Vietnamese enthusiasts of computer security are encouraged to join the country’s first-ever hacking contest that will kick off next month and open to “white hat” hackers countrywide.

Groups of hackers will compete head-to-head in the 2014 WhiteHat Grand Prix to win the VND100 million (US$4,707) top prize, according to the contest’s organizer, Hanoi-based computer security firm Bkav.

The event runs from September 19 to October 20, with the qualifying rounds hosted online and the finals taking place simultaneously in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Local young hackers, aged under 35, are required to form groups of two to five members to join the online qualifiers at www.whitehat.vn on September 19 and 20.

Registration is now open at www.whitehat.vn until 10:00 am, September 15.

Ten best groups, with five each representing the northern and southern regions, will advance to the finals.

The finals will take place on October 25 in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to select three winning teams. The specific venues for the finales are undisclosed.

“The hacking contest is organized at a time when the global Internet security remains complicated,” Ngo Tuan Anh, deputy chairman of Internet security at Bkav, said.

Anh said contestants will be able to challenge their knowledge of common aspects in the security field.

These include exploiting software vulnerabilities, reverse engineering, web security, cryptography, network infrastructure security, and Capture the Flag, he said.

Capture the Flag (CTF), one of the best known models of hacking contest, is a hacking competition where teams of hackers attempt to attack and defend computers and networks using certain software and network structures.

WhiteHat Grand Prix will be annually held, following the success of the monthly WhiteHat Contest hosted on www.whitehat.vn, an online forum that boasts 20,000 members.

The term "white hat" refers to an ethical computer hacker, or a computer security expert, who specializes in penetration testing and in other testing methodologies to ensure the security of an organization's information systems.

By contrast, a "black hat" hacker is a hacker who violates computer security for little reason beyond maliciousness or for personal gain.

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