Speaking at the conference, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Pham Hong Hai stressed cybercrime has become more professional, with tools designed by skillful developers under substantial funding.

Building a safe information society in Vietnam requires smart and concerted moves from public agencies, enterprises, organisations and individuals, he said.

The ministry has been carrying out measures to secure online information, including developing domestic IT services and products, raising public awareness on the issue, and improving IT human resources quality. Drills and joint work with other units have also been running more frequently.

At the seminar, participants agreed that online attacks, including those targeting government agencies and important information sources, are on the rise in terms of number and scale.

The 4th industrial revolution and Internet of things (IoT) bring about information risks and more complicated developments are foreseen for cyber attacks, they said.

Bui Quang Minh, an expert in the field, said there are no new features in hackers’ methods this year, but Vietnamese users and firms have yet to be fully aware of the importance of information security and thus failing to make proper investment in it.

In 2017, Vietnam was ranked 101st  in the global security index, down 25 places from 2016, and far below many regional countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

Within the framework of Vietnam Information Security Day, the organizer – Vietnam Information Security Association (VNISA) – has scheduled a national information security competition for students, a training course for information technology managers and a technology exhibition. 

VNISA will also announce the ranking of information security products and services reviewed by domestic firms. 

The annual Vietnam Information Security Day has been held by the VNISA for the past nearly 10 years under the auspices of the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Education and Training.-VNA