Open Access

Pöhler Luca, Marko Schuba, Tim Höner, Sacha Hack, Georg Neugebauer

• The increasing significance of information technology (IT) security in modern life and the rising number of cybersecurity regulations and legislation are creating a high demand for IT security experts, which is currently unmet, resulting in numerous vacancies. To address this shortage of skilled professionals, it is crucial to cultivate early interest among students. In the present study, the game-based system CampusQuest is introduced as a tool to engage students in cybersecurity from the outset and to stimulate their ambition in this field. The system is based on the concept of solving challenges, similar to the format of so-called Capture the Flag competitions. However, the challenges have been adapted to align with the specific context of a university campus, combining various additional elements. CampusQuest incorporates physical elements into the challenges, which are distributed permanently across the campus and motivate individuals to participate. Additionally, the system has been enhanced with a mechanism to prevent the dissemination of solutions. The system has been implemented in a prototype form and currently comprises eleven challenges of varying degrees of difficulty, which is designed to facilitate the introduction of the subject to first-year students.