Vietnam admits it has just ten percent of the infosec pros it needs

Which is a problem, because local orgs are leaking data and shadowy traders are cashing in

Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications has admitted the nation has a vast shortfall of infosec pros.

The Ministry on Wednesday cited statistics indicating "approximately 3,600 personnel [are] working in information security nationwide, meeting only ten percent of the actual demand."

That deficit has become problematic, because the Ministry has also identified increased sales of personal information.

Đỗ Hải Anh, deputy head of Vietnam's Information Security Authority, an agency of the Ministry, said data trading activities were typically conducted within closed social media groups. A recent wave of transactions involves "the use of chatbots and transactions through channels and accounts on Telegram, retailing individual personal data."

"This indicates that the buying and selling of personal data has become very prevalent, carrying new risks," she said.

The Authority has blamed those heightened risks on lax security and suggested that other agencies need to strengthen their data protection regimes. The org also plans to inspect and audit private organizations overseen by the Ministry – meaning social media outfits, telcos, and postal services can expect some polite inquiries.

Education for end users and website operators is also on the agenda.

The Ministry's statement is, however, silent on how Vietnam can find the 30,000-plus infosec pros it needs to improve local resilience.

Interestingly, the nation published a fresh statement last Monday outlining the structure and responsibilities of the Information Security Authority. It's unclear if that was related to this fresh data protection push.

Your correspondent has recently visited Vietnam and, for tourists at least, WhatsApp and PayPal were ubiquitous, as were app-based rideshare services – all predominantly using scooters. ®