Cyberspace Defence success for APU Cybersecurity teams at Siber Siaga CTFs: Code Combat 2023

APU maintained its top 10 ranking in the Siber Siaga CTFs once again and improved in terms of position and overall prize, demonstrating APU’s cyber security prowess and strong dedication to cyber security education and research.

Team Nuts, Spac3Cat, Darksid3rs, and DinoDefenders pose after finishing second, third, sixth, and ninth, respectively.

The annual Cyber Digital Services, Defence & Security Asia (CyberDSA) 2023 event, drew 70 companies, 1,100 professional members, 18 local universities, government agencies, and various leading figures and cyber security industry players.

It was organised by Aerosea Exhibitions Sdn. Bhd. and supported by CyberSecurity Malaysia and the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) through the Defence Cyber and Electromagnetic Division (BSEP).

The theme for this year, ‘Defending Cyberspace and National Sovereignty’, fits perfectly with the current situation, in which we face a number of emerging challenges in both the physical and cyber realms.

The event featured a conference, exhibition, and hands-on labs covering topics like cyber threats, cyber defense, and cyber law, as well as Siber Siaga’s Capture the Flags (CTFs): Code Combat 2023.

The CTFs was well acknowledged, with over 3,000 participants from Malaysia and around the world claiming that it was an excellent way to learn about cyber security and network with other professionals.

Cyber Cell DCED and NanoSec Asia organised and managed this annual CTFs from 15 to 17 August 2023, with the goal of promoting cyber security awareness and putting students’ and professionals’ skills to the test in web application security, cryptography, reverse engineering, and other areas of cyber security.

Team Nuts with a replica of the prize they won.

Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation (APU) maintained its top 10 ranking in the Siber Siaga CTFs once again and improved in terms of position and overall prize of RM13,000, demonstrating APU’s cyber security prowess and strong dedication to cyber security education and research.

Five APU teams competed in the open category — open to both industry and students — and earned second, third, sixth, and ninth place, keeping them in the top 10.

Team Nuts, consisting of Lim Wei Xun, Wong Kee Han, and Kelvin Teo Wen Loong, finished second and won a cash prize of RM7,000 and a trophy.

“We really enjoy the competition because of the high quality of the CTF challenges, and it helps us sharpen our technical skills.

“Siber Siaga shows a different aspect of solving challenges and meeting our expectations, and we look forward to more cryptographic challenges in the future,” said Wei Xun, representing the Nuts.

The Spac3cat team is focused on the challenge at hand.

The Spac3cat: William Wijaya, Ryan Martin, and Nicholas who finished fourth last year, moved up to third place, receiving an RM4,000 cash reward and a trophy.

“This is our second time taking part in a Siber Siaga CTFs. This CTFs focuses mainly on real-world scenarios, particularly the forensics and incident response challenges. As a result, we learned how to investigate and analyse malware samples.

“We had a lot of fun, especially brainstorming ideas on how to solve the given problem, and we got to experience solving real-world problems,” said William representing Spac3cat.

Besides Nuts and Spac3cat, team Darksid3rs: Mohin Paramasivam, Loh Kae Shyan, and Roheender Singh Sahota got sixth place, and team DinoDefenders: Yeo Jia Qi, Wong Zhi Zhen, and Darrshan Rajenderan got ninth place, with both teams receiving an RM1,000 cash reward and a trophy.

While team Weeeeeeeeeee: Chen Lik Ken, Hong Yen Wai, and Howard Chau did not manage to win anything, but they returned home with new knowledge which would certainly boost their motivation to participate in such events in the future.

Team Darksid3rs (left) and DinoDefenders (right) are trying their luck for the first time in this competition.

APU students who took part in the competition are all enrolled in the Bsc (Hons) in Computer Science (Cyber Security) and BSc (Hons) in Computer Science with a specialism in Data Analytics programme. 

They are enthusiastic about cyber security and eager to learn more about it, and their success in the Siber Siaga CTF: Code Combat 2023 competition demonstrates their dedication and hard work.

It is also a proud moment for APU since it demonstrates that the university is creating top-notch cyber security talent, which is mentored by Ms. Nor Azlina Abd Rahman and Ms. Noris Ismail of the Forensic & Security Research Centre Student Section (FSEC-SS).

Last year, during the Siber Siaga 2022 week, three APU teams finished second (Spac3Cat), third (x0rry), and sixth (Cyb3rWarrior), respectively.

 
Rear Admiral Ts. Dato’ Shamsuddin Hj. Ludin, Director General Defense Cyber & Electromagnetic Division (middle), Ms. Shazurawati Abd Karim, Executive Vice President TM One (right), and Datuk Dr. M. Ghandi, Founder & Chairman Bumiati Holdings Sdn. Bhd. (left) posing together with participants of Cyber Alert CTF: Code Combat 2023.