As reported by VietNamNet , on the morning of March 25, VNDIRECT issued a notice confirming that the securities company's system was attacked, causing service disruption since 10:00 a.m. on March 24. The technology team quickly took action to fix the problem. The incident has also been transferred to the police for investigation and handling.

In the newly updated announcement, VNDIRECT informed that the unit's system is currently in the process of being repaired and reconnected. However, due to the large amount of data, reconnecting the system will take longer than expected.

Notably, VNDIRECT's new announcement also clearly stated that the incident only affected users' current transactions and affirmed: "All customer information and assets are guaranteed to be safe and unaffected."

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Screenshot of website interface vndirect.com.vn at 14:35 on March 25.

Information from information security experts said that affected by the incident of VNDIRECT, there are also some businesses that are being attacked by the network, such as IPA and PTI. Specifically, currently the website of the Post and Telecommunication Insurance Joint Stock Company - PTI also displays a notification stating that the system of the unit was also attacked from 10:00 am on Sunday, March 24 and by the morning of March 25, the technology team had completely resolved the problem and was in the process of reconnecting. Meanwhile, at 2:30 pm on March 25, the website ipa.com.vn of the investment company IPA is currently inaccessible.

Regarding the incident of VNDIRECT system, to ensure the safety of the trading system, Hanoi Stock Exchange - HNX has decided to temporarily disconnect remote trading and online trading on listed securities trading markets, registered securities trading, derivative securities trading, debt instrument trading and individual corporate bond trading of VNDIRECT to HNX floor from March 25.

The suspension of VNDIRECT's transaction connection to HNX will last until VNDIRECT Securities Company completely fixes the problem. Other members can still connect and trade normally. "Based on the results of VNDirect Securities Company's resolution, Hanoi Stock Exchange will evaluate and consider allowing the transaction connection to resume," HNX's announcement stated.

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Notice of HNX on temporarily disconnecting VNDIRECT's transaction connection to this floor. Photo: Van Anh

Speaking to VietNamNet reporter, an information security expert said that it usually takes 1 to 2 weeks to fully find out the cause of a cyber attack.

This expert pointed out 3 main risks for customers of VNDIRECT securities company, which are: Interruption of transactions leading to economic losses, personal information may be leaked and the possibility of having trading account passwords leaked or changed.

According to information security experts, recently, awareness of ensuring network security of enterprises and organizations in Vietnam has increased significantly, however, investment in network security is still not really commensurate. Meanwhile, cyber attacks are increasingly sophisticated, especially with the participation of large international criminal groups. Therefore, systems in Vietnam are always in a state of being attacked at any time.

Enterprises and organizations in Vietnam need to be more proactive in preventing cyber attacks. In addition to reviewing vulnerabilities and enhancing technological solutions, large enterprises and organizations need to build a specialized cybersecurity team to protect the system.

"In addition, it is necessary to hire a professional network security monitoring service to promptly detect when the system is attacked or infiltrated. Businesses and organizations also need to prepare response scenarios when incidents occur, in order to minimize damage," the information security expert recommended.

According to statistics from the Department of Information Security (Ministry of Information and Communications), in the first two months of this year, the Ministry of Information and Communications recorded, warned and provided guidance on handling more than 1,800 cyber attacks causing incidents to information systems in Vietnam. As of the end of February 2024, the total number of information systems in the country was more than 3,200 systems, of which the number of information systems approved for level was more than 2,100 systems, reaching a rate of 66.5%, an increase of 0.5% compared to January 2024 and an increase of 6% compared to the same period in February 2024.
Prevent the risk of APT attacks on agencies and organizations in Vietnam

According to the National Cyber Security Monitoring Center (NCSC) under the Department of Information Security, Ministry of Information and Communications, targeted attacks - APT in Vietnam are increasing in both quantity and sophistication.