Student-Centered Security Under Academic Deadline Pressure
2025-12-04
Scenario: StateU Financial Aid Crisis Difficulty: ⭐⭐ Tier 1 (Beginner) Time: 120-180 minutes
Essential Prep (5 min):
This scenario teaches: Student-centered security, FERPA compliance, balancing protection with service, crisis communication to vulnerable populations
Key facilitation: Make Marcus real and sympathetic. Security = student advocacy, not obstacle to service.
It’s Wednesday afternoon at StateU, and the financial aid office is in crisis mode. Spring semester aid disbursements must be completed by Friday—just 48 hours away—to ensure thousands of students can pay summer housing deposits and register for fall classes.
Marcus Johnson, a senior studying computer science, is one of 3,200 students awaiting his financial aid check. His summer housing deposit is due tomorrow morning, and without that aid payment, he’ll lose his apartment and miss summer session enrollment. He’s not alone—hundreds of students face similar deadlines.
Rebecca Turner, the Financial Aid Director, understands the urgency. Yesterday evening, her team was working overtime to process the final wave of disbursements. Multiple staff received what appeared to be urgent FAFSA system updates requiring immediate installation to continue processing. Stressed and focused on student deadlines, everyone clicked through.
Now, it’s Wednesday afternoon. Multiple computers in the financial aid office are running 40% slower during peak processing time. Students are calling about ‘new financial aid software’ requesting personal information updates. The help desk is overwhelmed.
Rebecca just gathered the team: “We have 48 hours to complete disbursements for over 3,000 students. Something’s wrong with our systems. We need answers—fast—without delaying payments that students are counting on.”
Type: Public higher education institution Size: 25,000 students, 3,500 faculty/staff, multiple campus locations
Key Assets:
Financial Aid Deadline: Friday (48 hours away) Students Affected: 3,200 students awaiting spring semester disbursements Immediate Stakes: Summer housing deposits due within days Downstream Impact: Fall registration dependent on summer housing confirmation
Marcus’s Situation: Senior computer science student, summer internship requires local housing, deposit deadline tomorrow morning
What you’re seeing Wednesday afternoon:
Performance Issues: Financial aid office computers running 40% slower during peak processing time
Student Reports: Students calling help desk about ‘new financial aid software’ requiring personal information updates
Staff Reports: Team received ‘emergency FAFSA processing’ emails Tuesday evening from apparent federal sources
System Issues: University ID card systems experiencing intermittent connectivity issues
Database Slowdowns: Financial aid database queries taking 2-3x longer than normal
The Question: Is this just processing stress on aging systems, or something more serious threatening student data and disbursements?
Financial Aid Director, StateU
Public Role: Financial Aid Director responsible for disbursement operations and FERPA compliance
Demeanor: Under enormous pressure, deeply committed to student success, defensive about emergency shortcuts, exhausted
What She Says: “We have 48 hours to complete disbursements for over 3,000 students. Something’s affecting our systems. We need to figure this out—fast—without delaying payments students are counting on.”
Student, Senior (Computer Science)
Public Role: Student dependent on financial aid, represents student voice and immediate human impact
Demeanor: Anxious, focused, personally affected, doesn’t understand IT security concerns
What He Says: “I’m sorry to interrupt, but my summer housing deposit is due tomorrow morning. Without my financial aid, I can’t pay it, and I’ll lose my apartment. When will the disbursement be ready?”
IT Director, StateU
Public Role: IT Director responsible for university technology infrastructure and security
Demeanor: Concerned about security, pressured to support “critical student services,” caught between security and service
What She Says: “IT approved the financial aid software under expedited review because it was classified as critical student service. Normal security processes were bypassed due to the Friday deadline.”
VP for Student Services
Public Role: VP for Student Services, represents institutional leadership and student success mission
Demeanor: Results-oriented, impatient with delays, focused on student retention metrics
What He Says: “I have 200 students outside the financial aid office demanding answers. I have a board meeting tomorrow. Will Friday’s disbursements proceed on schedule?”
IM Only - NPC Secrets & Pressure Points
Hidden Agenda: Complete Friday disbursements on schedule, protect students from aid delays, maintain institutional reputation for student support. Fears being responsible for delays affecting students like Marcus.
