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PAM Gamification: Turning Security into Engagement

  • Pravin Raghvani MSc
  • May 20
  • 2 min read

One of the most powerful tools for changing habits is gamification—applying game design elements to make secure behaviours intuitive, rewarding, and even enjoyable.

When users are incentivised to adopt secure practices—earning points, badges, or recognition for positive actions—they’re more likely to engage.


Gamification works because it taps into intrinsic motivation: competition, recognition, and a sense of accomplishment. When paired with real business impact, such as metrics showing how secure behaviour reduces risk exposure, it becomes more than a game. It becomes a mechanism for cultural change.

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🔍 1. “Visibility Vanguard” Challenges

Objective: Drive discovery and visibility of privileged accounts, secrets, and services.

  • Mission of the Month: Identify and document all unmanaged privileged accounts in a department.

  • Badge: Shadow Hunter — awarded to users who uncover the most undocumented privileges or unvaulted credentials.

  • Leaderboard: Tracks teams that reduce unknown or untracked privileged assets.

Tie-in: Supports the visibility-first principle and builds early momentum in PAM maturity.

🔐 2. “Secret Slayer” Credential Management Campaign

Objective: Eliminate risky credentials and promote vaulting and rotation practices.

  • Mini-Quests:

    • Remove hardcoded credentials from code/scripts.

    • Migrate service accounts to managed vaults.

    • Rotate credentials according to policy (e.g., within 30 days).

  • Power-Ups: Earn extra points for automating credential rotation or integrating vaults into CI/CD pipelines.

  • Badge Examples:

    • The Vault Whisperer

    • Code Cleanser

Tie-in: Reinforces secure credential practices and accelerates Zero Trust alignment.

⚖️ 3. “Risk Raider” Milestone Tracker

Objective: Incentivise measurable risk reduction activities.

  • Milestones:

    • Reduce dormant privileges by X%.

    • Minimise shared account usage.

    • Implement least privilege on sensitive systems.

  • Metric-Driven Recognition:

    • Real-time risk heatmap score improvements are reflected on dashboards.

    • Risk Impact Score tied to each user/team’s actions.

Tie-in: Demonstrates how secure behavior directly reduces exposure, supporting business-aligned KPIs/KRIs.

🎯 4. “Zero Trust Champions League”

Objective: Promote Zero Trust-aligned behaviours across PAM capabilities.

  • Weekly Challenges:

    • Enforce MFA on all admin interfaces.

    • Complete Just-in-Time (JIT) access policy implementation.

    • Integrate PAM with identity governance or analytics platforms.

  • Championship Titles:

    • Zero Trust Architect

    • Just-in-Time Jedi

Tie-in: Promotes the Smart Access PAM framework's vision for a modular, Zero Trust-aligned state.

🧠 5. “PAM Knowledge Battles”

Objective: Increase awareness and understanding of privileged access risk.

  • Quiz or Jeopardy-style competitions:

    • Spot the risky behaviour.

    • PAM policy flash rounds.

    • Secure architecture design puzzles.

  • Team-based format encourages learning through collaboration.

  • Badge: Access Aware Hero

Tie-in: Builds cultural awareness and reinforces the “why” behind PAM policies.

🏅 Recognition & Rewards System

  • PAM Passport: Users collect stamps (digital badges) for each completed mission or milestone.

  • Monthly Recognition: “Least Privilege Legends,” “Secret Managers of the Month.”

  • Executive Shout-Outs: Public recognition in all-hands or leadership briefings.

Link achievements to security metrics dashboards or internal communications platforms (e.g., Teams, Slack, Confluence).



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