From left: Tan and Lee receiving their award
It was another proud moment for UTAR when Team GPT-1110 from the Faculty of Information and Communication Technology (FICT) secured second place at the BlackBerry Capture the Flag (CTF) competition. Held on 8 May 2025 at the BlackBerry Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (CCoE), Malaysia, the event was organised by BlackBerry CCoE and supported by RE:UN10N.
The team comprised Bachelor of Computer Science (Honours) students Tan Sin Chee and Lee Wei Song, and won RM3,300 worth of CompTIA Security+ lab and exam vouchers. They were coached by FICT academic Dr Aun Yichiet, who is also the Head of Programme for the Master in Data Management and Analytics & Postgraduate Diploma in Data Management and Analytics.
Themed around cybersecurity, the competition aimed to nurture and showcase local cybersecurity talents. It attracted 17 strong teams from 16 local universities.
The team enthused, “The selection process was highly competitive and emphasised diversity, with most universities allowed to send only one team. To be selected to represent UTAR at this arena was truly an honour. The CTFs are excellent platforms for experiential learning, especially in areas like digital literacy, problem-solving, and cybersecurity. The competition equipped us with high-demand technical skills, making us competent individuals with high career prospects. So, we are very happy to have won second place, but more importantly, it was a good learning experience to compete against other excellent teams. We are also on the look-out to recruit new talent to join our team. So, if anyone is interested, feel free to reach out to us on Teams.”
They added, “We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to our coach and lecturer, Dr Aun, for his constant guidance and support. We are also grateful to UTAR for always supporting student passions and providing opportunities for exposure through local and international events and competitions such as CTFs, hackathons, and conferences. It’s truly encouraging to have access to such enriching experiences to build our knowledge and skills.”
The competition featured a total of 33 original challenges, developed by members of RE:UN10N. These challenges covered a wide range of topics, including Digital Forensics, Web and Mobile Applications, PWN, Reverse Engineering, and OSINT.
Far right: Second-place winner Team GPT-1110, with other winners
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