The APCERT International Drill is held annually by the Asia-Pacific Computer Emergency Response Team and implemented by the Vietnam Cybersecurity Emergency Response Team of the Department of Information Security (Ministry of Information & Communications).
On August 16, APCERT 2023 was attended by 89 organizations, including several well-known companies, such as: BKAV Cyber Security; VNPT-IT; VTC IT; the Saigon-Hanoi Finance Company (SHB FC); and the Tien Phong Bank (TPBank). APCERT 2023 was based on the theme “Digital Supply Chain Redemption”.
Because cyber-attacks on the supply chain are becoming increasingly sophisticated and detrimental, the event was organized to improve the expertise of professionals to combat information security violations in cyberspace. DTU won second prize, overcoming 21 real-life attack situations, against security specialists with many years of experience working for government agencies and companies.
The top five teams all scored 2100 points at APCERT 2023
Teams competed in 21 situations covering many topics involved in:
- Digital forensics
- Puzzles
- Codes
- Information hiding
- Exploiting vulnerabilities
- Binary mining
- Reverse engineering
According to the Department of Information Security, the drill focused on handling security breaches, starting from the moment an attacker successfully gains access to a cloud service provider’s storage server, and then begins making unauthorized modifications to the software package the digital provider provides its customers. Users unwittingly install the update to their servers, unaware that the update contains malware, allowing the attacker to establish a connection and compromise the company’s systems.
The DTU team included Dau Hoang Tai, Tran Ky Son, Huynh Duc Tin, Pham Minh Quy, Nguyen Quang Minh, and Pham Ho Anh Dung, who quickly scored 2100 points shortly after the winners, also with 2100.
DTU students finish second at 2023 APCERT 2023
The top five teams all scored 2100 points, but prizes were also awarded based on finishing times:
- First prize to SHB FC
- Second to DTU
- Third to BKAV
- Fourth to TPBank
Dau Hoang Tai, a Cybersecurity student from the DTU School of Computer Science (SCS), said: “We only decided to compete to broaden our knowledge and meet local security experts, so were overwhelmed with surprise when the results were announced. We succeeded thanks to our DTU lecturers and the opportunities that the university provides us to compete at CTF and other real-life drills at home and abroad. These events broaden our understanding of how hackers operate and the solutions experts use to track and analyze traces of them left in a system.”
MSc. Nguyen Kim Tuan, Dean of the Faculty of Communication & Computer Network Engineering, explained, “During this exercise, we met staff from many different enterprises from many provinces and cities, including experts from leading companies and banks, with years of experience in diverse problem-solving methods. We’re delighted that our DTU team applied their knowledge and skills to address the cybersecurity problems that were set for them. Competing with these heavyweights and gaining such high scores required an outstanding effort by the DTU students.
“DTU now intends to invest further in specialized practical equipment for its Network Security Warfare lab and its Open Lab, and work with security experts to exchange in-depth practical experience of attack and defense methods in cyberspace. Meanwhile, we will continue to facilitate students to compete in major international tournaments to gain more practical experience before graduation.”
|
DTU Worldwide Rankings
- Among the 500 top universities worldwide, and around the 100th best in Asia by THE
- Among the top 500 universities worldwide, and 145th in Asia in 2023 by QS
- Accredited by ABET in IT and Electrical Engineering
- First university in Vietnam to obtain UNWTO.TedQual accreditation for Tourism
- Ranked 251-300 worldwide in Computer Sciences by THE
- Ranked 251-300 worldwide in Engineering by THE
- Ranked 301-400 worldwide in Business & Economics by THE
- Ranked 176-200 worldwide in Life Sciences by THE
- Ranked 326th worldwide in Engineering & Technology by QS
- Ranked 451-500 worldwide in Social Sciences & Management by QS
- Ranked 51-100 worldwide in Hospitality & Leisure by QS
- Ranked 201-239 worldwide in Civil Engineering by QS
- Ranked 301-350 worldwide in Computer Science & Information Systems by QS
- Ranked 351-400 worldwide in Electrical & Electronic Engineering by QS
- Ranked 401-450 worldwide in Environmental Sciences by QS
- Ranked 401-500 worldwide in Medicine by QS
|
(Media Center)