The national carrier Vietnam Airlines signed an agreement with the Ministry of Public Security’s Department of Cyber Security to ensure the security of its information system on Tuesday.

The two sides sign a deal on cyber security and information safety witnessed by leaders of the public security ministry and the transport ministry.

Under the agreement, the two sides will check and evaluate the carrier’s security, build measures to discover and prevent cyber attacks and hold training courses.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, head of Cyber Security Department Hoang Phuoc Thuan said cyber security in the world and the region had become more complex, especially in key information infrastructures of countries such as the aviation sector, which uses a lot of information technology.

CEO of Vietnam Airlines Duong Tri Thanh said he expected the co-operation with the Cyber Security Department to help the carrier enhance its operations, cyber security and safety, gaining trust from customers.

On July 29, 2016, the official website of Vietnam Airlines, vietnamairlines.com, was hacked by the 1937CN group. The website was fixed after several hours but the airlines’ customer database was stolen and published online, according to a press release from Vietnam Airlines.

On the same day, cyberspace attacks also occurred at Viet Nam’s two biggest airports – Tan Son Nhat Airport in HCM City and Noi Bai Airport in Ha Noi.

The hackers claimed to be part of the Chinese 1937CN group, one of the biggest hacker groups in the country.  The group also hacked Vietnamese and Filipino websites in 2013 and 2015, respectively.

(Source: VNS)