Small and medium-sized enterprises approach a cyber-secure future

Tiếng Việt

Small and medium-sized enterprises approach a cyber-secure future

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam should strive to build better cybersecurity infrastructure, capabilities, and culture.

This view was shared by experts at the event “Cybersecurity Awareness for SMEs in Vietnam” held by RMIT University and the Vietnam Information Security Association (VNISA) together with the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (VINASME) on 20 January 2022.

The event drew together key stakeholders from Vietnam and Australia to share experience and findings from studies on cybersecurity awareness among businesses in both countries. The organisers also announced an upcoming survey to assess the cybersecurity readiness of Vietnamese businesses.

The discussion helped identify current gaps in information security capacity, thereby highlighting the need for skills development, workforce preparation and transformation to support Vietnam in embracing information security.

The event “Cybersecurity Awareness for SMEs in Vietnam” marked the first activity in 2022 to arise from the strategic partnership between RMIT and VNISA, which was formalised with an aide memoire signing late last year.

In his welcome remarks, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (VINASME) Dr Nguyen Van Than cited research data from his association showing that “up to 70% of SMEs in Vietnam are operating outside of the digital economy and only around 20% are tentatively exploring it”.

He said: “The understanding of and actions towards the digital economy are still relatively slow, uneven and inconsistent among businesses. Thus, it’s imperative and urgent to popularise the idea of the digital economy and support Vietnamese businesses on their way to embrace it. This is a vital task.”

Dr Than also emphasised that cybersecurity awareness is an aspect of operating the digital economy.

“I highly value the topic of today’s discussion as the experts have foreseen a downside of Industry 4.0, namely cyber risks for businesses,” he said.

Dr Nguyen Van Than, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (VINASME), during his welcome remarks at the event.

Presenting a 2021 review and 2022 forecast of the cybersecurity landscape in Vietnam, Director of the Institute of Information Security Technology under VNISA and Vice President of BKAV Ngo Tuan Anh revealed that Vietnam recorded about 70.7 million computer virus infections in 2021.

He considered this a red alert for the state of cybersecurity in Vietnam, adding that the damage Vietnamese computer users suffered due to viruses continued to be very high, reaching 24,400 billion Vietnamese dong (around 1.06 billion USD) last year.

“The use of computers and smart devices in Vietnam has increased dramatically due to COVID-19, creating an ideal environment for computer viruses to break out and spread rapidly,” he said.

He also pointed out that supply chain attacks have become a global trend.

“Most of the attacks last year were on large scale and targeted globally-known organisations and businesses,” Mr Tuan Anh said.

Sharing experience from Australia, RMIT Senior Lecturer Dr Pham Cong Hiep drew on findings from the “2021 State of Cyber Fitness in Australian Small Businesses” white paper, of which RMIT University was a co-author.

The study shows that the cybersecurity readiness of Australian SMEs is not very high despite their rapid digitisation during the pandemic.

In detail, only 26% of businesses felt they had done enough to keep their business safe from cybersecurity incidents, while 33% felt that they hadn’t. Notably, 77% of respondents felt directly responsible for cyber risks.

“An understanding of the factors affecting cybersecurity readiness is crucial to devise appropriate solutions for businesses to improve the current low level of cyber fitness among most SMEs,” Dr Hiep said.

Therefore, the upcoming nationwide survey conducted by RMIT University, VNISA and VINASME will look at issues such as cyber risks, technology adaptation, cybersecurity awareness, skills to prevent and confront cyber threats, and fundings for cybersecurity activities.

The survey is expected to contribute towards building better cybersecurity infrastructure, capabilities, and culture in the SME community.

RMIT Senior Lecturer and CCSRI Vietnam Hub Lead Dr Pham Cong Hiep shared findings from Australian studies on cybersecurity awareness.

At the event, the RMIT Centre for Cyber Security Research and Innovation (CCSRI) also officially announced the establishment of its Vietnam Hub, led by Dr Pham Cong Hiep.

Aiming to promote a truly multidisciplinary approach to the organisational, human and technology aspects of cybersecurity, the Hub will offer many opportunities for RMIT and local organisations to collaborate on research projects and corporate training, as well as deliver joint events and workshops with cyber experts across Australia and Vietnam.

Story: Ngoc Hoang

Business and management

Science and technology

Media Release

20 January 2022