Cyber crime in Vietnam has become more sophisticated with many IT networks being targeted.

So said the director of the IT department at the Ministry of Public Security, Nguyen Viet The, during the two-day Cloud Computing and Security World 2012 conference that concluded on Mar. 23 in Hanoi.

He said that last year saw an unprecedented rise in security attacks. He blamed the increase in cyber crime on the growth of 3G technology, which made it possible to surf the net via a mobile phone.

He said he expects cyber attacks to increase again this year because of the added risk posed by smart phone.

In Vietnam , thousands of websites were attacked by foreign hackers in 2011. In May and June last year, 329 websites with domains gov.vn were attached, while on October 23, 2011 alone, 150 websites were attacked.

The said organisations need to improve website administration to deter attacks.

He also said cyber criminals have been exploiting social networks sites such as Facebook and Twitter to access confidential information.

Consolidating technological infrastructure with modern e-channel services not only enables enterprises to cut down on operational costs, improve storage performance and data storage rates but also helps reduce work pressure and enhance an organisation's administrative ability, the conference heard.

However, information security remains a serious concern for many governmental offices and enterprises.

It is estimated that 64.2 million computers in Vietnam were infected with viruses in 2011 – an average of 175,000 per day. Meanwhile, 2,245 websites belonging to Government offices and enterprises in Vietnam were attacked last year, equal to 187 per month.

According to Symantec, an antivirus software manufacturer, Vietnam ranked 12th in terms of malware (malicious software) and 10th in terms of spam among 86 countries it has looked at. Meanwhile, Symantec's findings also showed that 54 percent of CEOs were hesitant to use cloud computing technology, while 89 percent of examined enterprises said that reliability and security were their main concerns when considering replacing their current technological systems with cloud computing.

Vu Quoc Khanh, the director of the Vietnam Computer Emergency Response Team (VNCERT), said that although information security in Vietnam has improved, it is still not strong enough. Meanwhile, hackers often use new methods and advanced techniques to attack websites.

He said the Ministry of Information and Communications has often conducted monthly meetings with relevant agencies to discuss network security. However, Vietnam needs to establish an ad hoc committee to tackle cyber crime, he added.

This was the first year the Cloud Computing Conference and Exhibition was held. It is expected that it will become a regular event.-VNA