CMC Cyber Security technicians at work. The Ministry of Information and Communication said in 2019 it granted new licenses for 38 cyber securities firms, bringing the total number of firms licensed by the ministry to 84. Photo cmccybersecurity.com

HÀ NỘI — The number of locally-made cybersecurity products increased last year, said the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) yesterday.

The MIC said there were 52 Vietnamese cybersecurity products in 2019. This was double the number in 2018 and triple that in 2017.

The MIC said it granted new licences to 38 cybersecurity firms, bringing the total number of licenced firms to 84 in 2019, an increase of 82.6 per cent from two years ago.

Nguyễn Huy Dũng, director of MIC's Department of Information Security, said Vietnamese firms could master the technology and were able to meet more than 60 per cent of local market demand.

However, he pointed out that there were still few cybersecurity products in Viet Nam, where foreign products account for more than 80 per cent of market share.

A representative from MIC said local cybersecurity firms had not paid enough attention to connecting with each other to create an ecosystem for their products.

Recently, MIC has created a package of mechanisms, policies and technical standards to develop local products, especially products that serve e-government systems, smart cities and important national information systems.

The package is designed to help develop good local products to ensure cybersecurity in Việt Nam by year-end. It will also help local firms cover more than 75 per cent of domestic demand and export their tech to countries around the region.

At the end of last year, an alliance with members from 21 firms including Viettel, VNPT and BKAV, among others, was formed to connect local cybersecurity firms and develop high-quality products to form a “Made in Việt Nam” ecosystem.

A representative of the Department of Information Security under the MIC said: “Developing Viet Nam's ecosystem and mastering technology are building a shield to protect national cyberspace. Việt Nam cannot rely on foreign products to protect its own cybersecurity.” — VNS

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Whitehat Grand Prix 06 kicks off in Hà Nội

HÀ NỘI — More than 300 teams from 55 countries and territories are taking part in the first round of global cybersecurity competition Whitehat Grand Prix 06 in Hà Nội today.

Out of 324 teams, there are 57 local teams. According to the organisers, India, USA, Japan and China are the countries with the most teams competing this time.

Ten outstanding teams who survive the round will be invited to compete directly for eight consecutive hours in the final round, which will cover the challenge of hardware security breaches.

The first-prize winner will pocket VNĐ230 million (US$10,000), while the second and third will go home with VNĐ45 million and VNĐ25 million, respectively.

The first WhiteHat Grand Prix was held in 2014. It became an annual international competition the following year, drawing the participation of leading cybersecurity teams from all over the world. It attracted 453 teams from 62 nations and territories last year. — VNS