Team Romania Shines at Global Cybersecurity Camp 2026 in Vietnam
Between March 2–6, 2026, Team Romania stepped onto the global stage once again at the Global Cybersecurity Camp (GCC) 2026, held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. For the second consecutive year, Romania was represented at GCC through DefCamp - the first European member of the GCC alliance - with the support of Bitdefender, BIT SENTINEL, and the Acronis Cyber Foundation Program.
About the Global Cybersecurity Camp
The Global Cybersecurity Camp is a week-long annual international cybersecurity training program, with hosting responsibilities rotating among participating countries. Each year, top students from member countries gather in a host nation to exchange experiences, build lifelong friendships, and learn from leading cybersecurity professionals. Organized by non-commercial education programs and communities, the camp is supported by industry leaders committed to fostering a safer digital world.
GCC member organizations span across Asia-Pacific and Europe, including the Security Camp Committee (Japan), Division Zero (Singapore), VNSEC (Vietnam), Advanced Information Security Summer School (Taiwan), 2600 Thailand, SherpaSec (Malaysia), InfraDigital Foundation (Indonesia), Amrita University (India), and DefCamp (Romania) - among others from South Korea and beyond.
This Year's Team
Representing Romania at GCC 2026 were three talented students, guided by Andrei Avădănei, DefCamp founder:
- Mihaela Grajdan
- Paul Valase
- Diana Petroșel
The team arrived with confidence built on last year's experience and a clear desire to raise the bar.
A Week of Intensive Training
The program kicked off with an opening ceremony and ethics training session, followed by a packed schedule of advanced technical workshops led by world-class trainers:
- Introduction to IoT/ICS Security & Firmware Analysis Skills - covering attack vectors and practical tactics in IoT and industrial control systems security, led by Mars Cheng from TXOne Networks
- Practical Binary Hardening with Control-flow Enforcement Technology (CET) - exploring Intel's modern OS security mechanism, led by Michael and Kento Oki from Japan
- Hypervisors for Hackers: Security from the Hardware Up - a hands-on session building a lightweight hypervisor using Intel VT-x and Rust, led by Satoshi Tanda
- Super Hat's Kernel Trick: Social Engineering the AV/EDR Kernel Protection - exposing architectural flaws in how modern AV/EDRs interact with kernel security, led by Shenghao Ma from TXOne Networks
- Born in the Cloud, Breached on the On-Prem: Entra ID Attack Chains - real-world attack paths through Microsoft Entra ID, led by JimmySu and John Jiang from CyCraft
- Hands-On Cybersecurity AI Workshop - building an automated agentic AI penetration tester using N8N, led by Kar Wei Loh from Hexcore Labs
Every evening brought group work and cross-border collaboration, pushing participants to solve complex cybersecurity problems together in mixed international teams - a genuine simulation of the global infosec workforce.
Results: Romania Delivered
The hard work paid off. Team Romania performed wonderfully:
- Diana Petroșel and her team landed 2nd place, and her contribution also earned her a voucher for Black Hat Asia
- Paul Valase walked away with a CREST voucher, a well-deserved reward for his high-level involvement during the workshops
- Mihaela Grajdan stood out through her consistency, collaboration, and the way she tackled every challenge - exactly the mindset that makes a great cybersecurity professional in the making
Building Bridges Beyond the Camp
One of the highlights of the week was the visit from Hong Nhung Nguyen, APJ Cloud Partner Success Manager at Acronis, who joined the team for a session about the company's mission, solutions, and commitment to cybersecurity education.
The connections made at GCC extend well beyond the camp itself. Last year's GCC alumni attended DefCamp in Bucharest, and the 2026 squad is already looking forward to bringing their energy to DefCamp 2026. These programs build bridges, expand the global community, and create networks that truly last.
Why This Matters
Romania's participation in GCC is more than a delegation - it's a statement. As the first European member of the GCC alliance, DefCamp is actively expanding the camp's community across Europe, facilitating the sharing of knowledge and expertise in cybersecurity across continents.
Each year, DefCamp selects up to three Romanian students to participate in GCC, with travel and accommodation costs fully covered. Eligible students must be between 18 and 25 years old, involved in the cybersecurity community, and motivated to give back to the infosec ecosystem.
This initiative underscores DefCamp's commitment to advancing cybersecurity on a global scale - and GCC 2026 proved once again that Romania's young cybersecurity talent is world-class.
A huge thanks to Bitdefender, BIT SENTINEL, and the Acronis Cyber Foundation Program for supporting Team Romania and making experiences like this possible.
You can learn more about the Global Cybersecurity Camp at gcc.ac.