Nepali Hackers Conference concludes, ‘Pentester Nepal’ to adopt institutional structure
भदौ १, २०८२ ११:१७
Kathmandu: Pentester Nepal, a community of Nepali ethical hackers, cybersecurity experts, and enthusiasts, marked its 12th anniversary with a conference at Ullens College in Lalitpur on Saturday. The event brought together cybersecurity professionals, offering a platform for learning and collaboration.
Speaking at the program, Pentester Nepal leader Nirmal Dahal announced plans to formally register the group, which has been operating as an open community for 12 years, and shift it into an institutional structure.
“We have been trying to register it since last year,” he said. “Now, our goal is to make it more systematic, prepare cybersecurity guidelines suited to the Nepali context similar to ‘OWASP,’ and provide greater opportunities to community members through a membership system.”
Dahal, who has led the community for the past eight years, said he plans to step aside in the near future, handing over leadership to the new generation while continuing in an advisory role. He hinted that this may be his last year as leader.
The event featured presentations by various cybersecurity experts. Diksha Shrestha shared her journey in bug bounty and web application pentesting, while Rikesh Baniya spoke about hacking support portals. Bug bounty hunter Manoj Gautam discussed his methods under the theme “The Easy Hacker’s Guide to Facebook GraphQL.”
Similarly, Neeraj Kharel presented on “Where Intent Goes Wrong,” Kritika Kapali spoke about AI governance, and Vaibhav Jha shared insights on “Oath Timing Attack.”
The conference also saw enthusiastic participation from young learners. Fifteen-year-old Aryan Gharti from Dang and Anand Kesari from Biratnagar joined the event. “I prefer to call myself a junior pentester,” Aryan said. “I came here straight from Dang to network and learn things I didn’t know from my senior brothers and sisters.”
A highlight of the program was the Capture the Flag (CTF) competition, with over 30 teams, each comprising three hackers. Team Vinod (V1n0d) secured first place with over 16,000 points, followed by Team AOHF with 14,650 points and Team DEADCAT with 8,049 points. Winners received cash vouchers and certificates.
Dahal expressed gratitude to Bugcrowd, HackerOne, Alter Security, API Security, Robix Cloud, StickerMandu, and other supporters for helping make the event a success.
Ullens College, the event’s host, announced that winners of the CTF competition will be offered opportunities to work as Research Assistants or Teaching Assistants at the college. The collaboration aims to inspire the next generation of hackers and cybersecurity researchers to learn, grow, and become professionals.
पछिल्लो अध्यावधिक: भदौ १, २०८२ ११:१७
