Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has just signed and issued Official Dispatch No. 33/CD-TTg, requesting ministries, agencies, and localities to strengthen cybersecurity. The dispatch calls for the implementation of several urgent tasks in light of the sharp increase in cyberattacks, especially ransomware, which may continue to evolve in complexity in the coming period, posing a serious threat to socio-economic development.
Statistics from the Information Security Department (Ministry of Information and Communications) show that from the beginning of 2023 to the present, there have been more than 13,750 cyberattacks on information systems in Vietnam. In the first three months of 2024 alone, the number of cyberattack incidents on information systems in Vietnam was 2,323. Also in the first quarter of 2024, the National Cybersecurity Monitoring Center (Information Security Department) recorded more than 300,000 threats targeting Vietnamese information systems, of which more than 13,000 were related to ransomware. Recently, the information systems of many Vietnamese businesses such as VNDIRECT, PVOIL, etc., have been repeatedly attacked by ransomware. This is causing many agencies and organizations to worry about a ransomware attack campaign targeting domestic information systems.
Experts from the Vietnam Information Security Association, the Cyber Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department ( Ministry of Public Security ), and the Information Security Department have actively supported businesses in resolving and handling incidents, while noting that there is no evidence to suggest this was an organized campaign. However, this possibility cannot be ruled out given the consecutive incidents occurring in a relatively short period.
The reality is that most Vietnamese businesses have not given adequate attention to information security, despite the rapid and strong wave of digital transformation. This is the main reason why many companies become victims of attacks. Along with that, delays in notifying authorities when incidents occur; confusion and lack of investigation and response plans; and hasty system restoration... all worsen the situation.
Authorities, particularly the Cybersecurity Department, have warned of an increasing trend of ransomware attacks targeting businesses and organizations in Vietnam. They have also issued a document requesting agencies, organizations, and businesses to review and strengthen the implementation of cybersecurity solutions for their information systems, prioritizing monitoring and early warning solutions. Recently, the Cybersecurity Department released a handbook on several measures to prevent and mitigate risks from ransomware attacks for agencies, organizations, and businesses, aiming to ensure national cybersecurity.
The urgent solution now is to implement continuous monitoring measures, regardless of the time; invest adequately (both financially and in human resources) in monitoring, response, and prevention. For systems where serious security vulnerabilities have been detected, after fixing the vulnerabilities, immediate threat hunting should be carried out to identify potential previous intrusions; apply the four-layer information security model issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications (on-site personnel; professional monitoring and protection; professional inspection and evaluation; connection and information sharing with the national technical system)...
Cybersecurity is a battle between humans. Therefore, we must invest in defenses to have better responses, especially avoiding the "locking the stable door after the horse has bolted" mentality.
TRAN LUU
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