The Viet Nam Computer Emergency Response Team will act to ensure safer internet operations in the country, its experts said during a seminar on cyber security in HCM City today.

The Ha Noi-based team, better known as VNCERT, reported that cyber attacks in Viet Nam increased and were more sophisticated this year.

Some 8,760 cases of phishing – the attempt to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details – were detected during the first half of this year, trippling that of the same period last year.

There were 77,160 cases of defacement, an attack on a website that changes the visual appearance of the webpage, in the first half of 2016. This was eight times higher than the number recorded during the same period of 2015.

Attacks with malware – malicious software used to disrupt computer or mobile operations, gather sensitive information, gain access to private computer systems, or display unwanted advertising – also grew fivefold year-on-year. More than 41,700 such cases occured in the six months of 2016.

VNCERT Director Nguyen Trong Duong said many cyber attacks were targeted at Government agencies, banking and finance systems, key information infrastructure, and websites of enterprises.

Attacks damaging Internet of Things (IoT) equipment, such as camera systems and fraud on social networks also became more worrying, he said.

Duong said internet users still paid inadequate attention to information security, while general investments for security and related human resources remained limited. Many businesses do not attach special importance to this issue.

“The attacks may damage not only organisations and businesses, but also the economy, politics, national defense and security, and the interests of every citizen,” Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Nguyen Thanh Hung said at a seminar in Ha Noi last week.

People’s awareness about information security must be raised, and the capacity of technical forces in responding to the increasing cyber threats must be strengthened, he said.

Nguyen Huu Nguyen, in charge of the VNCERT branch in HCM City, introduced a programme to develop a network of computer security incident response teams (CSIRTs) in Viet Nam.

VNCERT will support provinces in building CSIRTs in organisations and businesses in accordance with local conditions, he said. — VNS