Cyber-attacks in Vietnam decline in 2021

Vietnam also saw a sharp increase in the number of ransomware attacks. Over 2.5 million infections were detected during 2021, 4.5 times that of the previous year.

It is necessary to strengthen regional, international, and public-private cooperation in sharing information, building trust, preventing the risk of conflicts in cyberspace, building common understanding, and strengthening each nation’s IT capacity.

Many essential infrastructure and services are operated on the cyberspace, therefore, cyber attacks can have serious consequences on the economy, society, national defense, security, and people’s welfare and well-being.

Activities in cyberspace must be in accordance with the UN Charter and international law, and adhere to voluntary, non-binding rules for responsible state behaviour in cyberspace.

All parties have a responsibility to comply with humanitarian law and protect infrastructure that is vital to people's lives.

Vietnam advocates the building of a safe, stable and transparent cyberspace that meets the national legitimate interests and contributes to maintaining international peace and security.

We all support for a peaceful, safe and stable cyberspace and called on nations to improve their IT capacities.

Along with benefits, the booming social networks have brought many challenges in term of cyber security to Vietnam.

The fast spreading of unverified information created by users has a great effect on people’s psychology.

Social network is an ideal environment and space for hostile forces and sabotage activists to conduct illegal acts that threaten national security such as spreading wrongful information to cause crowd effect for economic, political, military and diplomatic purposes; advocating opposite ideologies and extreme religious doctrines to cause political instability; and launching cyber attacks to steal information of state secrets.

Internet and social networks have been continuously abused by hostile forces to sabotage the Party, State and the revolutionary cause of Vietnamese people.

Hostile forces and bad elements have used websites and blogs with foreign domain names, along with websites and blogs with domestic domain names to popularise wrongful and toxic information.

Technology criminals have made use of cyberspace to attack and disrupt information technology infrastructure system and the operations of organisations, agencies and individuals.

Security loopholes have posed an urgent task in ensuring information security on social networks in Vietnam.

Cyber security is an indispensable part of the national security, including the inviolability of national sovereignty in cyberspace, ensuring that all of information and activities in the cyberspace are not harmful to the stability and sustainable development of the socialist regime and the State of Vietnam as well as national independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, and social safety and order in Vietnam.

There is need for countries and organisations to strengthen protective measures, coordinate in responding to arising incidents, especially to support and protect the health systems.

Vietnam needs to maintain and continue to improve its capacity to protect national prosperity, create digital trust and deploy cyber information for organisations, individuals and people in cyberspace.

Cyberspace is becoming a “global village", blurring geographical, regional and national boundaries. In particular, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the whole world shifted activities online.

Cyber attacks targeting systems of important agencies such as telecommunications, aviation, energy, and medical sectors to destroy and steal data continued to take place, causing increasingly serious impacts.

The Vietnam Government, alongside its drive for cashless society, has also been actively spreading awareness and conducting campaigns against threats lurking online.

We believe that with the right cybersecurity measures and correct cyber habits, Vietnamese can securely conduct financial transactions online.