Thousands of internet attacks to steal information occur everywhere every single day, making the cyber world insecure and unsafe. This insecurity has turned information security specialists into a prime target for headhunters. To learn more about the state of affairs, we met with Prof. Nguyen Kim Tuan, Director of the School of Information Security at the DTU Faculty of Information Technology.
Prof. Nguyen Kim Tuan teaching at DTU
Reporter: Is it true that the recent explosion of attacks to steal user information has increased the value of information security personnel? And is this why the major has become so attractive, with many applicants of late signing up for it?
Prof. Nguyen Kim Tuan: In the context of the Industrial Revolution 4.0, network technology and the internet have made great progress, taking up key roles in almost all sectors - economy, commerce, communications. For businesses, computer networks and the internet are not just a useful internal management tool, but they are also important for media and advertisement campaigns with big influence on the end users. However, exactly because of this strong technological development, the issue of information security at businesses has gone through many complex developments, with an influence on socioeconomic development and national defense and security.
In light of this situation, not only organizations and businesses but even individual internet users have a demand for protection now that the number of attacks and user information thefts is increasing much more rapidly. This is why information security experts are very highly in demand in many countries around the world, including in Vietnam. This is also why this major has been enjoying such interest of parents and applicants alike in recent years.
DTU’s ISITDTU team ranks first in Vietnam and eighteenth of the world on the CTFTime ranking
Reporter: As it is such an important major, what are the strengths of the curriculum DTU created to make a difference for its information security students?
Prof. Nguyen Kim Tuan: As it is one of the first fields the university started investing in when it had just been founded, DTU is confident of the unequivocal strengths of its information technology majors. Among them, one should mention the collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), one of the four strongest universities in information technology in the US, which started in 2008 for the transfer of curriculums and the training of its lecturers.
Right from their first year, students are equipped with basic knowledge of network technology and network security. In addition to its highly experienced lecturers, DTU also pays a lot of attention to investing in modern equipment and specialized labs where students can catch up with technological developments and with the requirements of working in the 4.0 Industrial Revolution.
The open lab system here allows students to actively experiment with real-world attack and defense models on networks. The university furthermore regularly invites IT experts from all over the country to lecture and to exchange practical and specialized experience in network attack and defense with its students. The university also creates opportunities for students to take part in big practical information security contests in Vietnam and abroad to accumulate hands-on experience before they graduate.
Reporter: Is that also how we can understand why DTU students always ranks first in information security contests in Central Vietnam and in the top of national and international information security contests?
Prof. Nguyen Kim Tuan: In the last seven years, DTU students of information security have always been in the top of Central Vietnam and the Central Highlands. They have always been present in the national finals of national information security contests and of contests organized by big corporations, such as “Students with Information Security” (organized by the Ministry of Education and Training and the Vietnam Information Security Association), WhiteHatCTF (organized by BKAV), SecAthon VNPT (organized by VNPT), and MeepwnCTF (organized by information security company VNSecurity).
Just in 2018 and 2019, DTU students of information security have been continuously reaping big prizes, such as a second prize in the VNPT SecAthon 2018, a third prize and a fourth place in the 2018 national “Students with Information Security” contest, and a fourth place at the 2018 MastesCTF contest.
DTU’s ISITDTU team outstandingly ended in the top ten (ranking 8th out of 65 teams) in the finals of the quite challenging and famous Swiss Insomni’hack practical information security contest in March 2019.
In particular, the ISITDTU team overcame 318 teams to capture the first prize in the Byte Bandits CTF 2019 contest on April 13, 2019. This is a prestigious international online practical information security contest organized by the Indian National Institute of Science and Technology. This first prize pushed the ISITDTU team to first position in Vietnam and eighteenth position of the world on the CTFTime ranking.
Vietnam Information Security Association awarding DTU a certificate of merit
Reporter: In questions they send to DTU, applicants are very keen to know more about “pentesters” (penetration testers), an emerging phenomenon considered to be a type of expert contributing considerably to guaranteeing network security. Can you tell us more about this, that applicants thinking of pursuing this major can gain a better understanding of it?
Prof. Nguyen Kim Tuan: In recent years, the demand for online transactions has been on the rise. Computer networks and the internet have brought considerable benefits to users, organizations, businesses, and to all of society. However, this has come with the potential for substantial risks, as network attacks are growing in number and scale, with consequences that can be difficult to assess and, in particular, with the level of expertise and acumen of attackers a rising source of concern.
For these reasons, organizations and businesses nowadays are aware of the need to go through penetration testing before a product or system can start operations, to ensure it will run with the highest possible security. Pentesters are highly qualified people tasked with testing information security and attempting intrusions to guarantee network information security. To put it in a simpler way, testers test the quality of software products, while pentesters test the information security strength of information systems - such as of web applications, network system infrastructure, network server systems, and information security policies of organizations and businesses.
DTU delivers high-quality pentesters to society, which is why applicants who wish to become true pentesters should come to DTU and study information technology.
Reporter: After several years of offering training, DTU has split information security into a separate major. It this how we can see the strength of the information security training the university offers?
Prof. Nguyen Kim Tuan: One can say that, thanks to the long-time intersection of many factors such as experience in computer and network engineering training, the transfer of network security curriculums from the American CMU, and the focus on investment in specialized network and information security practice rooms at the university.
The DTU Faculty of Information Technology and International School have been providing society with high-quality people with the capabilities necessary to work in network management and information security. Meanwhile, DTU students of network technology have been setting down a great many achievements in practical information security contests in Vietnam and abroad. This has been acknowledged by the Vietnam Information Security Association, the Ministry of Education and Training, and big and small businesses active in information security in the entire country. This allows DTU to confidently train information security experts.
In 2019, DTU continues awarding a several preferential scholarships to Information Security applicants:
• 9 full scholarships (covering all tuition fees throughout the course) for applicants to any major of the CMU standard advanced and international programs and who have three-subject High Graduation Exam score of at least 23.
• 15 scholarships from aircraft manufacturer Boeing (US) for the CMU program worth 20 million VND each.
• 720 DTU scholarships with total value of over 1 billion dong for applicants with a total High Graduation Exam three-subject score at least three points higher than the admissions minimum.
• 700 Scholarships with total value of over 1 billion dong for applicants with a high school transcript score of 22 or above.
• Scholarships worth 5 million dong each for first-year students who obtained a consolation prize in a National Excellent Student contest or in a National Science & Technology contest.
For more information on Information Technology training at DTU, see: The International School and The Faculty of Information Technology
For detailed information, please contact the DTU Enrollment Center
254 Nguyen Van Linh, Danang
Hotlines: 1900.2252 - 0905.294390 - 0905.294391
Website: http://tuyensinh.duytan.edu.vn
Email: tuyensinh@duytan.edu
(Media Center)