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The Ministry of Public Security is drafting a governmental decree on personal data protection in order to protect the legal rights and interests of individual and organisations.

Below is a recap of ten of the year’s most consequential headlines impacting consumers, investors and financial markets worldwide chosen by the Vietnam News Agency.

The national public service portal, an electronic platform to connect the Government with people and enterprises, was officially opened nationwide on December 9 after nine months of construction.

Health literacy can contribute to reducing disparities among different groups of people in accessing universal healthcare services, Professor Dianne Levin-Zamir from Israel's University of Haifa said at an international conference held in Ho Chi Minh City on November 11.

Indonesia on September 22 launched an electronic driver’s license that can also function as a digital payment card and record traffic violations by its owner.

The 52nd ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting issued a joint communiqué in Bangkok on July 31.

More than 400 domestic and foreign delegates discussed e-Government at a national seminar in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue on July 26.

The entire public service of Singapore will have to conform to a common framework to safeguard citizens' personal data, beginning with 13 new measures developed after a spate of breaches in the past year, reported local media.​

Only 32 percent of consumers in Vietnam believe their personal data will be treated in a trustworthy manner by organisations offering digital services, according to a study recently released by Microsoft and IDC Asia Pacific.

Domestic and foreign experts are gathering at the international conference and expo “Security World 2019”, which opened in Hanoi on May 29, to discuss measures to strengthen data protection and cyber security for the public and the financial-banking sectors. ​

More than 4,000 potential blood donors of Singapore have had their personal information leaked after part of the Singapore Red Cross (SRC)’s website was hacked on May 8.

The Thai Red Cross Society is opening online registration until May 21 for people nationwide to possess marijuana for medical treatments. Almost 10,000 people have registered so far.

Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh has issued a plan to implement a project on simplifying administrative procedures, citizen papers and databases related to population management in 2019.

A daily trading limit for individual e-wallets would be set at 20 million VND (860 USD) and 100 million VND per month, according to a draft circular from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) recently made public for comment.

Pawnshop chain Cebuana Lhuillier of the Philippines announced on January 19 that personal information of around 900,000 clients were affected in a data breach involving their email server used for marketing purposes.

Singapore's Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) announced on January 15 that two companies which involved in the worst data leak in the city-state’s history were fined 1 million SGD (some 740,000 USD) in total.

The Blockchain Innovation Tour was held in Ho Chi Minh City on November 6, as part of the series of “BIT Southeast Asia” blockchain events in the region, looking to connect projects and foreign investment funds with host countries.

The Law on Cyber Security’s regulations regarding data storage and establishment of branches and representative offices in Vietnam are in line with international practices, said an official of the Ministry of Public Security.

The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has confirmed that hackers have stolen information of more than 120,000 customers in a massive data breach into two major commercial banks.

The Bkav Technology Group said on July 26 its virus monitoring system had discovered malware called BrowserSpy that is able to track users’ actions and steal their personal data, such as bank account information, and Gmail or Facebook passwords.