What She Knows (But Won’t Volunteer):
Pressure Point: 3,200 students counting on her. If disbursements delayed, students lose housing, miss enrollment, potentially leave university.
IM Portrayal: Express genuine concern for students like Marcus. Initially resist anything delaying disbursements. Become collaborative when shown student data protection IS student advocacy.
Hidden Agenda: Receive financial aid check by tomorrow to pay housing deposit and secure summer enrollment. Doesn’t understand why “IT problems” should affect his educational future.
What He Knows:
Pressure Point: Loses housing and summer enrollment opportunity if aid delayed. His entire summer plan (internship, income, fall semester prep) depends on Friday disbursement.
IM Portrayal: Make him sympathetic and real. Describe his specific situation. Ask direct questions: “Am I going to get my financial aid?” Show genuine anxiety without being demanding. Make the team care about helping him.
Hidden Agenda: Maintain system security while supporting student success mission. Prove IT isn’t obstacle to student services. Navigate tension between security requirements and institutional culture.
What She Knows:
Pressure Point: IT department reputation, professional credibility, institutional perception that security conflicts with student mission.
IM Portrayal: Acknowledge security vs service tension honestly. Provide technical cooperation. Admit pressure to approve software quickly. Wants to prove security can serve students.
Hidden Agenda: Ensure all financial aid processed on schedule, protect university reputation for student support, maintain student retention metrics.
What He Knows:
Pressure Point: Quarterly retention reports, university reputation, student and parent expectations, competitive pressure from other institutions.
IM Portrayal: Demand solutions that prioritize student needs. Initially resistant to security explanations framed as “technical problems.” Respond positively to framing about protecting students through security.
IM Only - What’s Really Happening
Tuesday Evening (6pm-9pm): During overtime financial aid processing
Wednesday Morning (Discovery):
Wednesday Afternoon (Critical Timeline):
Technical Risk:
Human Risk:
Institutional Risk:
Root Cause:
IM Only - Session State Tracking
Email Analysis: Identified sophisticated Department of Education spoofing
File System: Found malicious “FAFSAProcessor.exe” and “AidDisbursement.exe”
Process Analysis: Detected injection into financial aid processing applications
Data Access Logs: Confirmed 2,847 student records accessed and exfiltrated
Malmon Identification: Confirmed GaboonGrabber (Trojan/Stealth) through behavioral patterns
Student Impact: Marcus and hundreds of students provided personal information to fake “verification”
Timeline Critical: Approaching 24-hour threshold for Multi-Payload Deployment
FERPA Breach: Student data theft triggers mandatory breach notification requirements
Cultural Factors: Institutional “student success” culture created security vulnerability
Dark Web Intelligence: Student data already appearing on dark web markets for sale
Track team decisions, student impact moments, creative solutions…
IM Only - Combat & Response Guide
Type Strengths - What Makes This Threat Dangerous:
Type Weaknesses - Most Effective Approaches:
SUPER EFFECTIVE (+3 bonus):
MODERATELY EFFECTIVE (+1 bonus):
WEAK/INEFFECTIVE (-2 penalty):
IM Only - Facilitation Guide
“It’s Wednesday afternoon at StateU. In the financial aid office, the atmosphere should be focused but optimistic—spring semester disbursements are on track to meet Friday’s deadline. Three thousand two hundred students are waiting for the financial aid checks that will enable summer housing deposits, fall registration, and continued education.
But something’s wrong.
Rebecca Turner, the Financial Aid Director, has gathered her team. Multiple workstations are running slowly. Students are calling about ‘new financial aid software’ requesting personal information. And yesterday evening, during overtime processing to meet the Friday deadline, everyone received urgent emails about ‘emergency FAFSA processing updates’ that needed immediate installation.
As Rebecca starts to explain the situation, there’s a knock on the door. It’s Marcus Johnson, a senior computer science student. ‘I’m sorry to interrupt,’ he says, ‘but my summer housing deposit is due tomorrow morning. Without my financial aid, I can’t pay it, and I’ll lose my apartment. When will the disbursement be ready?’
Rebecca looks at your team. The stress in her face is clear. ‘We have 48 hours to process aid for over 3,000 students like Marcus. Something’s affecting our systems. We need to figure this out—fast—without delaying payments students are counting on.’
What do you do?”
