Vietnam attends 5th ASEAN Ministerial Conference on Cyber Security

• ASEAN members strengthen cooperation in the fight against transnational crime
• Vietnam, Singapore strengthen cyber security cooperation
• Vietnam, EU further boots cyber security cooperation

Delivering his opening remarks, Singapore's Minister for Communications and Information S. Iswaran said that, despite the economic toll of COVID-19, Southeast Asia remains well-positioned to capitalize on this digital trajectory. However, ASEAN member states face an unprecedented level of exposure to cyber threats today, as ASEAN's digital economy grows.

"A safe and secure digital infrastructure must undergird our digital economy ambitions for the region. So it is more important than ever for ASEAN to tackle the challenge of cybersecurity together in a sustained holistic and coordinated manner," he said. 

Lieutenant General Luong Tam Quang, Deputy Minister of Public Security, speaking at the event.

According to Secretary-General of ASEAN Dato Lim Jock Hoi, digitalization paved the way for safe and sustained reopening of the economy from ravages of COVID-19, and subsequently later foundation for the recovery of the ASEAN and global economies.

He affirmed that, as our reliance on digital technologies grows, we must also ensure the security of the system and enabling infrastructure.

At the event, participants discussed a plan to carry out a code of conduct on cyber space and guidelines in specific fields for ASEAN member states.

Speaking at the first session on “building the regional norms implementation workplan”, Deputy Minister Quang stated that Vietnamese Government has assigned the Ministry of Public Security to build and fine-tune laws on cybersecurity in accordance with the regional and global norms and rules, creating favorable conditions for fighting cybercrimes in Vietnam as well as engendering international collaboration for greater cyber peace and stability.

“Vietnam wish to receive further support and close coordination from other countries in the region in ensuring cyber security and safety,” he noted.

At the second session themed “strengthening the regional cyber resilience through Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) protection”, the Vietnamese head Delegate added that Vietnam is carrying out a national digital transformation program until 2025 with a vision toward 2030 with the aim of making Vietnam into the list of 50 leading countries in the E-Government Development Index (EGDI). Vietnam considers, cyber security and safety is crucial to creating a safe environment for digital transformation.

According to him, the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security pays attention to improving cybersecurity capabilities to safeguard Vietnam’s CII via building capacity for the cybersecurity protection task force, developing software and modern IT facilities, and expanding international cooperation and experience exchange with other countries to cope with cyber-attacks targeting the information infrastructure.

As an ASEAN member state, Vietnam commits to actively and responsibly joining regional cooperation mechanisms to ensure security and safety of cyber space, affirmed Deputy Minister Quang. He also thanked other ASEAN member states for their huge support and proactive collaboration with Vietnam in developing a healthy and safe cyber environment

At the conference, ASEAN member states also joined a special discussion with AMCC dialogue partners and another session with ASEAN dialogue partners.