In 2021, more than 9,700 attacks on the cyberspace were recorded. — Photo vietnamplus.vn

HÀ NỘI — There were 1,383 cyberattacks recorded across Việt Nam in the first month of 2022, an increase of 10.29 per cent on December 2021, according to the Việt Nam National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).

An increasing trend of cyber-attacks on information systems has been noted, as Vietnamese agencies and units strongly promote a digital transformation.

In 2021, the Authority of Information Security recorded more than 9,700 attacks online, an increase of 42.42 per cent against the previous year.

Last year, attackers took advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to spread fake news and create more forms of phishing attacks to steal money. The leaking of personal information was also common.

“This was also the general situation across the world last year, clearly showing the risks and threats of insecurity in cyberspace,” said a representative of the Authority of Information Security.

According to the assessment of the Ministry of Information and Communications, in the first month of 2022, the construction of e-Government continued to be closely linked with ensuring information safety, network security, national security and individual information protection.

Explaining the reasons for an increase in cyber attacks on information systems in Việt Nam, the representative said that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, people turned to the internet more for study, work and trade. The pandemic created conditions for attackers to spread fake news and scams, spreading malicious codes and stealing information.

Fraudulently stealing personal information and impersonating financial institutions is the most prominent. The biggest hurdle is that many users still have limited digital and information security skills, so they are easily deceived.

However, in 2021, Việt Nam's cyber information security picture also showed some bright spots. The Ministries of Information and Communications, Public Security, and National Defence coordinated to ensure the safety of important national events such as the 13th National Party Congress, elections to the National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels. 

Việt Nam's ranking in Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI), assessed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), increased significantly by 25 places compared to the previous year, to 25th out of 194 countries and territories.

In addition, last year, the revenue of cyber information security businesses grew well, representing a 34 per cent year-on-year increase, despite the economic difficulties facing other sectors, and many Vietnamese cybersecurity experts have been honoured internationally. These are positive signals for a safe and healthy Vietnamese cyberspace.

The Ministry of Information and Communications will continue to strengthen the supervision of Việt Nam's cyberspace while promoting warnings on how to prevent attacks.

The Authority of Information Security was asked to strengthen the supervision, detection and coordination of network operators, as well as financial institutions and banks, to handle more than 1,000 fraudulent websites last year. They have also regularly warned users and built a warning portal (canhbao.ncsc.gov.vn) to help people detect fraudulent websites.

“In the long term, in order to help people recognise and proactively avoid online fraud, the Authority of Information Security has deployed a network trust ecosystem, on tinnhiemmang.vn, to allow users to identify reliable information about the website, email and phone number to search for organisations’ information. This is an important solution that we will continue to deploy in the near future,” he added. — VNS