The results were announced on the evening of 15/11, crowning two teams as champions of the Cybersecurity Student Competition 2025. PTIT.CBS, representing the Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology, secured the top spot in Group A, while UIT-Reze from Ho Chi Minh City University of Information Technology, Vietnam National University, TP HCM, emerged victorious in Group B.

The competition, hosted by the National Cyber Security Association (NCA) in collaboration with the Cyber Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department, and under the patronage of the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Education and Training, saw intense participation. Its core mission is to promote data security knowledge, foster a cybersecurity culture, provide practical experience, and cultivate critical and creative thinking among students. This initiative aims to identify and nurture future generations of cybersecurity experts.

This year's competition focused on data security and personal data protection. The preliminary round, held in mid-October, involved approximately 200 online teams. Participants tackled themed challenges, including: pwnable (software exploitation, buffer overflow), reverse engineering (focusing on software source code decompilation and software protection), web (attack techniques on web applications), and crypto/ACM (decryption puzzles and attacking encryption algorithms).

Teams that advanced to the final round were divided into two distinct groups, Group A and Group B, each with its own competition format.

In Group A, PTIT.CBS competed against 19 other teams, including a representative from Tsukuba University, Japan. Teams in this group were tasked with simultaneously defending their own systems and exploiting vulnerabilities in their opponents' systems within a simulated data center environment.

Group B featured 56 online teams. These teams faced in-depth challenges covering web security, software exploitation, decryption, and attacking encryption algorithms. The UIT-Reze team ultimately claimed first prize in this challenging group.

The team from Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology receives first prize at the Cybersecurity Student Competition 2025. *Photo: Organizing Committee*

Major General Le Xuan Minh, Director of the Cyber Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department (A05) and Vice President of the National Cyber Security Association, observed the consistent skill level among all competing teams during the awards ceremony. He highlighted this as a reflection of the significant potential of Vietnamese students in cybersecurity, a strategic and cutting-edge field in the digital age.

"Every student participating today, regardless of their ranking, has contributed to asserting the intellectual capacity and progressive spirit of Vietnam's young generation on the regional and global cybersecurity map", Minh shared.

Beyond certificates of merit and recognition, winning teams are recommended by the NCA to participate in international cybersecurity competitions, such as Cyber Sea Game and ASEAN Cyber Shield. They also gain valuable opportunities to work at leading technology agencies and companies.