Vietnam vulnerable to foreign cyber-attacks
Some 2,017 cyber attacks were recorded on Vietnam's information system in the first half of 2020, down 27.1% year-on-year.
Vietnam is the target of some 32 dangerous foreign hacker groups who would gain unauthorized access to the computer system with ill intentions, Kinh Te & Do Thi reported, citing the Authority of Information Security under the Ministry of Information and Communications.
Accordingly, the country has been vulnerable to APT (advanced persistent threat) by ill-intentioned groups.
Vietnam is the target of some 32 dangerous foreign hacker groups. Illustrative photo |
APT attacks are often accompanied with other types such as denial of service (DDoS) attacks to distract, intrude and spread malicious code across the network. This is an intentional attack from international hackers against the Vietnamese government, businesses, or corporations and their vital information.
The malware used is very dangerous and well disguised. For this reason, individual users should exercise great caution while communicating online.
According to experts, shielding the system against APT is challenging. It requires upgrading the system and increasing security knowledge for users. To prevent APT, the only way is to supervise the traffic access 24/7, authorities suggest that user interaction should be monitored and firewall mode turned on (only allow access to some internal websites).
Further measures include email filters, daily activity logs, connection encryption, and continuous software updates as new versions become available. Special situations require specific rehearsals under the guidance of the specialized agency.
The Authority of Information Security has provided tools to remove the malware on its website and the website of the ministry's Cybersecurity Emergency Response Teams/Coordination Center.
The agency reported 2,017 cyber attacks on Vietnam's information system in the first half of 2020, down 27.1% year-on-year. Among them, there were 805 phishing attacks, 788 deface ones and 296 malicious code attacks (Malware).
