Hi!👋 I’m Daniel Chung, AKA Dachmikin, a 20 year old fresh cybersecurity graduate based in Singapore!

When I was just 8 years old, I got hit by my first cyberattack. There I was, seated in front of my Windows XP desktop, staring blankly at the blue screen adorned with the image of a trojan horse that engulfed my monitor. That day, my hard disk was wiped clean and all my data was lost. It was on this day that my career path was decided.

More than a decade later, I’ve continued to chase the dream. I’m now a graduate of Chater Oak State College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Cyber Security, participating in CTFs, tinkering with tech passion projects and studying for the CompTIA PenTest+.

Much of my younger life consisted of self-study and the pursuit of my hobbies. At 13, just after PSLE, I immediately began studying for college level examinations with the goal of getting a degree as soon as I could. This admittedly took a level of discipline which I initially did not have. However, with persistent and continuous effort, I managed to pull through with my studies while also pursuing my hobbies in 3D printing and modelling, graphic design, and national level chess.

In 2020, at the age of 16, I enrolled in the Cyber Security Bachelor’s Degree Program at Charter Oak State College, one of the few schools that would accept students at my age. I proceeded to use college credits earned from my exams to skip the first year, allowing me to graduate at 19 in 2023. During this time, I also began learning penetration testing techniques on TryHackMe and participated in the MetaCTF CyberGames 2021 and X-MAS CTF 2021.

In 2022, I was enlisted into the SAF and deployed as an Emergency Medical Technician. While this was a completely new field to me, I took it as a challenge to learn and perform as well as I could during my mandatory service, and this paid off. I was presented with numerous awards at the base and command level for professionalism, work ethic, and innovation in the workplace. I also contributed to my unit winning the best unit awards for both years I was in service. In my job as an EMT and Dispensary In-Charge, I learned to work meticulously and provide strong leadership to a diverse team, even in critical situations.

As my military service period draws to a close, I’ve begun pivoting my focus back to my cybersecurity career. I believe that in this field, learning and adapting must be constant in order to stay ahead of threats. Thus, I’ve continued to expand my horizons in the field. I participated in DSTA’s BrainHack 2024 Cyber Defender’s Discovery Camp, which included a Jeopardy-style CTF Competition. I also restarted learning on TryHackMe and HackTheBox, as well as now studying for my CompTIA PenTest+ certification. I also began hosting this website to act as a centralised location for me to document my progress. Although I feel pride for my achievements so far, there is always more room to grow, especially in cybersecurity. With that in mind, I plan to continue to upskill by competing in more CTFs, earning more certifications.

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Thank you for taking the time to read my story! If you have any inquiries, feel free to reach out to me via email at [email protected], or find me on my LinkedIn Page!