HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Information safety and cyber security arebecoming a constant factor and the fight between cyber criminals and networksafety professionals is unrelenting as the world steps into the digital era andall information is placed in cyber space, a recent seminar heard in Ho Chi MinhCity.

“Cyber criminals are proliferating as technologies like artificial intelligenceand big data, mobile devices and the internet become popular,” Deputy Ministerof Information and Telecommunication Nguyen Thanh Hung told the 2018 VietnamInformation Safety Day conference, which this year had the theme “Cybersecurity for the age of artificial intelligence and smart devices.”

“Vietnam is ranked around 100th in the world in cyber security because manycomputers and smart devices have been attacked, but Vietnam can take this up asa challenge and make cyber security a key product to win internationalcustomers.

“AI is now increasingly used in cyber security and also to attack networks.Therefore, it has great significance for information safety.”

Trinh Ngoc Minh, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Information SecurityAssociation (VNISA)’s southern branch, spoke about a survey on informationsafety in the south done recently by his agency.

“Lack of attention from leaders, inability to identify appropriate IT securitysystems, lack of funding for IT solutions, and inability to maximise efficiencyof investment in IT are weaknesses [the survey identified].

“Widespread cloud usage, IT outsourcing and IT expertise are the advantages ofthe south.

“Fighting malware is like a cat and mouse game. Hackers create new kinds ofmalware, new types of attacks, and protectors must develop new solutions.

“Hackers might be moving to a fifth version malware and defending using asingle tool will not be enough. An information technology structure with totalvisibility and detection and threat response capability are what enterprisesneed.

“Global threat intelligence and application of artificial intelligence are nowthe most important tools in fighting hackers.”

Vietnam now ranks 17th in terms of high risk for internet users when they areonline and second among nations in terms of malware infection, he quoted thereport as saying.

Information safety policies were absent at 57 percent of enterprises andorganisations that took part in the survey and 70 percent of them said “No”when asked if they plan to set up an ISO 27001-standard information securitymanagement system, he said.

The latter rate was the same as last year, showing no progress had been made,he said.

About 80 of organisations and enterprises did not have information safetyexperts though 70 percent had IT personnel.

Thirty nine percent of the respondents, all IT personnel, said their company’sleaders did not pay enough attention to information safety.

To improve the situation, Minh said: “The legal framework should be completedto ensure better information safety. Relevant authorities must focus onensuring network security for important infrastructure networks.

“Electronic government must be accelerated to take advantage of ITcapabilities.

“Enterprises should adopt new IT technologies but in close conjunction withcyber security.”

Nguyen Trong Huan, a Kaspersky Lab Certified Professional, said, “Cybersecurity is a non-stop and continuous process. It requires resolving allthreats with a comprehensive and multi-layered protection solution.”

The 15th Vietnam Information Safety Day is an annual conference organised bythe VNISA, Vietnam Computer Emergency Response Team and the Ministry ofInformation and Communications. – VNS/VNA