Cyber attacks targeting Vietnam’s information systems down 7.8 pct

Hanoi (VNA) - There were over 4,100 cyber attacks targeting Vietnam’s information systems in the first 10 months of 2020, down 7.8 percent against the same period last year, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) under the Ministry of Information and Communications’ Authority of Information Security has reported.

There were 582 attacks in October - a year-on-year increase of 0.34 percent, it further said.

To ensure cyber security for internet users in Vietnam, since mid-September the NCSC has partnered with 21 IT firms, including many leading corporations such as VNPT, Viettel, BKAV, and FPT, to conduct a nationwide campaign on detecting and removing malware, Director Tran Quang Hung said.

As a result, by mid-October, the number of IP addresses in the network of “zombie” or hijacked computers (IP Botnet) in Vietnam sharply decreased from more than 2 million to some 1.3 million, he noted.

The centre also supported the detection of malware and the supervision of cyber security in more than 100,000 computers at various ministries and governmental organisations.

A report from the authority indicated that more than 70 percent of ministries, governmental organisations, and local administrations had applied four-tier security systems as of the beginning of October. The rate is expected to reach 100 percent by the end of this year, after the Prime Minister requested that a basis be laid for boosting digital transformation and developing e-Government.

Global research by a number of reputable security firms show that although malware infections in Vietnam have decreased recently, they were still high compared to other countries.

Figures show that the country had about 16 million computer addresses following the 4th generation internet protocol (IPv4) as of mid-September. About 3 million IP addresses were frequently blacklisted by many international organisations./.