Kookmin University (President Jeong Seung Ryul) announced the successful hosting of ‘CO-SHOW AutoHack 2025 (Automotive Hacking Defense Competition)’ from November 26 to 28 at Halls 2 and 3A of Exhibition Hall 1, West Wing, BEXCO, Busan. Now in its second year, this competition is the only one in Korea covering the entire process of automotive hacking and defense. It provided an educational and competitive platform where participants could experience industry-level security technology through a realistic environment centered on actual vehicles and enhanced problem design.

This competition was jointly hosted by the Advanced Field Innovation Convergence University Project (COSS) consortiums: △Future Automotive Consortium (Director Shin Sung Hwan, Kookmin University) and △Data Security Utilization Convergence Consortium (Director Sohn Kyung Ho, Kangwon National University). Kookmin University served as the organizer, while the cybersecurity club KUSE and the cybersecurity research lab MoSE handled core operational tasks, enhancing the event's academic rigor. Industry leaders such as Autocrypt (financial sponsorship), Itas Korea (preliminary problem creation), and Vector Korea (final problem design) participated, adding further expertise. Notably, Volkswagen Group Korea provided an actual Audi A7 vehicle, enabling participants to gain real-world experience performing attacks and defenses under identical conditions as a live vehicle.

A total of 111 participants from 27 COSS member universities (including 4 shared-use universities) entered the preliminary round, with 40 participants from 15 universities advancing to the finals. The preliminary round featured CTF-based problems in Pwnable, Reversing, and Automotive categories. The finals presented advanced challenges encompassing real vehicles, virtual environments, and unmanned vehicles, including: △ CAN-based attack data analysis targeting a real vehicle △ IVI (In-Vehicle Infotainment) attacks △ Virtual environment fuzzing using CANoe △ Attack scenarios targeting UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) △ CAN IDS (Intrusion Detection System) detection performance evaluation.

The award results are as follows. The Minister of Education Award (Grand Prize) was awarded to Kookmin University's ‘Manchaeyaejo’ team (Lee Dong Gyu, Ahn Se Jun, Shin Jae Ho, Kim Min Chae). They demonstrated outstanding technical skills and creativity in automotive hacking defense, earning high praise and scores from the judges. The Korea Research Foundation Chairman's Award went to the joint team ‘VAH’ (Kim Tae Heon, Konyang University / Jeong Jae Bin, Cho Won Min, Korea University / Song Ji Hoon, Sogang University). The Busan Mayor's Award was awarded to the joint team ‘Runa’ (Lee Seong Min, Lee Kyu Hyung, University of Seoul / Kim Do Heon, Lee Jeong Ju, Soonchunhyang University). Subsequently, the COSS Council Chairperson's Award went to the joint team ‘GTA (Grand Theft Auto)’ (Sejong University: Lim Jun Tae, Lee Byung Young, Kim Geun Ho / Inha University: Han Sung Min). The Vector Korea Special Award was awarded to the joint team ‘PhysicalLab’ (Konkuk University: Nam Yu Chan, Jeong Ki Hyun / Korea University's Lee Ho Jun and Joo Hyung Jung) received the Vector Korea Special Award, the Autocrypt Special Award went to the joint team ‘Team Name’ (Daegu University's Park Bu Sung / Soonchunhyang University's Kang Ki Hoon and Yoon Jeong Jun), and the ETAS Korea Special Award was awarded to Kangwon National University's ‘SEC’ team (Jin Kyu Jeong, Lim Ho Hyun, Lee Jeong Ho, Kwon Seo Jae).

Professor Jeon Sang Hoon, the overall competition director, stated, “AutoHack 2025 is a meaningful educational platform where domestic university students experience the entire process of real vehicle security technology and develop their capabilities.” He added, “As the importance of security talent grows even more in the future mobility environment where digitalization is accelerating, we expect the students who grew through this competition to leap forward as key players leading industrial development.” The organizers stated, “AutoHack has established itself as a leading platform where academia and industry collaborate to discover and nurture future security experts. We will continue to develop it as a core event presenting innovative educational models in the field of automotive security.”