Tran Minh Quang, director of Viettel Cyber Security, told VietNamNet that in recent years Vietnam’s cyberspace has witnessed a considerable increase in the number of phishing attacks. The problem is becoming complicated because of users’ reliance on the internet.

Quang noted the increase in attacks via emails and messages, called phishing.

Messages are fake institutions, banks or online services that trick victims out of personal information, bank accounts or passwords.

Phishing tricks are becoming more sophisticated.

Ransomware attacks have also become a worrying problem. Ransomware is malware which, if infected, will encrypt files on computers and demand a ransom for decryption. 

Ransomware has been causing considerable financial damage to companies and organizations, as well as inconvenience to individual users.

Other scans via phones, text messages and fake websites are also on the rise.

“Attackers are getting more clever and are using advanced techniques to get personal information, assets and identities. This requires us to be more aware of cybersecurity and apply stronger measures to protect individuals and institutions,” he said.

Khong Huy Hung, deputy chair of the Vietnam Information Security Association (VNISA), warned that online scams not only harm individuals and businesses, but also hinder Vietnam’s steps forward in the path towards digital transformation, digital economy and digital society.

Hung noted that cybercriminals use tools related to artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to optimize swindling scenarios to increase their success probability rate and efficiency when committing fraud.

The Authority of Information Security (AIS) reported that in the first half of 2023, the agency prevented 1,530 websites or blogs violating the laws, including 559 online scam sites, thus protecting 2.7 million people from scams.

Since the AIS network trust ecosystem was launched in mid-2021, 3,400 institutions and over 3,800 websites have been attached with trust labels, which helps users recognize trustworthy institutions and websites. 

The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) in mid-June 2023 launched the "Month of propaganda, identification, prevention and fighting against online scams", with an aim to heighten awareness about online scams and protect people against online risks.

Trong Dat