A VNPT engineer monitors systems to ensure the safety of networks serving customers. — Photo baotuyenquang.com.vn

HÀ NỘI — The recent increase in personal data theft and fake websites has caused property damage to individuals, businesses and even websites managed by state agencies and organisations.

Personal data -- including biometric and financial information, relationship and health status and personal history -- has been leaked and posted publicly, and it has become a source of information for automated collection programmes used by fake websites or cybercrime organisations.

This issue shows the urgent need to come up with feasible solutions to protect data in cyberspace.

Data and websites of businesses, agencies and organisations in HCM City have become a major target of cyberattacks in recent years, said Lâm Đình Thắng, director of the city's Department of Information and Communications.

One main reason is that the city has been accelerating digital transformation and building digital infrastructure for the network environment.

During this process, cybercriminals can take advantage of security loopholes to attack, damaging individuals and organisations.

The Đại đoàn kết (Great National Unity) newspaper quoted the director as saying that without timely data protection measures, cyber attacks would continue to rise in both quantity and severity, causing serious consequences -- not only economic damage but also potentially affecting national security.

It's not just in HCM City, either. The country currently has nearly 80 million internet users, accounting for more than two-thirds of the population, ranking seventh globally. This makes Vietnamese people or groups a target for international cybercrime, too.

A recent report from Viettel on the cybersecurity situation in the first half of this year stated that the amount of stolen personal information recorded nationwide grew by 50 per cent compared to the same period last year.

The number of websites impersonating organisations and businesses has risen fourfold year-on-year, causing an increase in the number of scams and financial fraud in cyberspace.

In the face of increasing data attacks on individuals, organisations, and domestic enterprises, the Ministry of Public Security and the authorities of HCM City and other localities have strengthened many cybersecurity measures. However, personal data leaks and theft, as well as the existence of many fake websites that appear to belong to state agencies and other legitimate organisations, are still widespread.

Spam calls are an ongoing problem, affecting people, businesses and the normal operations of agencies and organisations.

Notably, data leaks and ransomware attacks, in which data is encrypted until a ransom is paid, have become serious threats to national security.

In the past year alone, the Ministry of Public Security has verified 16 information cases, including state secrets and internal data, being leaked and sold in cyberspace.

Even more alarming, the ministry warns that the trading of personal data is being carried out systematically. The problem is increasing in large cities such as HCM City and Hà Nội, which are in the process of accelerating their digital transformation.

Cybercrime is currently a major issue not only in Việt Nam, but also around the world.

Therefore, the Ministry of Public Security and each locality must consider this an urgent problem that requires solutions to minimise property and economic damage to people, businesses, agencies, and organisations.

Furthermore, each individual, organisation and enterprise needs to proactively review backup systems, ensuring that backup data is physically separated from main network systems.

Backup data sources must also be recoverable when the main system is at risk of serious failure, thereby rendering the data sources immune to cyber attacks.

Mobile internet speed increasing

According to statistics from the Việt Nam Internet Network Information Centre (VNNIC), mobile internet speed in Việt Nam rose 1.4 times last month, and upload speed increased 1.2 times compared to March.

At the same time, fixed internet speed, both uplink and downlink, is currently stable.

Regarding the quality of internet service providers in Việt Nam, i-Speed ​​statistics show that Viettel now ranks first in terms of mobile internet speed, followed by Vinaphone (VNPT), MobiFone and Vietnamobile.

In the fixed broadband segment, Viettel is also the provider with the best fixed internet download speed in Việt Nam last month (128.97 Mbps).

Ranking second in fixed internet download speed is FPT Telecom (100.59 Mbps), with VNPT in third place (95.82 Mbps).

A VNNIC representative said that the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has announced data on internet service speeds for network operators in Việt Nam since the beginning of April this year to enhance publicity, transparency and public interest in services.

The move contributes to improving the efficiency of internet management based on actual data, promoting development and improving the quality of internet access services in Việt Nam.

To continue to have more and more accurate data on internet speed in Việt Nam, the Việt Nam Telecommunications Authority recommends that people, organisations and businesses regularly use the i-Speed ​​application to measure internet access speed.

This is a measurement system built and developed by the VNNIC since 2020, used to measure internet access speed in Việt Nam through user experience objectively and accurately.

Using the i-Speed ​​measurement application is free and does not incur data fees. — VNS