Held annually with the participation of top global cybersecurity teams, the International Cybersecurity Championship is one of the world’s largest hands-on cyber defence competitions, emphasising capabilities in system-scale attack prevention, defence, and investigation. The 2025 finals took place in Russia, drawing elite teams from cybersecurity powerhouses such as Russia, India, Thailand, Belarus, and Malaysia.
This year’s competition brought together 116 teams from around 30 countries. Viet Nam was represented by multiple teams, including VCS, NCS, and VNPT. Among them, VNPT Cyber Immunity was the only Vietnamese team to successfully advance through the qualifying rounds, topping the scoreboard and officially earning a place in the finals —the tournament’s most challenging stage.
Before the final round, all teams were required to pass the group stage, following the CTF (Capture The Flag) format. This stage involved a series of advanced challenges in areas such as cryptography (Crypto), digital forensics (Forensic), malware reverse engineering, web vulnerability exploitation, steganography, and complex mixed techniques (Joy).
VNPT Cyber Immunity not only outperformed strong opponents but also achieved the highest score across all brackets. The team led Group 3 (with 42 teams) with a score of 7,200 points. In comparison, the top team in Group 1 (44 teams) — from Russia — scored 4,500 points, while the leading team in Group 2 (31 teams) — from Belarus —scored 5,100 points. This outstanding result highlights not only VNPT’s technical breadth but also the team’s sharp problem-solving skills and swift response in real-world scenarios.
Entering the final round against fierce global competition, VNPT Cyber Immunity continued to perform at a high level, showcasing adaptive responses, strategic thinking, and tight coordination among team members. Throughout the competition, the team demonstrated comprehensive capabilities in key cybersecurity areas, such as System Hardening, Blue Team Operations (proactive defence, monitoring, threat detection, investigation, and response), Reverse Engineering, and King of the Hill (KoTH – server takeover challenges).
Thanks to seamless teamwork, smart tactical coordination, and flexible adaptability, VNPT Cyber Immunity achieved a remarkable milestone by finishing in the top 3 overall. This achievement marks a new chapter for VCI, as well as VNPT in general, on the global cybersecurity stage.
As countries increasingly regard cybersecurity as an essential pillar of digital sovereignty, VNPT Cyber Immunity’s success in outperforming elite teams from around the world is not only a significant technical accomplishment but also a powerful testament to Viet Nam’s technological potential and real-world capability in cybersecurity – a field critical to the nation’s rise in the digital era.
