APU’s cyber security students dominated the annual SunCTF 2025 competition, with three teams from the university’s Forensic and Cybersecurity Research Centre Student Section (FSeC-SS) securing the top three positions in the open category, as team C0UGH1NGB4BY won first place, team Formal Sweatpants and team CCX Fan Club finished second and third, respectively, highlighting APU’s leading role in cybersecurity education.

In a remarkable display of skill, three teams from the Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation’s (APU) Forensic and Cybersecurity Research Centre Student Section (FSeC-SS) swept the top three positions at the annual SunCTF 2025 competition, once again proving its mettle in the world of cybersecurity, held on 30th August 2025.

Organised by the Sunway Cybersecurity Club at Sunway University, SunCTF is a premier cybersecurity competition where students put their skills to the test in a Jeopardy-style Capture the Flag (CTF) challenge. 

It is an ethical hacking playground for students and enthusiasts, designed to test and enhance their abilities in reverse engineering, cryptography, web exploitation, and forensics. 

This year, the event offered some impressive prizes, including cash, tickets to Sunway Lagoon, and professional training vouchers.

APU’s FSeC-SS proudly fielded 10 teams, demonstrating the university’s strong commitment to nurturing top-tier cybersecurity talent.

A clean sweep

The ultimate champions for open category of SunCTF 2025 were APU’s team C0UGH1NGB4BY, comprising Chai Cheng Xun, Hong Rui Yi, and Ruhan Aidan Amaradasa. 

According to Cheng Xun, the team has been actively competing in CTFs since 2023, consistently challenging themselves in both local and online competitions.

“We have improved our skills by practising a lot and tackling different challenges,” he explained.

“The experience and knowledge we have gained since 2023 were the main reasons we managed to win.”

He highlighted one particularly tough challenge involving the reverse engineering of PyArmor, a tool known for being incredibly difficult to crack. 

“Getting this experience taught us a new technique and significantly improved our technical skills and problem-solving abilities,” he said.

Cheng Xun added that while the competition does not directly add to their coursework, it provides invaluable practical experience.

“In academics, we focus more on theory, but CTF is all about hands-on, real-world problem-solving. SunCTF 2025 exceeded our expectations — it was even better than last year, with more interesting challenges, a bigger scale, and better prizes.”

The FSeC-SS’s dominance did not stop with the champions. Team Formal Sweatpants, made up of Lim Shi Han, Leong Han Ming, and Shunsuke Tan Hei, seized the second-place spot, while team CCX Fan Club, with Jeremy Phang Kah Chun, Tan Nick Kean, and Emmy Toh Jia Yu, took a hard-fought third. 

These top three teams showcased exceptional expertise, claiming every single podium position for FSeC-SS.

But the success was not limited to the top spots. APU’s strength was evident throughout the rankings, with several other teams making their mark including T3ST1NG (9th), CYNX (10th), ermm (12th), Haiyaaaaaa (14th), Baby Shark (18th), Ctrl+Shift+Hackers (19th) and PwnC4K3 (50th).

These remarkable achievements were made possible not only by the students’ dedication and hard work but also by the unwavering support from APU. 

Special recognition goes to Associate Professor Dr Thang Ka Fei, Senior Head of the School of Technology (SoT); the FSeC-SS Advisors, Ms Nor Azlina Abd Rahman and Ms Noris Ismail, and the Cyber Security lecturers, whose guidance and encouragement were instrumental in shaping the teams’ success.

This accomplishment reinforces APU’s reputation as a leader in cybersecurity education and its commitment to providing students with hands-on, real-world learning experiences and exposure.