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APU Battle Of Hackers 2021: The Champion And 3 Teams In Top 10
The success story of our APU teams in BOH 2021
There is nothing more exciting and inspiring than seeing our students reaching new heights.
Our APU team — Spac3cat, was crowned Champion of the night after a gruelling 6-hour match in the Battle of Hackers (BOH) 2021, while another three APU teams managed to grab a spot among the Top 10 and received consolation prizes.
APU Battle of Hackers (BOH) is an annual Capture the Flag (CTF) cybersecurity competition open to all students from Malaysian universities and higher institutions. The aim of BOH is to provide a spotlight for talented youth and allow students from across the nation to test and enhance their knowledge and skills, particularly in cybersecurity and digital forensics.
Held on 6 to 7 November 2021, the challenges were in Jeopardy format with categories such as cryptography, web vulnerabilities, reverse engineering, pwn, forensics, and miscellaneous.
In total, 38 teams from 12 different universities competed in BOH 2021. Only the Top 10 teams were chosen from among these 38 teams based on their scores, which are listed as below:
Top 10 | Team Name | Score | University Name |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Spac3Cat | 6161 | Asia Pacific University |
2 | H0j3n | 5851 | Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) |
3 | CyberX | 5053 | Universiti Teknologi Malaysia |
4 | SKR | 4869 | UOWM KDU University |
5 | Sheesh | 3215 | Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia |
6 | SEN JIA LIN | 2689 | Asia Pacific University |
7 | KyoChonMou | 2253 | Asia Pacific University |
8 | MeowMeow | 2226 | Asia Pacific University |
9 | c4ra7 | 2215 | Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia |
10 | A1ph4_Sh4rk! | 2022 | Tunku Abdul Rahman University College |
Prior to BOH 2021, Team Spac3cat participated in the APU internal CTF (iCTF) and the F-Secure Cybersecurity Competition. They came in second place in the iCTF and second runner-up in the F-Secure Competition. According to their team member, Nicholas, they learned a hard lesson in the F-Secure final round competition when they were defeated by their rivals in the final minute.
Ever since they became determined and practised CTF every night in preparation for BOH 2021. The competition was intense, but their efforts appear to have paid off as they led the scoreboard despite being neck-and-neck with their opponents.
The team was thrilled and grateful to learn that they had won the Championship.
Nicholas commented, “It’s such a wonderful feeling and it’s difficult to put into words. It feels unreal, but here we are on the top spot of BOH 2021 because of our hard work."
“For our juniors who are still struggling with CTF, don't give up hope; success is on the way, and you must continue to fight for what you want. Don't forget to attend the APU annual CTF event because it's an incredible CTF competition with impressive challenges.”
Throughout their participation, they were mentored by Reza Nugroho, an alumnus from the APIIT-SU Cyber Security programme, who has helped them attain their victory.
From top left to bottom: William Wijaya, Nicholas, Ryan Martin
The following three APU teams which took home the consolation prizes are:
As most of the members were new and do not have prior experience in CTF competitions, BOH 2021 was a great way to kickstart the process and they had fun solving puzzles and challenges during the event.
All team members gained a thorough understanding of each other's strengths and limitations through this event. They are determined to hone their skills in order to achieve greater heights in the upcoming BOH 2022.
Finally, a special thanks go out to all the committees for making this possible. The competition has made a great impact and certainly created valuable outcomes to all participants.
With a new understanding of how the Cybersecurity field operates in the real world, we believe that all members will undoubtedly return stronger in the future.