HÀ NỘI — Tech experts of the 10 ASEAN member countries and Japan on Thursday joined an annual cyber-attack drill hosted by the Việt Nam Computer Emergency Response Team (VNCERT/CC).

The 2020 ASEAN-Japan Cyber Exercise focused on solutions and information-sharing mechanisms to deal with fake websites. 

Tech experts gather in Hà Nội to join the drill. — Photo nhandan.vn

This year's event was held in both offline and online formats amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants only needed to log in using IDs provided by VNCERT to join the exercise anywhere. 

Under the co-ordination of VNCERT, more than 200 tech experts from Vietnamese State agencies and local authorities gathered in Hà Nội, Đà Nẵng and HCM City to participate in the drill which was built based on real cyber-attacks, potential threats and the latest tech trends. 

They also discussed developing standards and ecosystems for IT security products.  

According to the Authority of Information Security, the exercise’s main priority was to improve the capability of tech experts and expand the national information security incident response network. 

Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Nguyễn Thành Hưng said the COVID-19 pandemic had changed the way people live and work. 

“People all around the world have switched to telework via online platforms, making it critical for countries to uphold cyber security,” said Hưng. 

The number of cyber-attacks on Việt Nam’s IT systems in 2019 dropped by 71.7 per cent compared to 2018, according to Hưng. In five first months of 2020, the Authority of Information Security reported 1,495 cyber-attacks, down 43.9 per cent year-on-year. 

The number might have fallen but the threats posed by those attacks would definitely increase, Hưng said, emphasising the role of the transnational drill in improving the capability of countries in responding to escalating cyber-attacks. — VNS