TRAPEZE Project
General Overview
The information security awareness programme Security & Privacy Awareness and Competence Testing was developed on the basis of the Kaspersky Automated Security Awareness Platform (K-ASAP) as part of the TRAnsparency, Privacy and security for European citiZEns (TRAPEZE) programme. TRAPEZE is an international educational project that received a grant under the EU Horizon 2020 programme and is aimed at improving information literacy. The project is primarily targeted at elderly EU citizens, although adults of all ages (18+) participate in the programme.
Security & Privacy Awareness and Competence Testing is a training course consisting of 8 topics:
- Passwords and accounts
- Websites and the Internet
- Social networks and messengers
- PC security
- Mobile device security
- GDPR
- Personal data
The platform’s base language is English; it has also been translated into French. During localisation, cultural specifics of each region are taken into account (that is, not a literal translation but adaptation of content, including both text and visuals).
Each topic consists of 9–14 lessons, divided into two levels of difficulty. Each lesson is devoted to a particular subtopic and consists of a set of interactive slides (informational, assessment-based, and others).
In addition to lessons, the platform includes final tests that users must pass upon completing each level, as well as a series of informational emails. The total volume of material presented in the TRAPEZE Security & Privacy Awareness and Competence Testing project is approximately 230,000 words (for comparison, Leo Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace” contains approximately 188,000 words).
My Role in the Development of TRAPEZE
Overall content development management
Since September 2018, I have led the team responsible for developing all Kaspersky ASAP content: lessons, interface texts, phishing emails, and more. Accordingly, for the TRAPEZE programme, I developed the topic structure and supervised both content production and its localisation.
Competency model development
In 2021–2022, I developed the current version of the programme’s competency model, distributing the required practical skills across topics, levels, and lessons within the platform.
Content authoring
I personally authored the following topics for the platform:
- Passwords and accounts: 10 lessons, 2 final tests, 2 reminder emails, and a phishing simulation
- Email: 11 lessons, 2 final tests, 2 reminder emails, and 2 phishing simulations
- Websites and the Internet: 12 lessons, 2 final tests, and 2 reminder emails
- Social networks and messengers: 13 lessons, 2 final tests, 2 reminder emails, and 2 phishing simulations
- PC security: 11 lessons, 2 final tests, 2 reminder emails, and 2 phishing simulations
- Mobile device security: 14 lessons, 2 final tests, 2 reminder emails, and a phishing simulation
- GDPR: 9 lessons, 1 final test, and 1 reminder email
- Personal data: 9 lessons, 1 final test, and 1 reminder email
All topics were created by adapting the core K-ASAP topics to meet the requirements of the TRAPEZE programme. The new lessons excluded professional contexts, focusing exclusively on information security in everyday, non-work-related situations.
Educational Materials
Each lesson consists of 10–20 slides of various types: introductory, instructional, question-based, summary slides, and others.
Example of a lesson opening slide:
Examples of instructional slides:
Example of a question slide:
Example of a summary slide:
To confirm their competency, learners must complete a test consisting of 10–15 questions at the end of each level. Example of a question slide:
After completing each level, learners receive a reminder email summarising the material covered during training. Example:
At the end of certain levels, learners’ knowledge is additionally assessed through phishing attack simulations. Example of a phishing email from the first level of the “Passwords and Accounts” topic:
In addition, the system includes a number of interface emails for training managers and learners: welcome emails, course completion notifications, training statistics reports, certificates of completion, and others.
