How does the game Jenga relate to cybersecurity?

Jenga illustrates how a single point of failure can cause catastrophic system collapse. Just as removing the wrong block topples the tower, a single unpatched vulnerability or weak security control can compromise your entire network. This game teaches the importance of risk assessment and thoughtful decision-making in cybersecurity.

What cybersecurity lessons does Chess teach organizations?

Chess provides a framework for security strategy by highlighting the need to protect critical assets (like the king), implement layered defenses (using multiple pieces), anticipate adversary moves, and think several steps ahead. These principles directly apply to defending against cyber threats and protecting sensitive patient data.

How does Simon Says demonstrate cybersecurity vulnerabilities?

Simon Says shows how relying on authority without verification creates security vulnerabilities. Players who act without thinking mirror employees who click phishing links or follow malicious instructions. This illustrates why security awareness training must teach verification skills, not just blind compliance with apparent authority.

What are the four key cybersecurity areas illustrated by these games?

The games illustrate four critical cybersecurity areas: risk analysis and risk management (Jenga), securing critical assets (Chess), addressing vulnerabilities (Simon Says), and the ongoing need for cybersecurity and security awareness training. These areas are essential for maintaining HIPAA compliance.

How can healthcare organizations maintain HIPAA compliance effectively?

Healthcare organizations should treat HIPAA compliance as an ongoing program rather than a project. This includes regular risk assessments, continuous security awareness training, protecting critical assets with layered defenses, and working with expert compliance partners like Anatomy IT to ensure reasonable diligence and peace of mind.

Healthcare cyber attacks - HIPAA security and data protection

HIPAA Tip: The Cybersecurity Game

October 21, 2025

Stop Being Scared. Start Being Strategic

Here’s an idea: what if we stopped getting scared and freaked out by Cybersecurity threats and attacks? Remember when you were young, playing a game with your family or friends, and realizing how to be more clever in order to win? Maybe those strategies can now pay off for your organization.

TL;DR – The Cybersecurity Game:

Classic games teach valuable cybersecurity lessons: Jenga shows single points of failure, Chess demonstrates layered defense, and Simon Says highlights verification over blind trust
Apply game strategies to your security program: risk analysis, protecting critical assets, addressing vulnerabilities, and security awareness training
HIPAA compliance is ongoing and programmatic, not a one-time checklist—it requires continuous diligence to maintain good standing with HHS OCR
Strategic thinking from games translates directly to defending against cyber threats and protecting patient data

Jenga: Understanding Single Points of Failure

Lets take the game Jenga that involves strategic removal of blocks from the lower and middle sections of the tower ensuring the structure remains stable. This game illustrates how even a seemingly small single point of failure can lead to a catastrophic collapse, enforcing the need for risk assessment and thoughtful decision-making.

Chess: Strategic Defense and Asset Protection

Chess is a game where players move pieces with unique abilities across a checkered board, capturing enemy pieces by landing on their squares. Playing the game provides a powerful framework for understanding security by highlighting strategic thinking, the importance of protecting critical assets, the need for layered defense and the necessity of anticipating adversary moves.

Simon Says: Verification Over Blind Trust

In the classic children’s game of Simon Says, players are eliminated for not acting on commands that were instructed by the designated leader; lack of listening skills. This illustrates how a reliance on authority rather than verification can create significant vulnerabilities. A “security breach” can occur when players fail to distinguish between legitimate and malicious instructions and act without thinking.

Where Am I Going With This?

Risk Analysis / Risk Management
Securing Critical Assets
Addressing Vulnerabilities
Cybersecurity and Security Awareness Training

HIPAA Compliance Is an Ongoing Journey

HIPAA compliance isn’t a one-time checklist. It’s ongoing, programmatic in nature, and requires demonstrated reasonable diligence to stay in good standing with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Anatomy IT can provide you peace of mind with our expert HIPAA compliance services. To learn more, contact us here.

About the Author: Dawn Meglino
HIPAA Compliance Specialist, CHPSE, CCSA, CCAP

Dawn Meglino is a certified HIPAA Compliance Specialist at Anatomy IT helping healthcare organizations navigate complex security and compliance requirements. She holds multiple cybersecurity and compliance certifications and regularly advises medical practices on breach prevention and HIPAA best practices.