The Ministry of Information and Communications gave instructions to handle 1,383 cyberattacks on information systems across Viet Nam in January 2022, up 10.29% on December 2021. Included were 197 phishing attacks, 125 defacement cacess, 1,061 malicious codes.

January also recorded more than 879,000 Vietnamese IP addresses located in botnets that are collections of internet-connected devices, which may include personal computers (PCs), servers, mobile devices and internet of things (IoT) devices, that are infected and controlled by a common type of malware, often unbeknownst to their owner, down more than 9% from December 2021.

The above-mentioned statistics showed an increasing trend of cyberattack incidents on information systems in Viet Nam in the context of agencies and units strongly promoting digital transformation.

Also last month, the Ministry of Information and Communications approved a plan to develop 1,000 professional information security personnel and upgrade the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI), develop a set of criteria to evaluate the maturity of cybersecurity incident response teams.

In February, the focus of the information security field is to release the guiding document on using electronic identification (eKYC) model by visual method in providing remote signing service, finalizing the draft directive on strengthening information security for surveillance camera equipment and the Prime Minister's directive on accelerating the implementation of incident response activities, ensuring information security in Viet Nam.

In 2021, Viet Nam's ranking in GCI, assessed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), increased significantly by 25 places compared to the previous year, to 25^th out of 194 countries and territories.

Reporting by PHONG LAN – Translating by A.THU