape room is not only fun and enjoyable; it is also intended for participants to learn something about computer security. "All common mistakes regarding cybersecurity are featured in the escape room. For instance, at one point the phone rings and someone asks for a date of birth. You actually shouldn't give it, because many people use their date of birth as a password. We also have free Wi-Fi here, which is extremely dangerous. If you connect to it, you can be hacked in no time. We want to make people aware of the dangers while they are having fun in the meantime."
Frank Kastelein creates mobile escape rooms from truck trailers. Pictured with Cas, Demi, and Mélanie.
