by Dr. Randy Domantay
Saint Louis University’s Team 0-Day_SLU from the Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT) emerged as champion, besting eight other teams coming from various higher education institutions in the Cordillera Administrative Region in the recently concluded HackForGov 3 2024 challenge held last 26 June 2024 at New Town Plaza Baguio City. The team is qualified to compete for the national championship slated in October 2024.

SLU’s participation in several cybersecurity initiatives spearheaded by the Department of Information and Communication Technologies (DICT) – Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) was put into high gear when the team bagged gold in the said competition.
The highlight of the event was the grueling eight-hour challenge for nine participating teams from various higher education institutions in the Cordillera Region to compete for the top spot and the chance to represent CAR in the national championship finals slated to happen sometime this October 2024. The national champion will also have the chance to represent the country in international cybersecurity competitions abroad.
The champion team (0-Day_SLU) is composed of BSIT students Dave Gabrielle Dalit, who was also recognized as the top scorer, Alkaid Pading, Paul Ivan Dimacali, and Aeika Sajulla, and their adviser, Dr. Randy B. Domantay. Team Barbinlanza, who also participated in the said competition, is composed of BSIT students Divine Alisto, Psalmer Balanza, Chryzel Beray, and Justine Lucas.
It was an intense battle for the top three spots from start to finish. At the end of each hour, all teams are ranked based on their total scores, and the results are flashed on screen. Participants were required to use their own laptops to access a site where the cybersecurity scenarios were played out. It was a hard-fought battle for all nine teams for the top spot, but fortunately, team 0-Day_SLU was able to weather the pressure and pull through in the home stretch.
The HackforGov Capture-the-Flag Competition, which started in 2019, is an annual nationwide cybersecurity competition organized by DICT’s Cybersecurity Bureau and the Philippine National Computer Emergency Response Team (NCERT/CERT-PH) of the Cordillera Administrative Region. It is designed to raise awareness among students about the importance of cybersecurity and provide them with hands-on experience in the techniques used in the virtual world. This competition features a series of cyber threats in simulated scenarios or situations related to web and network security, cryptography, digital forensics, and incident response. This year’s theme, “Today’s generation, tomorrow’s champion, shaping the future of cybersecurity through shared responsibility,” highlighted the importance of team efforts and collaboration, where young minds can develop innovative solutions and strategies to address cybersecurity threats and challenges.
The 1st runner-up came from Benguet State University (team Bitbandits), the 2nd runner-up came from the University of the Philippines Baguio (team UP Load), and the 3rd runner-up is team Cyberguardians from the University of the Cordilleras.