CyGamBIT
A game-based learning platform developed at Bournemouth University and funded through Innovate UK CyberASAP. The research that validated Cyber Innovations' approach to human-layer cybersecurity education.
The research prototype that shaped everything we do
CyGamBIT was the beginning. Developed at Bournemouth University and supported by HEIF funding, it began as a question: could game-based learning make cybersecurity education genuinely effective for people who have no technical background?
The answer, validated through the Innovate UK CyberASAP accelerator, was yes. CyGamBIT demonstrated that scenario-based, psychologically informed learning could shift not just awareness, but behaviour. That research directly shaped the Human Layer Kill Chain model and the pedagogical approach now embedded in Cyber Self Defence.
CyGamBIT is still available to play. But its most important role today is as evidence: proof that the approach underpinning Cyber Innovations' products is grounded in real research, real testing, and real results.
The same multi-ontological framework, the same theoretical models, and the same human-centred design principles that shaped CyGamBIT are now embedded across Cyber Self Defence, the CSD Toolkit, and Cyber Innovations' evaluation methodology.
CyGamBIT in practice
Watch how CyGamBIT works, how players engage with real-world scenarios, and how the game creates the kind of learning conversations that stay with people long after the session ends.
From proof-of-concept to flagship programme
CyGamBIT established that game-based, scenario-led approaches can change how people think about cyber threats, and that change persists. Cyber Self Defence takes that finding and scales it into a full training and toolkit ecosystem for organisations.
Where CyGamBIT uses game mechanics to surface human behaviour in cyber scenarios, CSD uses the same understanding to design training, playbooks, and response tools that work for real people under real pressure. The theoretical thread is continuous.
For organisations who want to explore our approach before committing to a full training programme, CyGamBIT offers a direct, low-barrier way in. Try the game, then talk to us about what Cyber Self Defence could look like for your team.
Play CyGamBIT
CyGamBIT is freely available to play. Whether you want to experience the research firsthand, run it with your team, or use it as a conversation starter before exploring Cyber Self Defence, it is open and accessible.
Launch CyGamBIT
The game runs in your browser. No installation required. Work through real-world scenarios, make decisions under pressure, and see how the human layer determines outcomes.
After playing, if you want to understand how this translates into a full organisational training programme, get in touch.
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Ready to build on the research?
CyGamBIT shows what is possible when cybersecurity education is grounded in real research. Cyber Self Defence takes it further: a full training programme and toolkit ecosystem for organisations that want to build genuine human-layer resilience.