With Internet users accounting for 53% of the population of 95 million, Vietnam comes 16th among 20 countries with the biggest number of Internet users in Asia.

Vietnam ranks seventh worldwide in terms of Facebook use, with 64 million active Facebook users a month, said the Ministry of Information and Communications.

According to a just-released survey of the International Telecommunication Union, Vietnam ranks 101st among 193 countries in terms of Internet-related security threats.

The survey, which was joined by over 9,500 high-ranking officials from 122 countries, shows enterprises in general were still unprepared for events of hacking.

According to business executives, more Internet security loopholes are on the rise. Regarding consequences of hacking, 40% of respondents said they were afraid of operation interruptions, 39% said confidential data was stolen, 32% worried about product quality and 22% were concerned about adverse impacts on human lives.

Despite those concerns, many enterprises are not ready for hacker attacks, with 44% of businesses failing to build a comprehensive information security strategy, 48% providing no training for staff and 54% having no contingency plans to deal with cyberattacks.

The growth of Internet of Things has put databases and websites at risk.

According to organizers of the survey, business leaders should improve their capability in dealing with cyberattacks and enhance information security solutions.

SGT