HCMC conference stresses need for cyber security vigilance

Individuals, organizations and businesses need to stay vigilant about information security, participants emphasized at a conference held in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday.

Tran Phu Lu, deputy director of the Investment and Trade Promotion Center of HCMC (ITPC), said the conference seeked to tackle issues related to technology infrastructure, digital transformation and preferential policies, while also gathering proposals from industry representatives.

ITPC and the municipal Department of Information and Communications were co-organizers of the event.

A major topic of interest was cyber security, particularly ways to protect computer systems from malicious software and prevent unauthorized access or data theft.

Representatives from the municipal information department said that while comprehensive solutions were in place, individuals, organizations and businesses needed to stay vigilant about information security. They stressed the importance of increased awareness and adherence to information security regulations.

Ngo Vi Dong, chairman of the Southern Information Security Association, recommended several measures to enhance security, including raising awareness, implementing robust solutions for wireless network security, spam filtering and setting up firewalls with intrusion detection systems and DDoS protection.

Another key issue discussed was the availability of policies or "sandbox" models for innovative digital economy products that use 5G telecommunications infrastructure, edge cloud computing, and domestically designed and assembled IoT devices in HCMC and across the country.

A representative from the information department reported that HCMC was fully covered by 4G mobile network infrastructure, with no signal gaps in densely populated residential areas.

The city has 13.92 million mobile subscribers, with 10.99 million using smart devices with mobile broadband internet access (4G or 5G), or a coverage of 116.45% of the city population.

Additionally, high-speed fiber optic broadband networks have been deployed throughout the city's neighborhoods and villages, the representative said.