The Second and Third Prizes at the 'ASEAN 2024 Student with Information Security' competition are considered an impressive milestone for the students of the Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, on the international stage in the field of information security (IS).
This year's 'ASEAN Student with Information Security' competition, hosted by Vietnam, was expanded to include students from 10 ASEAN countries and set a record with 250 participating teams. In the preliminary round, the Hanni Fanclub team from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology achieved the highest score, securing a spot in the A bracket of the final round, which focused on direct attack-defense scenarios. The university's second team, PwnlyFans, proudly made it to the B bracket of the final round to compete in the jeopardy format (solving challenges based on specific topics) along with 62 other teams. After 8 continuous hours of intense mental battles in the final round on October 19, 2024, the PwnlyFans team impressively won Second Prize in the B bracket, and the Hanni Fanclub team secured Third Prize in the overall A bracket.
Lê Hồng Minh, the leader of the Hanni Fanclub team, assessed that the exam was challenging, and some changes to the competition content in the final days required the team to adjust their strategy from the beginning. Meanwhile, Phạm Nguyễn Nam, the leader of the PwnlyFans team, noted that the structure of this year’s exam was relatively similar to previous years, consisting of challenges related to cryptography, web vulnerability exploitation, reverse engineering of applications, and more—all of which required significant time investment to solve. 'During the competition, each member usually takes on different roles, but many challenges also require close collaboration from the whole team. Members handling easier tasks can assist with programming and reconstructing tougher challenges if needed,' Nam shared.
Most of the team members have prior competition experience, with some having won numerous national and international awards in the field of information security. Another advantage comes from their active participation in the Information Security Club under the Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering. Hồng Minh, as the club president, shared that to best prepare for the competition, the club holds self-study and practice sessions every Saturday through online Capture The Flag (CTF) competitions to gain hands-on experience. Additionally, they frequently organize seminars on information security topics to stay updated with new knowledge and exchange skills among members.
Nguyễn An Khương, a lecturer from the Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering and the advisor for the Information Security Club as well as the two competing teams, assessed that this year's achievements at the 'ASEAN 2024 Student with Information Security' competition marked a breakthrough after two years of the team participating without reaching the expected results. 'This success is due to the relentless efforts of the students, the strong support from the University, the Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering, the Information Security Club, and the valuable guidance from alumni, businesses, and academic partners,' said Mr. Khương. He also expressed hope that this achievement would further affirm the club’s position in the student movement for information security. The club currently ranks 27th globally and first in Vietnam among thousands of student information security teams on the CTFTime leaderboard.
The closing ceremony and award presentation for the 'ASEAN 2024 Student with Information Security' competition were held on the same day as the final round, October 19, 2024.