360 Degrees of Security: Can VR Increase the Sustainability of ISA Trainings?

Abstract

What companies need are employees who have an appropriate level of information security awareness (ISA). This paper examined ways to increase existing ISA knowledge. The core of the work was to investigate the possibility of a more sustainable effect of knowledge enhancement in relation to ISA through virtual reality (VR). For this purpose, VR training and traditional video training were compared within a subject study. In order to create the most efficient video training possible, a qualitative literature research was first conducted on the topic of knowledge transfer in general. This was followed by the development of didactic guiding principles for an optimized learning video. Both training courses were then tested. Theoretically, a sustainable effect of increasing ISA knowledge through VR training has been proven. However, within the scope of the subject study, no sustainable increase in ISA knowledge can be proven through VR training in comparison to video training. Therefore, the didactic and immersive possibilities of VR technology need to be further explored in follow-up studies.