One team’s ‘secret’ weapon at DEF CON

• Xponents Zeus Chan and Kenneth Lee, together with their SIT teammates, recently won four Capture the Flag (CTF) competitions at DEF CON 34.
• The two Xponents said their close friendship was a factor behind their wins at the major cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas.
• They pointed out their experience at HTX — including work related to Prometheus, HTX’s AI-enabled red-teaming tool showcased at MTX 2026 — gave them relevant exposure to AI tools and real-world cyber problem-solving.

Winning a Capture the Flag (CTF) competition at DEF CON, the world’s most high-profile cybersecurity conference, is no walk in the park. In most contest categories, participants have to compete with dozens of large teams comprising elite hackers.

Against this backdrop, two HTX cybersecurity engineers Zeus Chan and Kenneth Lee, and their counterparts from the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), finished first in not one but a whopping four CTF competitions (Red Team Village, Adversary Village, Hack The Box and OWASP) at the recent DEF CON 34 in Las Vegas.

What made this feat even more impressive was the fact that this was Zeus and Kenneth’s maiden DEF CON outing.

The power of…friendship?

One of the reasons Zeus and Kenneth cited as critical behind their success at DEF CON was the “synergy” they shared with their younger teammates from SIT.

But those who know the two Xponents personally might also raise a similar point – the duo possesses the kind of chemistry that underpins lifelong friendships.

Bound by a slew of common interests, from everything related to cybersecurity to building home labs to bouldering, Zeus and Kenneth first met years ago during their National Service when they were posted to the Digital Intelligence Service. As part of the Cyber NSF scheme they were under, the pair later studied at SIT, before joining HTX as apprentices under the university’s Integrated Work Study Programme. They then became full-fledged staff earlier this year.

Just how close are the two? Kenneth is due to be Zeus’ groomsman later this year.

“We do a lot of stupid things together,” laughed Kenneth, who works for the Cyber Threat Hunting team at HTX’s xCybersecurity Centre of Expertise.

“We’ve slapped each other with slices of Parma ham before. Zeus once tried crashing a drone into me just for laughs. We’re silly like that.”

Unsurprisingly, the bond between these two fun-loving individuals was cited as part of the secret sauce behind their wins at DEF CON.

“Our friendship was definitely a factor. I mean, getting to compete in a CTF with your buddy just makes things a lot more fun. Having fun raises morale, and this just translates to better performance,” mused Zeus, a Red Team engineer at xCybersecurity.

Besides sharing common interests and a mischievous streak, the two also have similar tales to share in their cybersecurity journey.

For example, they were both victims of hacking before.

“Why did I decide to learn about hacking? Because my MapleStory account got hacked,” laughed Kenneth.

“Someone hacked my account and stole all my in-game currency. I was so angry but at the same time also curious about hacking, and so I resolved to learn what it is all about."

Zeus was more sheepish about this incident.

“So, I’ve never told anyone this before, but I got hacked, too,” he lamented.

“My star players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on the FIFA online game – they were all gone. I thought that it was such a humiliating experience because I already knew a thing or two about hacking!”

Modest to a fault

The two Xponents, however, were quick to play down their credentials as hackers.

“In all honesty, I think we were afraid of being a burden to our teammates at DEF CON,” quipped Zeus.

“They may be students but they had beaten the world-renowned NUS GreyHats at a competition earlier this year. They’re that good.”

The duo also pointed out that this year’s DEF CON was a watershed moment. Unlike previous editions where participants relied on traditional hacking methods, most if not all the contestants this year utilised artificial intelligence (AI) to help them solve the CTF puzzles.

The AI tool in this context is called a harness, an automated software testing and orchestration wrapper designed to let AI agents play cybersecurity CTF competitions.

“I think the use of AI tools took away some shine from the notion of being a hacker. Previously, winning a CTF showed off your credentials as a hacker who had good cross domain knowledge. Now, AI has levelled the playing field and lowered the barrier for entry into a CTF.”

That being said, success still ultimately depends on the person wielding the tool, he added.

“You’re still going to need multidisciplinary cybersecurity knowledge. I mean, AI is just a tool. You can’t possibly be using it to compete in something you don’t understand.”

On this note, the two Xponents credit their working experience at HTX for their success on the global hacking stage – this is the other part of the duo’s secret sauce.

After all, what they do at work is closely related to what they do during a CTF competition. In fact, their knowledge of building a harness came from their experience of creating Prometheus, a “red teaming” tool by HTX that was showcased at MTX (Milipol TechX Summit) in April 2026.

“I think we’re really fortunate to work here at HTX, because it affords us the kind of AI tools we need to hone our skills. Having knowledgeable and supportive colleagues certainly helps, too,” said Zeus.

Loving thy job

Not many people can claim that they love their jobs. Zeus and Kenneth can.

The latter cites the fast-paced nature of cybersecurity as the key allure of the job. He explained that cyberthreats are constantly evolving and professionals like him need to be constantly on their toes, ready to react to whatever bad actors have up their sleeves. The rising use of AI in this sector, too, makes the sector even more dynamic.

“AI is changing the way people hack and there’s just so much happening. I’m always experimenting with new things and learning new stuff every day. I just love it,” said Kenneth.

To Zeus, his passion for cybersecurity stems from the fact that it allows him to indulge his fixation with solving problems.

“Many people would think cybersecurity is a very technical field. But there’s in fact a lot of creativity involved. You need to be creative when finding ways to stop attacks or find weaknesses in computer systems. I also love how I can use unorthodox methods to solve problems,” he said.

Both also agree that working for an agency like HTX has made their careers particularly fulfilling and meaningful as well.

“We take care of the systems that are safeguarding Singapore. Millions of lives would be impacted if these systems fail,” said Kenneth.

“So, yeah, this job is definitely fulfilling. I mean, we’re literally responsible for Singapore’s public safety!”