Le Hong Minh, valedictorian of the computer engineering and science program (Japanese-oriented) at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, was among 50 outstanding students awarded the Gold Medal for graduation this year.

Just two weeks before his graduation, Minh and his team secured second place in the student category at ASEAN Cyber Shield 2025 – a regional cybersecurity competition in Southeast Asia, earning a 10,000 USD prize.

Despite attending many award ceremonies, Minh still felt elated upon receiving the university's Gold Medal.

"This feeling is very new to me, because this is a special day – graduation day", Minh said.

Minh participating with team ASIA at the International Cybersecurity Challenge. Photo: provided by subject

Originally a math major at Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted (formerly Ba Ria - Vung Tau), Minh's turning point came at the end of 11th grade when he stumbled upon an information security competition on Facebook.

"At that time, I just thought it would be fun, so I invited friends to try it", Minh recalled. The competition offered no prize, but it opened Minh's eyes to the inner world of computers – their operating principles, from software and hardware to how systems interact internally.

Minh later read an article on cryptography in Math Pi magazine. The security algorithms, explained with mathematical logic, completely captivated him, leading him to pursue computer science and cryptography.

In 2021, Minh enrolled in Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, joining the computer engineering and science program with a Japanese orientation due to his love for Japanese culture. He had to learn a large amount of general knowledge while starting Japanese from scratch.

After one semester, Minh found a solution: completing all Japanese assignments during class time, reserving the rest of the day for his major.

Cryptography was a field Minh explored on his own. In his second year, he joined the university's BKISC Information Security Club and was entrusted by his advisor, Doctor Nguyen An Khuong, with the role of President. Minh earned the nickname "warhorse" for his resilience, speed, and practical skills in leading the university's team in competitions both domestically and internationally.

To balance his coursework and passion, Minh set a strict schedule. During the week, he allocated fixed time for evening study, completing all school assignments before Friday. This allowed him to dedicate weekends entirely to the club and online Capture the Flag (CTF) competitions, which simulate applications or systems with security vulnerabilities for players to exploit and find "flags," essentially "capturing the flag."

"Many competitions are very engaging, so I am willing to stay up late, even all night, to solve problems", Minh said.

Minh's first official competition was Students with Information Security 2023. Minh was responsible for cryptography, while his three teammates handled web exploitation, binary exploitation, and reverse engineering. Due to a lack of experience, Minh's team did not pass the preliminary round.

That setback did not discourage Minh. He and his friends continuously participated in CTF practice competitions. Less than one year later, Minh surpassed hundreds of contestants to reach the Top 15 in Asia during the International Cybersecurity Challenge qualifiers, then competed in the US, where he also won third place with his team.

This competition also left the biggest impression on Minh, as it was his first exposure to the attack & defense format. Unlike jeopardy-style problem-solving, each team had to both defend their system and attack the opponent's system.

"I knew nothing about this format, so I was confused. But once I completed it, I found it extremely interesting, just like a real-life cyberattack", Minh recounted.

In his final year of university, Minh was assigned to coach the Southeast Asian team for the International Cybersecurity Challenge 2025 in Tokyo.

Minh shared that alongside interesting experiences and new knowledge, there were countless moments of pressure, requiring focus and decisiveness. For example, during the 15-hour ASEAN Cyber Shield competition, Minh spent 7-8 hours solving a digital forensics problem. Another time, the team struggled with a difficult problem, and as time ran out, Minh decided to abandon it, shifting the team to easier tasks to maximize their score.

When facing deadlocks in competitions, Minh often paused, stood up to wash his face to clear his head, then returned to approach the problem from a new perspective.

Minh (far left) and his teammates at ASEAN Cyber Shield 2025. Photo: provided by subject

Doctor Nguyen An Khuong, Minh's graduation project advisor and BKISC consultant, described Minh as "one of the very few well-rounded students" he has encountered in 25 years of teaching. Minh possesses strong knowledge, strategic thinking, outstanding competition achievements, and proficiency in both English and Japanese.

"To me, Minh is a role model for the young generation of engineers: technically skilled, fluent in foreign languages, responsible, and aspiring to reach international heights. I believe he will go very far", Doctor Khuong said.

In the final months of his fourth year, despite a busy competition schedule that included two international contests in Taiwan and Saudi Arabia, Minh completed his graduation project on "Research and development of a blockchain authentication system integrated with OAuth 2.0 using zero-knowledge proofs", achieving a score of 9,6/10. To manage the heavy workload, Minh divided the project into smaller, weekly goal-oriented stages.

"Thanks to early preparation, I completed the important parts beforehand, so my mind was not distracted when entering the competitions", Minh stated.

After graduation, the 22-year-old plans to pursue a master's degree in Europe. Minh is particularly interested in two major trends: artificial intelligence and quantum computing in information security. According to Minh, AI can help detect vulnerabilities quickly, but it also creates new risks for hackers to exploit before systems can patch them. Quantum computing, on the other hand, could break many currently used cryptographic algorithms.

Minh chose Europe because he perceives it as a region that prioritizes basic sciences.

"I also have a good impression of the open working style of my European friends from competitions", Minh added.

Khanh Linh