The loss is believed to be among the lowest in the world, equal to 0.24 percent of GDP. 

However, experts believe there are still hot spots in cybersecurity in Vietnam. 

Trojan may have penetrated the two-layer security scheme; the number of computers infected with APT malware is at a high level; ransomware has redirected attacks to hosts; online phishing has boomed; and there are challenges from cryptocurrencies.

According to BKAV, the five most common malicious codes attacking Vietnamese users in 2022 were Macro, PasswordStealer, FileStealer, APT and ransomware.

BKAV experts said that 2022 saw a boom in Macro with 1.5 million computers of Vietnamese users infected with the malware. After penetrating computers, the malware begins collecting information, installing other malware and spreading to other document files.

FileStealer is malware that steals data files, which has penetrated 750,000 computers. The malware can spread via USB and counterfeited icons of PDF and MS Office software, causing users to think they are normal document files. 

When it is activated, FileStealer finds all files with .doc, docx, xls, xlsx, and pdf to send to hackers’ servers.

More dangerously, PasswordStealer can go through 2-step authentication. The malware infected 525,000 computers in Vietnam in the last year with more than 15,000 variants, stealing and appropriating Facebook, Gmail, bank accounts and e-wallets of victims.

BKAV said that 180,000 computers in agencies and organizations of Vietnam were infected with APT malware in the last year. The main method was sending emails that urge users to open attached files. 

The malware is activated when users open files and then it installs other modules to control from a distance, steals data, and exploits devices to continue other attack activities.

BKAV experts have also recorded large-scale ransomware attacks targeting servers containing accounting data. In 2022, as many as 14,500 computers were infected with ransomware, including servers containing accounting data.

In Vietnam, up to 40 percent of users don’t back up data, or do it incorrectly. As a result, they cannot restore data if they are victims of ransomware attacks.

In 2022, online financial scams exploded. Vietnam is also facing new challenges as 6.8 million people have joined the cryptocurrency market.

Experts think that scams via messages and calls will continue in 2023 as hackers can make money easily. They warned that APT attacks for spying purposes will increase in 2023.

Duy Vu