Vietnamese app kicks off cyberspace awareness campaign
The Ministry of Information and Communications will promote cyber security awareness among the people through a campaign.
Visafe, an internet security application that will help to prevent users from online scammers was officially launched at Vietnam Security Summit 2021 Virtual Expo on October 27.
The application is researched and deployed by the National Cyber Security Monitoring Center (NCSC) under the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC).
| An overview of the Summit. HNT Photo |
Speaking at the Vietnam Security Summit 2021 themed "Cyber security in the digital age: Challenges and Solutions", Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Huy Dung said: “We need to create digital trust and ensure safe cyberspace for everyone. Cyber security is now everyone's concern, and the ministry will carry out a cyber security awareness campaign in the near future.”
Dung stated that the launch of Visafe today [on October 27] will kick start this campaign.
Statistics showed that five new malicious codes are created every second and about 900 cyberattacks are detected every day. In Vietnam, an average Vietnamese user spends seven hours online every day and this time amount will continue to increase, meaning the risk of insecurity will be higher, Dung pointed out.
This application will help people protect themselves against cyberattacks such as ransomware, data mining, and spyware. It is also the first free application operable on multiple platforms.
Speaking at the event, Colonel Nguyen Ngoc Cuong, Deputy Director General of the Department of Cyber Security and High-tech Crime Prevention under the Ministry of Public Security, said during two Covid-19 years, thousands of sabotage cyberattacks have been recorded against the systems of the Vietnamese government agencies, key establishments for national defense and security, economic groups and media agencies.
Colonel Cuong added that in the first half of 2021, the agency discovered 1,555 websites with the domain name.vn being hacked, among them, there were 412 under the state agencies. In addition, over 221,000 news and articles containing false and harmful information have been posted on information portals, blogs, and social networks and shared/reposted at extremely high speed.
In addition, the situation of leaking, buying, and selling information and users' data is also alarming, he said.
Being of the same mind, Vu Thanh Cong,Technical Director cum IT specialist of Nessar Viet Nam Technology Joint Stock Company, informed the situation of cybersecurity that has become complicated in Vietnam in recent years.
"The number of cyberattacks to the IT systems of State agencies, organizations, and businesses to steal or destroy information is rapidly increasing," Cong said.
He added, meanwhile, local businesses have faced a lack of resources in terms of investment costs and personnel to build and operate automatic and effective cybersecurity operation centers (SOCs).
Cong recommended one of the advanced solutions called Stellar Cyber’s Open XDR Platform, which is fully integrated with modules on a single platform of information security analysis. It is equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) to handle and improve the accuracy of warnings, Machine Learning, and Nextgen IDS/SandBox systems against targeted attacks.
"Thanks to advanced technology, Nessar will support, advise and assist businesses to build and operate information security monitoring systems quickly and effectively," Cong said.
Nessar Viet Nam is currently the official distributor of solutions and products for networking, providing cybersecurity to brands such as Stellar Cyber, Array Networks, and Hillstone Networks.
| Vu Thanh Cong,Technical Director cum IT specialist of Nessar Viet Nam Technology Joint Stock Company, introduces Stellar Cyber’s Open XDR Platform at the Viet Nam Security Summit 2021. Photo: HNT |
According to Nguyen Huy Dung, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications, Vietnam ranked 25th out of 194 countries and territories in the Global Cybersecurity Index 2020. This proved the result of efforts of the Government, ministries, sectors, businesses, and individuals in ensuring cyber security.
Social activities are being shifted from real space to cyberspace, blurring geographical boundaries between regions and countries. Especially in the past two years, online activities have been booming.
Within the event, the Ministry of Information and Communications announced the Cyber Security Index for Vietnam's provinces and cities in 2020 and held dialogues between local and foreign companies about challenges and solutions to ensure cyber-security in the turbulent time of Covid-19.
