As Internet use in Viet Nam continues to rise, avoiding online security threats will become even more difficult, said Vu The Binh, Viet Nam Internet Association (VIA) general secretary, at a symposium in Ha Noi on Tuesday.

“The enhancement and development of Internet infrastructure in Viet Nam will result in a surge in Internet users, leading to many risks for users. Therefore, discussion on security on cyber space and solutions are much anticipated from this conference,” Binh said.

VIA co-operated with the Viet Nam Internet Network Information Centre (VNNIC) and Internet Society (ISOC) to organise the Asia Internet Symposium on cyber security threats in Viet Nam.

Naveed Ul Haq, ISOC representative, said information security threats are increasingly causing problems for developing countries. There are many new threats, including malicious programmes that attack national databases and information systems. An example is the Wanna Cry blackmail ransomware case early this year.

In addition, there are many threats from other types of malwares, he said.

Tran Dang Khoa, a specialist of the Authority of Information Security under the Ministry of Information and Communications, said that the information security situation in Viet Nam has become complicated in the recent years.

"Many users have not had knowledge about information security, which also leads to great threats to information security in Viet Nam," Khoa said.

Khoa reported that the ministry’s monitoring system recorded more than 135,000 cyber attacks on websites in Viet Nam last year.

These included 10,276 phishing attacks, 47,135 malware attacks and 77,779 defacement attacks.

The representatives of the Authority of Information Security also pointed out threats to information security in Viet Nam, including cyber attacks on the Internet of Things (IoT) platform; ransomware; online phishing and cyber attacks on critical infrastructure of state agencies.

Khoa said many solutions had been implemented already. “Apart from improving the legal infrastructure as well as strengthening organisations and communication, human resource trainings and co-operation promotion have also been implemented”. — VNS