Handling 8 cases of using fake broadcasting stations to spread spam messages

Record, warn and guide how to handle 525 cyber attacks on information systems in Vietnam

Ms. Hoang Thi Phuong Luu, Deputy Chief of Office in charge of the Office of the Ministry of Information and Communications , informed that the cases of using fake BTS broadcasting stations to spread spam messages , advertising messages, and fake messages, which were discovered and transferred to the authorities for investigation and handling in March 2023, were carried out by bad guys with the purpose of defrauding people in Hanoi , Ho Chi Minh City, Gia Lai, Quang Nam and Thanh Hoa.

Regarding network information security, the representative of the Office of the Ministry of Information and Communications informed that in March, the Ministry of Information and Communications deployed and guided ministries, branches and localities on a number of key tasks to ensure information security this year. At the same time, it directed and guided ministries, branches and localities to determine the security level for information systems using surveillance cameras. It also developed a set of criteria on basic network information security requirements for surveillance cameras.

Statistics show that, as of the end of March, the total number of Vietnamese IP addresses in the botnet (ghost computer network) was 392,108 addresses, down 50.3% over the same period last year and up 2.5% compared to February 2023.

Also in March, the Department of Information Security under the Ministry of Information and Communications recorded, warned and provided instructions on handling 525 cyber attacks causing incidents to information systems in Vietnam, down 68.9% compared to February 2023 and down 49.3% compared to the same period last year.

Notably, of the 525 cyber attacks that caused incidents to information systems in Vietnam, 407 were phishing attacks, accounting for nearly 78%. The number of cyber attacks in the two forms of interface change attacks and malware installation attacks in information systems in Vietnam were 65 and 53 respectively.

“The number of IP addresses in botnets and cyber attacks has decreased thanks to the malware scanning campaign and the timely provision of warning information to agencies, organizations and internet users,” Ms. Hoang Thi Phuong Luu added.

Also according to data from the Department of Information Security, in the first quarter of 2023, the agency recorded, warned and provided instructions on how to handle 3,446 cyber attacks that caused incidents to information systems in Vietnam, down 6.3% over the same period last year.

In the coming time, to ensure network information security, the Ministry of Information and Communications will continue to strengthen monitoring, proactively scan Vietnam's cyberspace, evaluate, compile statistics and continue to promote propaganda and warnings on mass media so that users are aware and prevent; at the same time, continue to issue widespread warning documents, urge the review of vulnerabilities and signs of cyber attacks.

Regarding the search for domain name information via the number 156 or the website tracuutenmien.gov.vn to help people identify and prevent fraudulent activities, the Vietnam Internet Network Information Center (VNNIC) recorded 65,040 searches.

Officially put into operation by the Ministry of Information and Communications since early March 2023, the domain name lookup system is a measure to support users to identify and authenticate official information sources about the websites and domain names they access, supporting the identification and prevention of fraudulent and illegal acts. Thereby, contributing to ensuring safety in cyberspace, according to the direction of protecting digital citizens of the Government, Prime Minister , and Ministry of Information and Communications.

Updating information on the results of the implementation of the domain name lookup system after more than 1 month of implementation, Ms. Tran Thi Thu Hien, Deputy Director in charge of VNNIC, informed that out of 65,040 information lookups, the number of lookups via SMS sent to the number 156 was 5,677 and via the website tracuutenmien.gov.vn was 59,363. Of which, up to 69% of the looked-up domain names belong to the group of international domain names. "This also reflects very objectively the reality that subjects often use international domain names to set up websites to commit illegal acts," Ms. Tran Thi Thu Hien assessed.

VNNIC's review results show that there are 6 groups of domain names that users are interested in looking up, including: Gambling, banking, e-commerce, press, sensitive to public morality, brands (network operators, SIM cards, etc.). In these 6 groups of domain names, the community is particularly interested in 2 groups of gambling and banking domain names, with the number of searches for gambling domain names accounting for nearly 53% and banking domain names accounting for 24.6% of the 6 groups of domain names.

Specifically, to look up domain name information, people, organizations and businesses can choose 1 of 2 forms: Send a free message with the syntax "TCTM [Domain name or website link]" to switchboard 156; or look up directly on the page tracuutenmien.gov.vn. Then, the system will provide detailed information to users about the domain name type, subject information, organization registering and managing the domain name.

Proposal to remove proposal to impose special consumption tax on online electronic games

Regarding the proposal of the Ministry of Finance to include online games in the list of subjects subject to special consumption tax in the draft revised Law on Special Consumption Tax, the Ministry of Information and Communications said that the Vietnamese gaming industry is still too small and needs to be nurtured instead of being subject to special consumption tax.

According to Mr. Le Quang Tu Do, Director of the Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information, the Ministry has sent an official document to the Ministry of Finance requesting that online games be removed from the draft revised Law on Special Consumption Tax this time. The reason is that the gaming industry is an industry with very good development potential of the digital content industry.

"The gaming industry here is not the gaming industry. Many people are mistaken. Gaming is an ecosystem of production, distribution, services, advertising... In other countries, gaming is the main smokeless industry. The Vietnamese gaming industry is still very young and its revenue is still very small compared to its potential, only about 600 million USD in 2022. Therefore, it is necessary to nurture and have policies to support development, not to collect more. Because it is impossible to collect more. Because if we increase taxes and have tightening measures, gaming businesses can easily run abroad to countries like Singapore, Dubai and then they can still easily supply across borders to Vietnam. At that time, management is very difficult," said Mr. Le Quang Tu Do.

The Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information also worked with the Tax Policy Department (Ministry of Finance) and coordinated with the Vietnam Federation of Commerce and Industry to organize a workshop to contribute ideas to the Draft Law on Special Consumption Tax. The Ministry is very interested in the development of the gaming industry and has preferential policies for the development of the industry in Vietnam.

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