About Me

Hi, I’m Nguyen Dinh Cuong - a Master’s student at University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), who spends way too much time breaking things that aren’t mine (legally, of course) in the name of science. I’m currently a research apprentice at SEFCOM, which is basically where people like me gather to make computers cry. I focus on kernel exploitation, binary exploitation, and reverse engineering.

When I’m not doing research, I compete in hacking competitions called ctfs. I’m part of Shellphish, one of the most legendary ctf teams out there. Back in undergrad, I started the VinUni Hacking Club, where I now serve as an advisor, training the next generation of talented hackers.

My go-to challenges are usually pwn and rev, but when they’re too hard, I’ll pretend I like web or osint just to feel productive. I compete under the handle sashaNull.

Past Projects

Pwnnsylvania: UPenn’s innovative cybersecurity education platform, based on ASU’s pwn.college. It offers hands-on, challenge-based learning in exploit development, reverse engineering, cryptography and web security.

PennCloud: A scalable distributed system offering fault-tolerant storage, webmail, file management, user authentication, and an admin console for system monitoring and control.

VinUni Hacking Club CTF 2023: The official archive of challenges from VHC CTF 2023, organized by the VinUni Hacking Club.

Honors and Awards

Teaching