APU Cyber Security students Ong Zi Xuan, Teh Yu Xuan, and Tan Sin Hong secured first, second, and third places respectively — an outstanding triumph at the virtual Global AWS Skills to Jobs Capture the Flag (CTF) Challenge 2025, powered by the SANS Institute — showcasing APU’s excellence in producing globally competitive cybersecurity talent.

Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU) has once again proven its global excellence in cyber security, as its students achieved an extraordinary clean sweep of the top three positions at the virtual AWS Skills to Jobs Capture the Flag (CTF) Challenge 2025, powered by the renowned SANS Institute.

The global competition, held from 15 to 20 October 2025, drew participants from across the world, including Colombia, France, Germany, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. 

Hosted on the ranges.io platform, the multi-day challenge tested participants through a series of hands-on cybersecurity scenarios that grew increasingly complex with each stage.

Leading the pack was Ong Zi Xuan, who clinched the champion title, followed by Teh Yu Xuan in second place and Tan Sin Hong in third place. 

All three are students from APU’s Cyber Security programme, underscoring the university’s strong commitment to nurturing globally competitive cyber security talent. 

Zi Xuan, who has actively participated in CTF competitions over the past two years, shared that his success stemmed from both skill and persistence.

“It was quite fortunate that this competition placed strong emphasis on forensics challenges, an area I am more familiar with and that gave me a great start,” he said.

“Being consistent with participation helps build experience and familiarity with competition formats, which ultimately increases the chances of winning.”

He added that the Global AWS Skills to Jobs CTF Challenge 2025 was particularly valuable as it offered participants a chance to pursue the SEC401 certification from SANS, one of the world’s most respected cybersecurity organisations.

“It was an enjoyable and rewarding experience that adds real value to my professional development,” he said.

Echoing his sentiment, Yu Xuan said the competition reinforced the lessons they learn at APU.

“Every challenge felt worthwhile, especially knowing that my friends and I from APU swept the top three positions,” he shared. 

For Sin Hong, who was competing in an AWS and SANS event for the first time, the experience was equally enriching.

“I managed to complete all challenges a day before the competition ended. It was both fun and insightful and I gained a lot of new cybersecurity knowledge, and learned how to identify attack paths more efficiently,” he said.

This remarkable achievement was made possible through the continuous guidance and encouragement of Head School of Technology (SoT), Associate Professor Dr Thang Ka Fei, alongside the unwavering support of Forensic and Cyber Security Research Centre – Student Section (FSEC-SS) advisors, Ms Nor Azlina Abd Rahman and Ms Noris Ismail.

APU extends its heartfelt congratulations to the winners for their outstanding performance and for proudly representing Malaysia on the global cybersecurity stage.