As e-Government develops, cybersecurity a must

Participants at a conference on governmental cybersecurity heard an urgent message: ensuring information security for each Governmental body is essential, especially as Vietnam is developing an e-Government infrastructure.

Business customers declare import/export goods via Huu Nghi Customs Bordergate Division in northern Lang Son province (Photo: VNA)

The conference on confidentiality and information security toward the implementation of e-Government in Vietnam was held on September 28 by the Government’s Cipher Committee, aiming to raise awareness and work toward a more robust approach to cybersecurity.

E-Government – the use of information and communication technologies to improve the activities of public sector organisations – has proved effective and beneficial to citizens, businesses and organisations.

 

The conference’s speakers warned, however, that the increasing convenience of e-Government brings with it a new set of difficulties to face.

 

Threats to information security are becoming more serious, and they may be used as a tool against the State to attack important infrastructure, freeze Governmental activities or destroy the economy.

 

Nguyen Le Phuc, Deputy Director of the Government’s Portal, said that a key concern while implementing e-Government is protecting personal information.

 

The Government’s Office is developing a roadmap to apply national and international standardised information protection system and to promote the use of electronic signatures and specialised coding solutions.

 

Some of the conference’s participants proposed that it was necessary to require all Governmental bodies to use code signings granted by the Government’s Cipher Committee in their electronic transactions.

 

Information, particularly State-level confidential information, must be encoded, stored and transmitted under the management of the Government’s Cipher Committee.

 

State employees, particularly whose work relates to confidential information, need to improve their capacity and responsibility.

 

This is the first time that Government’s Cipher Committee organised such kind of conference.

 

(Source: VNA)