He made the statement in a freshly-signed directive aimed at bolstering cybersecurity measures, given recent increases in cyberattacks, especially the presence of ransomware.

Despite previous efforts, there remain certain areas where the implementation of directives on strengthening cybersecurity has been lacking, with a disproportionate focus on resource allocation. This strategy might unintentionally make cybersecurity flaws worse, endangering Việt Nam's online safety.

Directive 33/CĐ-TTg asks relevant ministries, sectors and localities to intensify cybersecurity (Internet)

He urged ministers, heads of ministerial-level and Governmental agencies, chairpersons of People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities, and businesses to be responsible before the law and the Prime Minister if the information systems they oversee fail to maintain information security, resulting in major incidents.

They were asked to oversee the general evaluation and assessment of the state of information system security in compliance with the Ministry of Information and Communications' guidelines, and to submit the findings to the ministry by April 30, 2024.

They must strictly comply with the deadline for completing and approving the security level proposal for 100 per cent of information systems under the scope of management.

In order to increase management and law enforcement's efficacy in network information security, they were also asked to frequently utilise the information security support platforms made available by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

When a cyberattack occurs, those entities are required to promptly notify the National Coordinating Agency, the governing agency, specialised incident response units at the same level, and other organisations that handle cybersecurity.

They were instructed to cooperate with the National Coordinating Agency's and the appropriate authorities' incident response coordination in terms of gathering and evaluating data, managing and resolving issues, confirming the reason and tracing its origin, and disseminating information.

Illustrative image (internet)

The PM also assigned specific tasks for ministers, heads of ministries of Transport, Industry and Trade, Natural Resources and Environment, Information and Communications, Health, and Finance; heads of Government office, State Bank of Vietnam, the people's committees of Hanoi and HCM City.

They must coordinate with the Ministry of Information and Communications, other ministries and sectors with the function of managing network safety and security to guide, inspect and examine the work of ensuring information security of organisations and businesses.

The Minister of Information and Communications has been tasked with guiding the evaluation of cybersecurity for State agencies and organisational information systems before April 11. The results will be reported to the Prime Minister by May 10.

In accordance with their designated roles and responsibilities and within the domains they oversee, the ministries of public security and national defence were requested to enhance the assurance of information security. They were also asked to collaborate with the Ministry of Information and Communications to plan inspections and address any relevant infractions.

Media agencies will cooperate together with government entities to efficiently spread information on cybersecurity laws, improving public comprehension and knowledge of the established legal framework.

In order to ensure that businesses and organisations offering online services uphold the highest standards of information security and adhere to all applicable legal regulations, ministries, sectors, and localities should proactively collaborate with the ministries of information and communications, public security, and national defence, said the PM in the directive./.