Detective examining emails:
Protector analyzing systems:
Tracker investigating network:
Communicator interviewing staff/students:
Crisis Manager assessing scope:
Threat Hunter proactive findings:
Guide synthesis: “Your evidence shows sophisticated social engineering targeting academic calendars, process injection into financial aid software, and credential harvesting focused on student data. The behavioral patterns—especially exploiting institutional pressure and student-centered culture—match what type of Malmon?”
When identified as Trojan: “Your threat intelligence confirms GaboonGrabber. This Trojan has a hidden ability: Multi-Payload Deployment after 24 hours. You’re approaching that threshold. And there’s something else—your forensic analysis shows student data has already been accessed.”
“As Round 1 ends, you’ve identified GaboonGrabber and confirmed student data exposure. But the situation is escalating.
Marcus is still waiting outside the office. He’s not alone—word has spread, and 50 students have gathered, asking about their financial aid status.
Christopher Bennett, the Student Services VP, just called Rebecca: ‘I’m hearing about problems in financial aid. We have a board meeting tomorrow. I need to know: Will Friday’s disbursements proceed on schedule?’
And your forensic timeline shows you’re 90 minutes from the 24-hour threshold where GaboonGrabber typically deploys secondary payloads.
You understand what happened. Now you need to understand how bad this is—and what it means for students like Marcus.”
IM Only - Facilitation Guide
“It’s Wednesday evening. The financial aid office has officially closed, but the lights are still on. Outside, the number of students has grown to over 200. Someone made a social media post about ‘financial aid system problems,’ and now anxiety is spreading across campus.
Marcus is among them, checking his phone repeatedly. His summer internship starts in two weeks—but only if he has housing.
Your deeper investigation has revealed the full scope: 2,847 student records were accessed and exfiltrated. Names, SSNs, bank account information, addresses—all transmitted to attacker infrastructure. FERPA breach notification is now mandatory.
Christopher Bennett just arrived in person. ‘I have 200 students outside demanding answers,’ he says. ‘I have a board meeting in the morning where I’m supposed to report on our commitment to student success. What am I supposed to tell them?’
How bad is this, and what are we going to do about it?”
Student Pressure (Hour 1):
200 students outside financial aid office, social media amplifying anxiety, Marcus’s deadline approaching in hours. Someone posts: “StateU can’t even protect our financial aid information.”
Institutional Pressure (Hour 2):
Christopher demands board presentation plan, threatens to override security decisions “for student welfare”: “I will not let IT problems delay financial aid for 3,200 students.”
Regulatory Pressure (Hour 3):
Lisa reminds team of FERPA 48-hour notification requirement, potential penalties for non-compliance, Department of Education reporting obligations.
Technical Escalation (Hour 4):
Secondary payload deployment detected, Redline stealer attempting activation, additional student data at risk. Dark web intelligence shows student data packages being prepared for sale.
“Your investigation has revealed a crisis on multiple levels.
Technical: GaboonGrabber with data breach confirmed and secondary payloads deploying.
Human: Marcus and 3,200 students whose educational futures depend on Friday’s disbursements.
Institutional: Rebecca in tears about compromising student data while trying to help students.
Regulatory: FERPA breach notification required within 48 hours.
Christopher Bennett’s voice is sharp: ‘I need a decision. Do we proceed with Friday disbursements or not? What do I tell students outside?’
Rebecca adds quietly: ‘And what do I tell Marcus about his housing?’
Your threat intelligence just sent an alert: Student data from this breach is already appearing on dark web markets. Identity theft operations are beginning.
It’s time to decide. What’s your response strategy?”
IM Only - Facilitation Guide
“It’s Thursday morning. Marcus’s housing deposit deadline is in 3 hours. Christopher’s board meeting is in 2 hours. Rebecca needs to know what to tell her team. Lisa needs to know what security measures to implement.
And 2,847 students need to know that their personal information—SSNs, bank accounts, addresses—has been compromised.
The technical picture is clear: GaboonGrabber confirmed, data breach confirmed, secondary payloads attempting deployment, complete remediation will take 36-48 hours.
The student picture is equally clear: 3,200 students depending on Friday disbursements for housing, tuition, and continued education. Real people with immediate needs like Marcus.
