The academy's CyberCh1ck team secured the Grand Prize during the final round of HackTheOn Sejong 2026, held on July 9 in Sejong City, South Korea.

The achievement represents Vietnam's first overall victory since the competition was established.

HackTheOn Sejong is an annual Capture The Flag (CTF) cybersecurity competition organized by the Sejong City government, attracting teams from universities around the world.

This year's qualifying round drew 1,779 contestants from 548 teams, representing 216 universities across 47 countries.

Following the preliminary round, organizers selected 40 teams for the finals, including:

20 teams in the Advanced division.
10 South Korean teams in the Beginner A division.
10 international teams in the Beginner B division.

CyberCh1ck consisted of four students from the Academy of Cryptography Techniques' Faculty of Information Security: Pham Hoai Nam; Tran Viet Hoang; Nguyen Chien Thang;  Pham Huu Khiem

Competing in the Beginner B division, the team outperformed international rivals to win the division championship before being awarded the competition's overall Grand Prize.

According to the organizers, this is the first time a Vietnamese team has received the competition's highest distinction since HackTheOn Sejong was launched.

Continuing Vietnam's strong record
 

The victory builds on the Academy of Cryptography Techniques' recent successes in international cybersecurity competitions.

In 2024, the academy's KMA.0range team won first prize in the Beginner division.

In 2025, another academy team, Blue Light Bug, claimed first place in the Advanced division, the competition's most challenging category.

CyberCh1ck was not the only Vietnamese team to reach the finals this year.

Other finalists represented the Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology (Ho Chi Minh City campus), Hanoi University of Science and Technology, and the University of Information Technology under Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City.

Altogether, seven Vietnamese teams qualified for the Beginner B and Advanced divisions.

However, CyberCh1ck was the only Vietnamese team to receive an award at this year's competition.

According to the organizers, the team's success demonstrates the growing expertise of Vietnamese students in information security while creating new opportunities and raising expectations for the next generation of the country's cybersecurity professionals.

Du Lam