About

My name is Vladimir Albu. I am a high school student, cybersecurity enthusiast and CTF player.
I am the captain of a Romanian CTF team called “OctalO” (CTFtime)
Currently learning more web application penetration testing and binary exploitation.

Certifications and associated skills

  • Burp Suite Certified Practitioner (BSCP) - View certification
    • Burp Suite
    • Web Application Security

Awards and achievements

This includes competitions and extracurricular activities

2026

  • 🌍 Qualified to the International Cybersecurity Olympiad (ICO)
  • 🇷🇴 Member of Team Romania at the European Cybersecurity Challenge (ECSC)
  • 🍊 Participated in the ROCSC Bootcamp (ECSC qualifiers)
  • 🥇 1st place at the Romanian National Cyber Security Olympiad (overall)
  • ✍️ Challenge author at ROCSC 2026 Finals
  • 🥇 1st place at the Romanian Regional Cyber Security Olympiad (overall)

2025

  • 🥇 2nd place internationally, best romanian team - DefCamp CTF 2025 Finals (Team OctalO) (fun fact: because the organizers forgot to unfreeze the leaderboard, they thought we won 1st place internationally and awarded us on-stage, only to find out later that TRX actually won)
  • 🇷🇴 Member of Team Romania at ECSC (backup player)
  • 🚩 Qualified for the DefCamp CTF finals by obtaining 4th place out of 491 teams at TFC CTF 2025 (Team OctalO)
  • 📜 BSCP certified
  • 🌲 Participated in the ROCSC Bootcamp (ECSC qualifiers)
  • 🥈 2nd place at the Romanian National Cyber Security Olympiad (10th grade)
  • 🥇 1st place at UNbreakable Romania Team Finals (high school), 2nd overall, (Team “hex on the beach”)
  • 🚩 4th place (high school) at UNbreakable Romania Individual (9th overall)
  • 🥇 1st place at the Romanian Regional Cyber Security Olympiad (10th grade), 2nd overall
  • 🚩 Qualified for ROCSC Finals (6th on junior category, 10th overall)

2024

  • ✍️ Challenge author at TFC CTF 2024, organized by Romania’s best CTF team
  • 🌲 Participated in the ROCSC Bootcamp (ECSC qualifiers)
  • 🥇 1st place at the Romanian National Cyber Security Olympiad (9th grade)
  • 🥇 1st place at the Romanian Regional Cyber Security Olympiad (9th grade), 5th overall