Kang Dong-sok, a senior in the Department of Information Security, won the Grand Prize for his team in the Second Web Service Information Security Contest co-hosted by the Korea Southern
Power Co., Ltd. (KOSPO) and the Ministry of Education’s Yeongnam Regional Korea Education and Research Information Service Center (KERIS). Informally known as a “White Hacker” contest, the award ceremony was held as part of the online 2021 Cyber Security Conference which ran for two days from September 1 to 3, 2021. Kang also won a cash prize of four million won for his team.

Due to his participation in a security leader training program that he has participated in for the past year, and which includes a renowned white hacker training program, Kang was placed in the ‘BoB,’ or ‘Best of the Best’ team. The program also involves conducting various activities such as smart farm vulnerability checks, smart farm threat analysis using TRIDE threat modeling and security requirements research papers, and smart agricultural security guideline and checklist formulating.

Below is a guide to the contest:
2021 KOSPO Second Web Service Information Security Contest
•Hosted by: KOSPO, KERIS
•Application period: 2021. 7. 5 ~ 2021. 8. 1
•Target audience: University students, high school students, and middle school students
•Total prize money: 14 million won
•Competition topics: Inspection of website vulnerabilities operated by actual institutions (mock hacking)
•Eligibility: All university-age students and under who are interested in information protection (individual and/or team entries possible)