// Singapore · Year 2 of 3

JOASH TAY

I break and rebuild

Cybersecurity and Digital Forensics student at Singapore Polytechnic, currently on the DIS Sentinel Programme. Most of my time goes into binary exploitation, reverse engineering, and x86-64 assembly.

See the path Get in touch

DIS SentinelCybersecurity Apprentice
ISC2 CTFTop 6, 2025
YCEPTop 8 of Top 10, 2022

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Profile

Background, and what I am working on now

I work on low-level system mechanics, software exploitation, and offensive security.

That means reverse-engineering software architectures, analysing x86 and x64 assembly, and building automated digital services around what I find. My primary areas are vulnerability analysis, binary exploitation, reverse engineering, and x86-64 assembly. Alongside those I work with Docker containerisation, Nginx reverse proxy configuration, and Linux systems.

Competitions are how I got here. The Youth Cyber Exploration Programme in 2022 was my first proper security one, and I have stayed on that track since: the ISC2 and SIM Community Café CTF, TryHackMe, and the PortSwigger Web Security Academy. I taught myself to code before any of that, writing Lua in Roblox Studio.

Away from the terminal I ran my secondary school’s Infocomm CCA as president, cover events of a thousand people or more as a Red Cross first aider, draft appeals for residents at Meet-the-People Sessions, and train with the Strictly Dance Zone bboy crew.

BasedSingapore
FocusOffensive security
Readingx86-64 disassembly
TrainingBJJ, Muay Thai, Boxing

The arsenal

What I actually work with

joash@sg:~$ cat skills.txt

securityPenetration Testing · Vulnerability Analysis · Binary Exploitation · Reverse Engineering · x86-64 Assembly · Digital Forensics

reconnmap · gobuster · dirb · dirbuster · nikto

exploitMetasploit · sqlmap · Burp Suite · BeEF

wirelessairmon-ng · aircrack-ng · bettercap

scanningOpenVAS · Nessus · Wireshark · rkhunter

crackingJohn the Ripper · hashcat

languagesC · C++ · Go · Python · Lua · JavaScript · HTML · CSS

systemsLinux/Bash · PowerShell · Kali Linux · Docker · Nginx · Vim · Neovim

webExpress.js · Bootstrap · Roblox Studio

spokenEnglish · Chinese (Mandarin)

offhoursBrazilian Jiu-Jitsu · Muay Thai · Boxing · Breakdancing

Binary Exploitation Reverse Engineering x86-64 Assembly Digital Forensics Penetration Testing Metasploit Burp Suite nmap Wireshark sqlmap gobuster nikto dirb Nessus OpenVAS aircrack-ng bettercap hashcat John the Ripper BeEF Kali Linux Linux Bash PowerShell Vim Neovim rkhunter Docker Nginx C C++ Go Python Lua JavaScript Express.js

The path so far

keep scrolling, it moves sideways

2014-2020

Yew Tee Primary School

PSLE · Singapore

Represented the school at the National Robotics Competition and the National Robotics Programming Competition across 2018 and 2019.

Education

2021-2024

Clementi Town Secondary

GCE O-Level

Four years of secondary school, with Computing taken at O-Level.

Education

2022

Youth Cyber Exploration

Cyber Security Agency of Singapore with Republic Polytechnic

Top 8 of Top 10. My first proper security competition, and the one that set the direction I have followed since.

Security

2023

Intel® AI Global Impact Festival

Top 5 worldwide

A real-time AI model that detects knife threats and automatically alerts law enforcement.

Competition

2023

Google AI National Youth Tech

2nd Runner-Up

An AI model integrated with drone technology to recognise LEGO structures in flight.

Competition

2023

AWS Data Science Accelerator

Farrer Park, SGCodeCampus, AWS and IMDA

Best Project in the Nursing and Freelancers category.

Competition

2023-2024

President, Infocomm Tech CCA

Clementi Town Secondary School

Ran weekly operations and skills training, and prepared teams for Hack@AC, BrainHack and the National Olympiad in Informatics.

Leadership

Apr 2025 to Dec 2028

Singapore Polytechnic

Dip. Cybersecurity & Digital Forensics (DCDF-S54)

Year 2 of a three-year diploma. School of Computing subcommittee, and class leader.

Education

Since 2025

DIS Sentinel Programme

Digital and Intelligence Service · Cybersecurity Apprentice

A national cybersecurity talent pipeline sponsored by MINDEF and the SAF. Core focus: binary exploitation, reverse engineering and x86-64 assembly.

Security

2025

ISC2 × SIM Cybersecurity CTF

Community Café capture-the-flag

Finished Top 6.

Security

Awarded 2025

Excellence in Service and Leadership

Gold · for secondary school

Earned across my years at Clementi Town Secondary and presented in 2025, by which point I was already partway through my first semester at Singapore Polytechnic.

Award

Awarded 2025

EDUSAVE EAGLES

Achievement, Good Leadership and Service

The other secondary school award that caught up with me in 2025, after I had already started at Singapore Polytechnic.

Award

2026

SANS Spark National CTF

Digital forensics challenge

Competed in the national digital forensics capture-the-flag. Did not place.

Security

Projects & competitions

Competition entries and things I have built

2022 to now · Security practice

Capture the flag and lab work

Top 6 at the ISC2 and SIM Cybersecurity Community Café CTF. Ongoing lab work through TryHackMe Pre-Security and Security 101, and the PortSwigger Burp Suite Web Security Academy.

Top 6, ISC2 CTF 2025

2023 · Intel® AI Global Impact Festival

Knife Threat Detection

A real-time AI model that detects knife threats and automatically alerts law enforcement.

Top 5 worldwide

2023 · Google AI National Youth Tech Championship

AI-Drone Object Recognition

An AI model integrated with drone technology to recognise LEGO structures in flight.

2nd Runner-Up

2023 · Self-initiated

Roblox Studio workshop

Organised and led a workshop for kids with special needs, teaching them to build an obstacle course in Roblox Studio.

Community teaching

2023 · Hwa Chong Institution

Game Development Sabbatical

A game development programme run over the school sabbatical, completed end to end.

Completed

2022 · Where the coding started

Roblox game development

Self-taught Lua and Roblox Studio. Published several games that have passed 16,000 visits between them. A side hobby now, but it is where I learned to write code.

Early coding experience

2018 & 2019 · National Robotics