The Vietnamese Minister of Public Security General, To Lam, recently held online talks with the Singaporean Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Smart Nation and Cybersecurity Josephine Teo, earlier this month. At the talks, Lam hailed the growing strategic partnership between Vietnam and Singapore over the past years, as well as ties between the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security and Singaporean law enforcement agencies.
According to a news report, he suggested both sides continue expanding international cooperation in cyber security in flexible forms that aid the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as raise public awareness of cybersecurity, Internet literacy, and digital skills. Lam proposed both sides reach a consensus on ASEAN member states’ awareness and actions regarding cybersecurity, towards building common legal foundations conducive to international cooperation in the field.
He explained that the two sides need to work closely together to build the ASEAN Cyber Security Centre, establish a joint cooperation mechanism for relevant long-term and intensive training in the bloc with the support of dialogue countries such as China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea. The Singaporean side noted that both sides will overcome difficulties and lay a foundation for further development in the future, towards building ASEAN with a heightened role and position in the region and the world.
Earlier this month, the Vietnam Computer Emergency Response Team (VNCERT) and the Authority of Information Security, under the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), recently presided over the deployment of the 2021 ASEAN Computer Emergency Response Team Drill (ACID 2021) for members of the emergency response network and IT units of ministries and agencies nationwide.
Attending the ACID 2021 were teams representing ASEAN member nations and five dialogue countries, namely Australia, China, India, Japan, and the Republic of Korea. OpenGov Asia reported on the drill was entitled “Responding to attacks on supply chain targeting at corporations and organisations,” and was hosted by Singapore. Participants in the exercise included key technical staff, who take part in international and domestic deployments from the Authority of Information Security, state-run group Viettel, VNPT, BKAV, Sacombank, support staff groups (technicians of VNCERT), and members of the national network information security incident response network.
This was an opportunity for technicians of Vietnamese agencies, organisations, and enterprises to practice their skills in dealing with, investigating, analysing, minimising damage, and reporting emergencies. It aimed to help them gain knowledge and experience in responding to cyber security incidents. The ACID 2021 drill used the latest cybersecurity trends as scenarios for teams to strengthen their preparedness in solving cybersecurity issues. After the drill, experts and domestic team members spent time exchanging and sharing situations and solutions to help participants have a better understanding of how to handle the incidents in a specific case.
Meanwhile, Vietnam’s e-security index has improved by 54% since last year, according to the 2021 Digital Quality of Life Index (DQL) conducted by a cybersecurity company. The report placed Vietnam 73rd among 110 countries. Covering 90% of the global population, the study evaluates countries based on five fundamental digital wellbeing pillars. Six out of the ten countries with the highest scores are located in Europe, with Denmark topping the list for the second year in a row and is closely followed by the Republic of Korea. Vietnam ranked 51st for Internet affordability. It placed 86th for Internet quality, 75th for e-government, 71st for e-security, and 67th for e-infrastructure.