Vietnamese broker VNDirect reconnected with stock exchanges after ransomware attack

VNDirect Securities JSC has been allowed to resume its connections to the Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi stock exchanges since Monday, one week after enduring a ransomware attack.

The Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) allowed the reconnection after perusing reports by the major stock brokerage house and the Vietnam Stock Exchange on the firm’s systems being fixed.

Hanoi Stock Exchange, the smaller bourse, has also announced VNDirect’s reconnection to its trading platforms for listed stocks, derivatives, debt tools and corporate bonds.

VNDirect suffered a cyberattack on the morning of March 24 and was unplugged from both stock exchanges the following day.

CEO Nguyen Vu Long has informed authorities, investors and the public that the company’s systems were attacked by an international professional organization, leading to encryption of its entire data.

He said the firm has set out a four-phase roadmap to reopen its systems to its investors and announced incentives to offset damage suffered by clients, including exemption of trading fees for underlying stocks as well as interest on margin loans until its systems recover totally.

A number of VNDirect customers complained Monday complained that they were having difficulty accessing the company’s trading systems, making account enquiries and placing orders. Its electronic trading board did not show correct information, the customers said.

The VN-Index, which represents the HoSE, ended Monday down 0.2% at 1,281.52 points. It had fallen1.09% to 1,267.86 on March 25, a day after the cyberattack.