Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam has proposed that the United Nations and its Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) set up regional training centres on cybercrime investigation and electronic evidence to enhance countries’ capacity in combating the growing threat of online offences.
The proposal was raised at a seminar on “Implementing the UN Convention against Cybercrime: Capacity Building - a Pillar of Global Cooperation”, held in Hanoi on October 25 as part of activities marking the signing ceremony of the UN Convention against Cybercrime, also known as the Hanoi Convention.
Delegates said that the rapid development of information technology, the internet and artificial intelligence has brought tremendous benefits and transformed habits and ways people live and work. However, alongside these advancements, cybercrime has been growing with increasingly sophisticated, and hard-to-detect methods, posing severe risks to global security and socio-economic stability.
Many participants noted that the fight against online fraud and cybercrime remains challenging for law enforcement agencies worldwide, requiring constant updates in technology, investigative methods and international cooperation.
Nguyen Quang Dung, Deputy Prosecutor General of the Supreme People’s Procuracy of Vietnam, stressed that Vietnam has taken comprehensive measures to address cyber threats. On the institutional side, Vietnam has strengthened its legal framework by revising key laws related to cybercrime, such as the Penal Code (2015, amended in 2017), Criminal Procedure Code (2015), Law on Cybersecurity (2018), Law on Electronic Transactions, Law on Personal Data Protection, and Law on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters.
To enhance professional capacity, the country regularly organises training programmes for prosecutors on digital investigation, data forensics, and handling electronic evidence. Internationally, Vietnam has actively promoted cooperation and mutual legal assistance with many countries, and participates in multilateral networks such as ARIN-AP, SEA JUST, Crime-AP, and Glob.E to share experiences in cybercrime investigation and asset recovery.
The Vietnamese official emphasised that implementing the Hanoi Convention requires focusing on the four key pillars of strengthening legal capacity, improving technical infrastructure, building skilled human resources, and expanding international cooperation.
According to Dung, nations should review and align their domestic laws with international standards, invest in digital infrastructure and databases, and apply artificial intelligence in data analysis to better detect and trace cybercriminals. Countries should also develop highly trained investigators, prosecutors and technical experts, while establishing reliable mechanisms for information sharing and judicial cooperation.
To make these efforts more effective, he proposed that the UN and UNODC establish regional training centres on cybercrime investigation and electronic evidence, promote expert exchanges and joint training, and develop rapid coordination mechanisms for cross-border investigations.
Kobayashi Yosuke, Chief Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Vietnam, said that an effective anti-cybercrime strategy requires each country to have clear action plans, share data and experience, and set up dedicated training centres to strengthen the skills and expertise of those working in this field.
He also shared Japan’s experiences and methods in capacity building and cybercrime prevention, stressing that cooperation and information sharing among nations remain the most effective tools to address evolving global cyber threats./.
