Capture the Flag as a Learning Tool to Improve Cybersecurity Education
The result's identifiers
Result code in IS VaVaI
<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216305%3A26220%2F26%3A0198738" target="_blank" >RIV/00216305:26220/26:0198738 - isvavai.cz</a>
Result on the web
<a href="https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17631277" target="_blank" >https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17631277</a>
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17631277" target="_blank" >10.5281/zenodo.17631277</a>
Alternative languages
Result language
angličtina
Original language name
Capture the Flag as a Learning Tool to Improve Cybersecurity Education
Original language description
Recent research has shown promising results in using gamified Capture the Flag (CTF) scenarios for cybersecurity education. This paper examines the effectiveness of a gamified CTF scenario among 83 university students. We analysed differences in effectiveness based on students' gender and field of study, including information security, computer science, engineering, and other study programs. The results show that participation in the CTF increased the knowledge related to the CTF content in all groups. Skills and self-efficacy also increased, except among information security students, for whom the difficulty level of the CTF was too low. The students perceived the CTF meaningful for learning and were satisfied with the experience. However, the findings suggest that gamified teaching may appeal more to men than women. Based on the study findings, we find that CTF is a suitable approach to offering practical cybersecurity exercises to students. With the appropriate difficulty level, it can be especially important for students in computer science programs to help them assess their cybersecurity skills more accurately. However, to increase the effectiveness of cybersecurity education, it is important to appropriately set the difficulty of CTF in relation to learning objectives and students' skill levels.
Czech name
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Czech description
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Classification
Type
D - Article in proceedings
CEP classification
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OECD FORD branch
50301 - Education, general; including training, pedagogy, didactics [and education systems]
Result continuities
Project
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Continuities
S - Specificky vyzkum na vysokych skolach
Others
Publication year
2025
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů
Data specific for result type
Article name in the collection
Proceedings of the 53rd Annual Conference of the European Society for Engineering Education (SEFI 2025)
ISBN
978-2-87352-029-8
ISSN
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e-ISSN
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Number of pages
10
Pages from-to
1-10
Publisher name
Zenodo
Place of publication
Tampere, Finland
Event location
Tampere
Event date
Sep 15, 2025
Type of event by nationality
EUR - Evropská akce
UT code for WoS article
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