CTD Card Game

2018 Starter Deck

The Cyber Threat Defender Starter Deck includes 54 cards, which is the minimum number of cards needed to play. Booster packs can be added to this starter deck to encourage more strategic defensive or offensive play. Specific card types may be featured multiple times in the Starter Deck.

Released 2018

Discontinued 2020

Database Server card
Data Backup card
Phishing card
Password Cracked card
I Love You Virus card
Denial of Service (Dos) card
Extreme Overheating card
Binary Search card
Backup Failure card
Attend Security Conference card
Security Training card
Power Outage card
Poor Encryption Key card
Hardware Failure card
Forgot to Patch OS card
Firewall Rules Not Updated card
Budget Increased card
Anti-Malware Not Updated card
Data Disposal Policy card
Secure Coding Practices card
Redundant System card
Information Sharing card
Honeypot card
OS Update Patch card
Encryption card
Backup Power Generator card
Anti-Malware Virus card
Laptop Computer card
ISP Connection card
Desktop Computer card

Digital Media Archive

You have taken on a contract with popular entertainment outlets to store archives of all kinds of digital media, while still remaining accessible if network demand for that content increases.

Select an Asset – Server that you have in play and attach this card to it. You receive 1 point each round this card is in play.

Database Server card

Database Server

You have acquired and configured a server to host database applications and facilitate queries and connections to that data.

You receive 1 point each round this card is in play.

Data Backup card

Data Backup

You are now regularly making copies of all the data on one of your assets. While it would be convenient to keep these backups in the same place, they are kept off-site to ensure that the data survives.

Attach this to an Asset – Server that you have in play. If this Asset – Server is removed from play, instead of discarding all attached Asset – Data cards as usual, put them back into your hand instead, then discard this Data Backup card.

Wireless Sniffing

An attacker has been listening to the wireless transmissions of your opponent. The attacker has collected critical files and login data and can now access your opponent’s systems.

Select a Wireless Network card that your opponent has in play. Your opponent loses two (2) points each round for two (2) rounds. Remove this card from play after two rounds.

Trojan Horse

Your opponent has downloaded a game which is actually a Trojan Horse, a type of malicious software (malware). While the game is played, the program is also sending copies of files to an attacker.

Select an opponent. That opponent loses one (1) point per round until this card is countered.

Phishing card

Phishing

Your opponent responded to an email asking for their security/login information. The attacker can now access your opponent’s account and system.

Select an opponent. That opponent loses two (2) points each round for two (2) rounds. Remove this card from play after two rounds.

Password Cracked card

Password Cracked

Your opponent picked a bad or weak password. An attacker was able to guess the password and has accessed their accounts and system.

Select an opponent. That opponent loses one (1) point each round for two (2) rounds. Remove this card from play after two rounds.

I Love You Virus card

“I Love You” Virus

Your opponent is hit by the “I Love You” email virus. It appeared to be an email from a friend with the subject “I Love You” but contained an attachment that destroyed system files when opened.

Select an opponent. That opponent loses one (1) point per round until this card is countered and removed from play.

Denial of Service (Dos) card

Denial of Service (DoS)

An attacker has launched a Denial of Service (DoS) attack against your opponent’s systems. One system is now not functioning and no work can be accomplished on it.

Select an Asset – System card that your opponent has in play. That Asset – System cannot generate any points for one (1) round. Remove this card from play after one (1) round.

Extreme Overheating card

Extreme Overheating

One of your opponent’s assets has been producing too much heat. Without proper cooling or shielding, excessive heat can cause irreversible damage to electronic circuits and their components.

Select either an Asset – System or an Asset – Server that your opponent has in play. Both the target card and this card are discarded.

Budget Cuts

Your opponent is struggling to maintain a sustainable budget. It is not uncommon for security budgets to be cut when a business encounters financial difficulties. Unfortunately, this will often affect the security readiness of the company.

Select an opponent. That opponent must discard from play one Asset card of their choice.

Binary Search card

Binary Search

A binary search is an algorithm designed to quickly search a sorted data structure by recursively splitting sets of data in half and comparing their values.

Cut your deck into two piles. Draw one card from the top of each pile, then shuffle your deck. If the values of the two cards match, put both into your hand. Otherwise, put the card with the higher value in your hand, and the card with the lower value at the bottom of your deck.

Backup Failure card

Backup Failure

One of your opponent’s data backup processes has not been closely monitored and it has been making corrupted copies for quite some time. All of the data copied from that machine is unusable.

Select a Data Backup card that an opponent has in play. When played, both this card and the target card are discarded.

Attend Security Conference card

Attend Security Conference

You attend one of the largest cybersecurity conferences in the world. While there, you meet insightful security professionals, learn about some of the latest technologies, and gather some useful free resources.

Draw three cards and then discard this card.