Re-Visiting Cyber Security Training in the COVID-19 Era

Abstract

Cyber security training, as many other aspects in our lives, has been adapted to address concerns related to travel restrictions and group gatherings resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, ENISA, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity, had to re-visit and significantly modify its already established course on Information Security Management and ICT security, which is provided under the auspices of the European Security and Defence College (ESDC). The program provides public employees the opportunity to gain the necessary knowledge and skills to assume an Information Security Management role. The restructured course was introduced to address the COVID-19 restrictions and has proven to be equally effective to the classroom-delivered course, if not more effective at some parts. This paper presents the main structure of the fully online training, its innovative elements, and the assessment results which prove that COVID-19 pandemic has triggered the introduction of innovative and successful on-line training scenarios.