10 ASEAN countries and 4 partner countries conduct cyber security exercise

This morning (October 28), 10 ASEAN countries and 4 partner countries organized a cyber security exercise called ACID 2015 with the theme "Investigation, analysis and response to malware and spyware incidents".

The Vietnam Computer Emergency Response Team (VNCERT) was assigned by the Ministry of Information and Communications to preside over the organization of the participation of Vietnamese teams in the ACID 2015 exercise.

Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Thanh Hung emphasized the importance of international cooperation in responding to cyber security incidents. Photo: BM

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the exercise in Vietnam this morning at the VNCERT headquarters, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Thanh Hung said: "Today, cyber attacks have no geographical limits. No country can defend itself against cyber attacks alone. Therefore, international coordination, incident response, information security protection and contributing to preventing cyber attacks have been raised at all negotiating tables at many levels, even at the summit level. Typically, one of the important contents discussed at the US-China meeting between President Obama and President Xi Jinping was the issue of cyber security."

According to Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Hung, "December 31, 2015 will be the founding day of the ASEAN Community. ASEAN countries are increasingly aware of the role and importance of this bloc. Joint activities are being organized regularly. And this ACID exercise is also one of those joint activities. We need to join hands to protect network security for the community, for the region and also for each of us."

"The ACID 2015 exercise has the participation of many representatives from central and local ministries and branches, aiming to create opportunities for technical staff to practice international computer incident response activities. This is also an activity that contributes to raising awareness of information security for agencies, businesses and the community. After this exercise, VNCERT is requested to summarize the results of the exercise, draw lessons to replicate, disseminate and organize subsequent exercises to improve the capacity of members of the incident response network in Vietnam as well as the national information security force in general," Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Hung emphasized.

Incident response teams gather to participate in ACID 2015 exercise at Hanoi bridge. Photo: BM

According to Mr. Nguyen Trong Duong, Director of VNCERT, ASEAN information security exercises have been held for the past 9 years between the network of Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) of Southeast Asian countries and dialogue countries. This year is the 10th year the exercise has been held with the participation of 14 countries including 10 ASEAN countries and 4 dialogue countries (Australia, Japan, India, China).

Organizing regular annual drills and training is aimed at strengthening and maintaining a smooth international communication channel between countries in the region to be ready to coordinate and respond to large-scale cyber security incidents. At the same time, it is an opportunity for incident response teams to interact, practice, and improve their skills and capabilities to detect, prevent, and combat targeted attacks. Specifically, skills such as collecting information and evidence for malware analysis; analyzing software to detect unusual signs, behaviors, the ability to cause information insecurity, malicious code or other information security threats...

This year is the first year that Vietnam has expanded the scale of participation in the international exercise nationwide with 3 locations in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, with the participation of more than 250 technical staff from nearly 100 agencies and organizations, including many large corporations, groups and enterprises such as: Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), MobiFone Corporation, Viettel Military Telecommunications Group, Netnam Joint Stock Company, CMC Telecommunication Infrastructure Joint Stock Company, FPT Telecommunication Joint Stock Company, BKIS Center for Software and Network Security Solutions, CMC Information Security Joint Stock Company (CMC Infosec)...

"One of Vietnam's biggest goals when participating in ACID 2015 is to strengthen and improve the effectiveness of international cooperation in coordinating and responding to cyber security incidents; improving Vietnam's position and brand in ensuring information security in the international arena," said Mr. Nguyen Trong Duong.

14 countries participating in ACID 2015 include: Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Australia, Japan, India, China. Singapore is the host of ACID 2015.

According to Infonet