The xjtuHunter team from Xi'an Jiaotong University's (XJTU) School of Cyber Science and Engineering stood out among 238 global teams at the Tencent Cloud Hackathon's Intelligent Penetration Challenge, clinching second place globally and first place among universities.

This competition, China's first AI-focused penetration challenge, diverged from traditional "capture the flag" competition by requiring teams to develop large language model (LLM)-based agents capable of fully automated cyber operations. The event attracted 518 elite participants from Carnegie Mellon University, Imperial College London, Tsinghua University, and major companies like Alibaba and Huawei.

Over seven days and 14 intense stages, xjtuHunter demonstrated robust technical execution by integrating cutting-edge LLM technology with real-world cybersecurity needs. The team's autonomous penetration system achieved breakthroughs in smart vulnerability detection, attack path planning, and adaptive optimization, showcasing AI's potential to revolutionize cyber defense.

XJTU's School of Cyber Science and Engineering will continue to advance its "AI + cyber security" interdisciplinary initiatives, focusing on intelligent threat detection, automated offensive/defensive systems, and security LLMs, aiming to bridge technological innovation with industrial needs and contribute to China's cybersecurity strength and a safer digital future.