Cyber Threat Defender

Since April 2016, Cyber Threat Defender (CTD) has been teaching students worldwide about essential cybersecurity information and defense strategies. Created as a multi-player, collectible card game, CTD is designed to be fun and easy-to-play for ages 11 and up.

With an average game lasting 20 minutes, players will learn basic cybersecurity terminology, reinforce understandings of a network infrastructure, learn about the relationships between cyber-attacks and defense counter measures, real-world challenges, facts and historical information connected to this STEM field, and much more.

For a player to successfully defeat their opponent, they must develop and implement a strategy for expanding and protecting their network. Because CTD is designed to be fun first, players will learn basic and complex cybersecurity concepts and strategies through repetitive play.

To-date, 50,000+ CTD decks have been distributed to students and professionals across the United States and in countries around the world. The collectible card game, available in both English and Spanish, supports distance learning and continued engagement at home or in the classroom. It is also available as a free digital download!

CTD is made available, at no cost, to K-12 educators nationwide thanks to the generous support of sponsors. The cards and gaming accessories are also available for purchase through the CIAS.store.

My students love playing Cyber Threat Defender. We use it in my computer repair course, and it is really the only exposure to security they get. I find that as they continue to play the game and get used to the available cards, they are also getting a basic understanding of the different threats and security features that are out there. They also start getting a good idea of the need for different layers of defence to combat different types of attacks. Sometimes I have students in different courses later on (after they have taken the computer repair course) and they all ask if they will get to play the game again.

Jason Smith, Computer Science Teacher

Benjamin Logan High School

The Cards

When playing Cyber Threat Defender: The Card Game (TCG), generally a player may begin playing with the pre-made starter deck, and then customize their deck with an assortment of cards acquired through booster packs, or from trading with other players, building up their own library of cards. As a player obtains more cards, they may create new decks from scratch from their library. Players can construct a deck that will allow them to defeat other player’s customized decks.

Each player must begin with a minimum 54 cards. Keep in mind that each Starter Deck features four distinct card types: Asset, Defense, Event and Attack. As you learn more about the game and the various decks/card options, you may decide to add or remove cards from the starter deck and replace with expansion cards to defend your network against attacks, to rapidly expand your network or to include more cyber threats.

There are more than 100 potential cards to collect. Below is a sample of Cyber Threat Defender collectible cards from the 2021 Starter Deck and various booster packs. To purchase cards, visit our online store at CIAS.store.

The following card viewer is interactive! Click on a card to see detailed information and stats! Then you can choose to isolate an entire deck or all cards of the same card type! Also check out the viewer's filter tabs and read the various deck descriptions.