What Happens If I Try This? Meet Licong Huang

Long before Huang Licong worked for SpeQtral, he was already fascinated by the power of computers and cybersecurity.

One of the television shows that caught his attention when he was twelve was Code Lyoko, an animated series in which a quantum supercomputer creates a virtual world where rogue artificial intelligence (AI) agents create havoc and threaten the real world.

In the series, a group of students battle the malicious AI agents in the virtual world. For a young Licong, its fictional depiction of computer viruses attacking systems while people tried to stop the cyberattacks offered an intriguing glimpse into a world he knew very little about.

Licong's curiosity and interest in computing was also piqued at a young age when he started experimenting with his parents' laptop.

With relatively few computer games to occupy him, he began exploring what else the computer could do. That curiosity eventually led him to experiment with command-line tools and learn how computers on the same network could be identified through their IP addresses. One command in particular caught his attention: shutdown -i.

Naturally, he tried it.

Then came another thought: what if I try it on another computer?

Using the IP address of another device on the network, Licong experimented with issuing the command remotely.

Somewhere else on that network, another machine switched off.

"I just thought it was really interesting that I could do that remotely from a laptop," he recalls.

Fortunately, 12-year-old Licong's ambitions for cyber domination appear to have ended there. What did not end was his curiosity.

As Licong got older, his curiosity became increasingly hands-on. In secondary school, he joined a robotics club to learn more about computers and machines, although, as he readily admits, he was never really "the robotics person".

"I was more like the research person," he says.

Much of his learning happened outside the classroom anyway. In popular culture, people who hack networks are often cast as villains, but their notoriety made him curious to know how they actually did it. He began watching DEF CON presentations online, learning from computer experts discussing computer systems, online threats and cybersecurity.

At junior college in Singapore, Licong studied Computing and further developed his interest in cybersecurity by participating in capture-the-flag challenges, or CTFs, where participants find hidden text strings, called "flags", inside vulnerable programs, websites or networks to earn points.

Learning about the vulnerabilities of computer networks and how they could be exploited also gave him insights into how they could be protected.

Following junior college, Licong went on to study Computer Science at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Testing the real world

By this stage, he was also very interested in embedded systems, the small computing systems built into devices to perform specific functions.

But rather than focus purely on his studies, he was curious to know what it would be like to work at a company in this field.

"There was a tiny little fear of what the real world would be once I graduated," he says.

His solution was simple: go and find out.

Licong did internships with companies including MicroSec, Thales and Continental Automotive Singapore, using each opportunity to experience different technologies and working environments.

"I just kept taking these opportunities to see what fits me, what doesn't fit me and what I want to do in the future," he says.

It was less a carefully engineered career plan than a process of elimination and discovery. Each internship offered another opportunity to try something unfamiliar and find out where it might lead.

In some ways, it was the same curiosity that had prompted him to experiment with his parents' laptop years earlier.

Eventually, that approach led him to SpeQtral.

Space. Quantum. Embedded systems.

During his final semester at NUS, Licong came across a post from SpeQtral that mentioned several areas of technology:

Space.

Quantum technology.

Cybersecurity.

Embedded systems.

All things that had caught his interest over the years, now brought together in one company.

Of course he applied.

"I then saw SpeQtral's website and thought, 'they're doing space, quantum and embedded systems, which are things that I've been interested in for quite a few years'," he says.

Licong joined the company through the SGInnovate apprenticeship programme.

Quantum communications was new territory for him, but that was the appeal, especially for a curious mind.

Despite joining as an apprentice, Licong was not simply watching from the sidelines. He helped to develop SpeQtral's monitoring system for quantum key distribution (QKD) deployments. This included a user-interface dashboard through which different services and equipment could be monitored to check whether the quantum-secure communications system was operating correctly.

The monitoring system was subsequently integrated into SpeQtral's products, giving Licong the opportunity to see his contributions put to practical use even before he joined the company full-time.

Finding somewhere to stay

Having tried several workplaces during university, Licong says he appreciates SpeQtral's relatively relaxed and informal culture, while still recognising that when something needs to be done, everyone is expected to give it their fullest effort.

For someone at the beginning of his career, SpeQtral also offered the opportunity to take ownership of his work while learning from more experienced colleagues.

Among them is Cyril Tan, SpeQtral's Quantum Security Architect, whom Licong describes as his mentor. Whether it is pointing him towards useful technical documentation or discussing possible approaches to a problem, Cyril provides guidance while giving Licong the space to work things out for himself.

It is a balance that Licong says he appreciates as he continues finding his feet in the field of quantum communications.

"During the internship, I got to learn what the company was doing and get an idea of what the future could be," he says.

"It really sparked my interest and inspired me to want to work here full-time."

At the end of the apprenticeship, SpeQtral gave Licong a permanent position as a Quantum Security Engineer.

Today, Licong is satisfying his curiosity for quantum communications and cybersecurity by delving deeper into how QKD systems are set up, how their components operate and how quantum-generated keys can move through communications networks.

A different kind of curiosity

Outside work, Licong has another outlet for his curiosity: sketching.

His notebooks are filled with drawings of robots, mechanical components, characters and everyday objects. Some are rough experiments with shapes and perspective, while others explore intricate mechanical designs, with different components sketched out across the page.

It is a hobby he enjoyed during university, when he would sometimes turn to sketching to take his mind off a particularly difficult assignment.

When he is not drawing, Licong also enjoys gaming, with League of Legends, Minecraft and Divinity: Original Sin 2 among his favourites.

While his sketches offer a creative escape from his technical work, they also reveal another side of the curiosity that has followed him since childhood. Whether exploring a new idea on paper or figuring out an unfamiliar technology, Licong enjoys the process of trying something and seeing where it leads.

More than a decade after Licong first started experimenting with his parents' laptop, the technology he works with has changed considerably. His curiosity has taken him from cybersecurity and embedded systems to quantum communications, a field he is still learning more about.

At SpeQtral, he has found a place where he can continue exploring new technologies, take on new challenges and put what he learns into practice.

While the work is now far more complex, Licong’s inquiring mind and curiosity has proven to be an invaluable and enduring trait.

What happens if I try this?