Recently in China, a reality TV show for programmers called “Genius Programmer” premiered for the first time. Among the contestants, most come from prestigious universities, while some are prominent professionals in the industry. They were divided into 4 teams to solve various problems related to cyber attacks and defenses or AI recognition within a 48-hour time limit.
One individual who has emerged as a phenomenon is named Ha Lap Nhan. He plays a key role in his team thanks to his outstanding attack and defense skills. While his opponents had only earned 2,000 points, he led his teammates to achieve 16,000 points with just one-third of the time elapsed, winning the competition with a prize of $150,000.
However, what makes this individual such a phenomenon is his personal background. Ha Lap Nhan had dropped out while studying at a vocational high school, later self-taught coding in an Internet cafe, eventually making a name for himself in the field of information technology.
Ten years ago, everything began at a small Internet cafe near the entrance of a vocational high school in Hefei, Anhui Province, China. Previously, Ha Lap Nhan had failed the entrance exam for a high school due to a somewhat “awkward” situation. During the exam that year, he felt bored and fell asleep. When he woke up, he found that his saliva had soaked the exam paper, which directly led to his failure. To escape his family’s control, he chose to study at a vocational high school in Hefei.
But the young man at that time was not interested in the school’s courses, and the Internet cafe near the school became his “home.” Initially, Ha Lap Nhan was addicted to gaming. However, after playing a few games, he couldn’t find any worthy opponents. Therefore, this young man began to think about playing something more enjoyable than games.
Ha Lap Nhan said that as a child, he had played with computers in gaming cafes. At that time, he learned to hack the computer’s password by observing the staff’s typing gestures. This was a very rudimentary hacking technique, but it also enlightened this young man. Later, when a virus appeared on his home computer, he didn’t even want to eliminate it with software but instead spent time exploring its origin.
In the process of learning afterward, Ha Lap Nhan gradually got acquainted with the names of famous hackers, even enjoying the legends online about the battles between hackers. That is also the reason why, after getting bored with gaming, Ha Lap Nhan began to learn attack and defense techniques in the Internet cafe. He later joined various hacker forums, read several books on hacking techniques, and gradually integrated into the world of technology experts.
“At that time, I practically spent every night at gaming cafes, costing only 5 yuan (about $0.7),” Ha Lap Nhan said. At that time, his living expenses were 300 yuan a month. To save money, he often had to eat steamed buns to stave off hunger and drink tap water if he was thirsty.
“At that time, I was considered a weirdo, and the blankets I used to cover myself while sleeping there were often thrown away by them,” he recalled.
After countless nights spent in the Internet cafe, the name Ha Lap Nhan gradually gained recognition in the hacker community. At that time, the principal of the vocational high school where he was studying discovered that he often skipped classes, and he was forced to drop out. Fortunately, he later received an appointment from a company in Shanghai to start working as an information security officer.
In 2017, a technology company named “Sugar Free Information” was established in the Chengdu High-tech Zone, with 9 employees, including Ha Lap Nhan. Dong Vinh Ngao, a PhD in biology from Sichuan University, is also one of them. Like Ha Lap Nhan, he also self-taught programming skills in Internet cafes.
This group of people decided to become “white hat” hackers. Unlike “black hat” hackers, who use hacking techniques to develop viruses and attack security vulnerabilities, “white hat” hackers have the mission of maintaining the security order of the Internet network system.
The business of this company mainly involves cooperation between the police and enterprises. On its official website, the company states that it has collaborated with numerous police departments at all levels, totaling hundreds of units. While the police force fights crime on the “front line,” Ha Lap Nhan and his colleagues quietly provide technical support behind the scenes and use technology to counter them, especially against various types of telecommunications fraud, online gambling, etc.
Over 4 years, the company’s team has grown from 9 to over 150 people, moving into a more spacious and brighter office. However, when sharing about his past, Ha Lap Nhan said he feels he is “not a good role model.”
Answering the question: “Why learn programming in an Internet cafe?”, he replied: “They can play games in an Internet cafe? Why can’t I learn to code here? I think that’s normal.”
“But I think I am not a good role model for young people to follow!”, he added.
Source: Sina