Computer Science and Cyber Security student, focused on blue team / defensive security.
I build things on the web, and I'm learning to defend them. A first-year computer science student in Ho Chi Minh City who started doing real work early — and is heading, deliberately, toward defensive security.
Growing up, I wanted to be a doctor — medicine felt like the most direct way to help people. What few people knew was that I also loved computers: I taught myself Python, then C++, wrote small tools to automate the games I played, and spent late nights reading the corners of the internet where security people gathered — not to break things, but because the way they thought fascinated me. I kept that side quiet, and chose to believe in medicine.
That changed on 6 June 2023, over a family dinner, when I met P. — the founder of E—, one of Vietnam's most formidable security teams, with a name that carries weight on the world stage. Only months earlier, his team had gone up against the world's best and made national headlines. The way he spoke about defending systems, data, and trust reframed everything for me: cybersecurity, I realised, is its own way of protecting people — in a world that lives more online every day. For the first time, what I'd treated as a teenage hobby looked like a serious, respected craft.
In time, I admitted that medicine wasn't where I was strongest — but the instinct behind it never left. A blue team does for systems what a doctor does for people: monitor, detect, respond, protect. Quiet, patient, defensive work. That's the part of security I'm drawn to.
I don't want to break things to look clever. I want to be the one who keeps them standing.
Today I'm a first-year computer science student, building a foundation in programming and systems thinking with a deliberate focus on the defensive side — blue team and SOC. I'm still early in the journey, but I carry the same care and curiosity I once had for medicine: a desire to understand deeply, solve carefully, and make a real difference.
Built and maintain the public site for a multi-branch salon, keeping booking and branch information current.
A student journalism and photography club I founded, built on real human stories, and ran with a small team of contributors.
A small home lab to practise monitoring, log analysis, and incident response hands-on.
Set on medicine as a way to help people — while quietly teaching myself to code on the side.
My first taste of building something technical with other people — and helping lead it.
A family dinner, a conversation with P., and an unexpected door into cybersecurity.
Elected to lead it — where I learned to really look at people and their stories.
A Humans of New York–style project: real stories from students, teachers, staff, and neighbours — gathered to bring a community a little closer.
Began a CS degree in Ho Chi Minh City with the direction set early: defensive security — blue team and SOC.
Finished CCNA and now working through CCNP, the networking groundwork every blue team role is built on.
The next step I'm aiming for — a network-defense certification focused on monitoring, detection, and response: squarely blue team.
Front-end and full-stack freelance work — turning briefs into clean, maintainable sites for real clients.
Where I'm headed: monitoring, detection, and incident response. Networking now, security operations next.
From HONQ on, I photograph people and moments — the same attention to detail I bring to the work.
If you have a project, a question, or just want to talk about security and where it's going, I'm easy to reach. Email is best.