Role Player Question Template
On 27 October 2024, from 1300-1530, CIS 1010, Cybersecurity Law & Policy will have a table-top cyber exercise lab experience in MS Teams.
The scenario involves a dam on the Smith River. The dam has hydropower turbines, which are operated by the Smith River Hydropower company. Immediately downstream from the dam is a section of critical habitat of the Smith River Guppy. The guppy and this habitat are protected under the Endangered Species Act, and the guppy figures prominently in the folklore and oral history of the Smith River Band of Native Americans. Downstream from the critical habitat is a fair-sized city, Smithville. It relies on the dam for its hydropower to power its industrial base and for flood control.
Before the exercise, the students will have interviewed their community mentors, and submitted their interview report assignment by 20 October 2024 to report on what they learned in their interviews about the positions they will be role playing. I have also asked the students to do some basic outside research on what the position they are role-playing is like. The exercise will start at the point where the hydropower company has informed all the different stakeholders that its IT systems have been compromised in a ransomware hack and that the hackers are threatening not just to compromise company data but to also degrade the functionality of the dam and the hydropower units. The State Governor’s Chief of Staff will have called all the stakeholders to a meeting, and she will have some tasks for them to work through.
Students: Areas to Address with your Community Mentor
Once you have set up the meeting or call with your mentor, please cover these areas at least in your interview of them:
- Community Mentor Name; Current Position, Length of Time in that Role, Other Positions They have Held
- Experience Base of Community Mentor related to the Role Play in the Exercise,
- Description of what your Role-Play Character’s Role would be in Real Life if a cybersecurity incident like this happened,
- Stakeholder Interests that the Community Mentor would seek to protect if a cybersecurity incident like this happened,
- Other Actors the Community Mentor would likely work with if a cybersecurity incident like this happened, and
- Other information concerning your Role that you have found in your research to better understand what would be expected of you if a cybersecurity incident like happened.