The regulatory picture is unambiguous: FERPA requires breach notification within 48 hours. Non-compliance brings federal penalties and institutional reputation damage.
Dr. Thompson walks in: ‘We can contain the immediate threat with enhanced monitoring and partial isolation. Not perfect, but we could maintain disbursement processing while implementing full security verification. It’s a calculated risk.’
Christopher Bennett counters: ‘Or we delay everything, secure systems completely, and deal with the student impact. Either way, we need a decision now.’
Rebecca looks at Marcus waiting outside. ‘What do I tell him?’
What do you do?”
Option A: Thorough Response with Student Protection Focus
Team chooses immediate containment, FERPA breach notification, transparent student communication, 24-hour delay to disbursements for complete security verification.
IM Narration: “You make the difficult call: Immediate containment, FERPA breach notification, transparent student communication, and 24-hour delay to disbursements for complete security verification.
Marcus’s reaction: ‘I’m going to lose my housing because of this?’
But then the team does something important. You don’t just secure the systems—you help Marcus. Emergency procedures, alternative housing assistance, direct communication about what happened and what you’re doing to protect him.
The response includes: Complete student notification about data breach, credit monitoring services offered to all 2,847 affected students, financial aid disbursements resume Friday evening with enhanced security, transparent media communication.
Christopher Bennett’s board report: ‘We discovered and contained a sophisticated attack targeting our students. Our response prioritized student data protection and demonstrated our commitment to student welfare. The incident actually strengthened our security posture.’
Outcome: Student trust maintained through transparency, FERPA compliance achieved, security culture begins changing toward student-centered protection.”
Option B: Balanced Approach (Security + Immediate Student Needs)
Team develops hybrid approach: Partial system isolation with enhanced monitoring, immediate disbursement for non-compromised records (including Marcus’s), phased processing with security verification.
IM Narration: “You develop a hybrid approach: Partial system isolation with enhanced monitoring, immediate disbursement for non-compromised records (including Marcus’s), phased processing with security verification for remaining students, proactive FERPA notification with comprehensive student support.
Marcus gets his aid check Thursday afternoon. His reaction: ‘Thank you for figuring this out and still helping me.’
The response includes: Same-day credit monitoring setup for affected students, transparent communication about what happened, financial aid processing continues with increased security, post-disbursement complete system remediation.
Christopher’s board report: ‘Sophisticated attack detected and contained. Student services maintained while implementing enhanced security. Incident demonstrates effective crisis management balancing student needs with data protection.’
Outcome: Student success mission maintained, security improved, institutional culture evolves toward integrated student-centered security.”
Option C: Minimize Incident (Inadequate Response)
Team minimizes breach, continues disbursements normally without full student notification.
IM Narration: “You decide to downplay the breach and continue disbursements normally without full student notification.
Two weeks later: Multiple students report identity theft. Marcus had his bank account drained. Local news runs story: ‘StateU Hid Student Data Breach.’ Department of Education launches investigation into FERPA violations.
Christopher’s statement: ‘We are shocked and disappointed by this failure to protect our students and comply with federal requirements.’
Outcome: Institutional reputation severely damaged, FERPA penalties imposed, student trust destroyed, security culture problem worsens.”
Student advocate security team:
Emergency disbursement fund:
Transparent town hall:
Phased disbursement with verification:
“[Based on team’s approach]
Three weeks later, Marcus stops by the IT office. ‘I wanted to thank you,’ he says. ‘Not just for [getting my aid/protecting my data/being honest about what happened]. But for showing that security and student support aren’t opposites. That protecting student data is student advocacy.’
Rebecca sends a follow-up email: ‘This incident changed how we think about security in student services. We’re implementing [specific changes]. But more than that, we’re changing the culture. Security isn’t a barrier to helping students—it’s how we help students.’
Christopher’s final board report: [Adapt based on outcome]
The StateU financial aid disbursement will continue—your decisions determined whether students trust that their university protects them while serving them.”
IM Only - Post-Game Discussion Guide
Technical Concepts:
Collaboration Skills:
Scenario-Specific:
Real-World Connections:
Encourage documentation of:
Scenario Materials:
Handbook References:
MITRE ATT&CK Techniques:
Share your experience:
Continue learning:
Questions or feedback?
Remember: Security serves people, not just systems. Student-centered security means protecting students through security, not despite security.