Hackers pose growing threat to internet banking system

Hackers attacked more than 1,000 websites last year, double the 2008 figure and three times more than that in 2007, said Pham Viet The, head of the Computing Department at the Ministry of Public Security.

A survey of 40 banks conducted by the Bach Khoa Inter-network Security Center (BKIS) found that 20 of them were unsecured.

The investigation revealed vulnerabilities in money transfers and discovered that the password recovery function to user accounts could also be used to change the customer's password.

Customer question and complaint forms could be used to install dangerous codes into the server and control the internet banking system, the survey found.

Banking security networks were always at risk of being attacked if they did not have proper management systems, said director of the Ministry of Information and Communications' Vietnam Computer Emergency Response Team (VNCERT) Vu Quoc Khanh, adding that the banking sector was a favorite target for hi-tech criminals.

Statistics show that 80 percent of banks nationwide have established, or planned to establish, internet banking solutions.

However, there is an agreement within the sector that internet banking increases the risk that banks will be attacked by network criminals.

Dang Manh Pho, director of the IT Department at the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), said the bank had made significant investments in technology, including a banking security system which accounted for 20-30 per cent of the total costs.

The bank spent VND1.6 trillion (US$82 million) on its banking security network in 2009 and another VND1 trillion ($47.6 million) in 2010.

BKIS experts offered solutions for banks to overcome the risks to their internet banking systems, such as independent assessments to determine the weaknesses in their systems combined with application of ISO 27001 standards on information security management, overall computer anti-virus solutions and digital signature certification to secure bank transactions.

Nguyen Minh Duc, general director of BKIS, said the existing vulnerabilities in network securities at Vietnamese banks was attributed to the lack of an independent security assessment process of internet banking systems as well as a lack of standards on information security.

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Software to manage child Internet access approved

Thanh Hoa province's Union of Informatics and Transfer Technology has successfully programmed software to help parents better control their children's access to the Internet, reports its director Nguyen Huu Hung.

The Manage Access Network (MAN) was designed to prevent access to web sites that do not suit a child's age and development, he said. The list of forbidden web sites could be updated automatically via the union's system or manually.

The software included measures to check or schedule access to the Internet for a day or a month.

MAN would also help users monitor the duration of access to host computers and automatically make payments.

The union is installing the software in the province's Quang Trung, Nguyen Van Troi, Dien Bien, Minh Khai secondary schools and Ham Rong high school.

A union survey shows that two-third of the students at the schools have home Internet access, but parents have little effective control of its use.

"This software is expected to join hands with parents to control their children's Internet use including access to on-line games and porn sites," said director Hung.

It was planned to expand MAN to other provinces.

A 10-day free trial version of the programme is available at www.ccn.com.vn or the software can be bought for 268,000 VND (13.4 USD).

Vuong Hien, of Hanoi , the mother of a 15-year-old son, said that she was always worried about what her child accessed on the Internet.

But the new software would help her control the content her son was allowed to access as well as the time he was on the Internet and its price was affordable.

The Culture, Sports and Tourism Ministry's Copyright Information Department granted the union software copyright last month./.

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Software to manage child Internet access approved

HA NOI — Central Thanh Hoa Province's Union of Informatics and Transfer Technology has successfully programmed software to help parents better control their children's access to the Internet, reports its director Nguyen Huu Hung.

The Manage Access Network (MAN) was designed to prevent access to websites that do not suit a child's age and development, he said. The list of forbidden websites could be updated automatically via the union's system or manually.

The software included measures to check or schedule access to the Internet for a day or a month.

MAN would also help users monitor the duration of access to host computers and automatically make payments.

The union is installing the software in the province's Quang Trung, Nguyen Van Troi, Dien Bien, Minh Khai secondary schools and Ham Rong high school.

A union survey shows that two-third of the students at the schools have home Internet access, but parents have little effective control of its use.

"This software is expected to join hands with parents to control their children's Internet use including access to on-line games and porn sites, " said director Hung.

It was planned to expand MAN to other provinces.

A 10-day free trial version of the programme is available at www.ccn.com.vn or the software can be bought for VND268,000 (US$13.4).

Vuong Hien, of Ha Noi, the mother of a 15-year-old son, said that she was always worried about what her child accessed on the Internet.

But the new software would help her control the content her son was allowed to access as well as the time he was on the Internet and its price was affordable.

The Culture, Sports and Tourism Ministry's Copyright Information Department granted the union software copyright last month. — VNS

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‘Students not hooked on online games'

Youngsters indulge in online games at an internet shop in Cau Giay District, Ha Noi. To many people's surprise, game addiction is reported to be not as serious as indicated in the media. — VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Giang

HA NOI — The situation of online game addicts was not as serious as the mass media had warned, a recent survey purports to show.

The survey, by the Viet Nam Institute of Social Science, claims to prove that while onlines games are highly popular with students, there is a low rate of addiction among them.

The institute's random check on 1,400 people in six main cities and provinces showed that only 5.2 per cent showed signs of game addiction, such as playing for increasing amounts of time, lying to friends and family to conceal their activities and feeling irritable when trying to cut down on playing games.

Findings of the one-month survey, made public on Tuesday, revealed that more than 71 per cent of people aged under 20 play online games.

Secondary school students between 16 and 20 years old were the largest group of players, accounting for 42 per cent of the total.

However, school students only ranked third in hours of daily online gaming. First position was taken by white-collar workers and second by unemployed and low-income people.

Each player was reported to spend more than 12 hours a week on online games. More than 53 per cent of school students spent less than 10 hours per week.

The study reported that only 0.3 per cent of players admitted to playing games between 11pm to 6am. Most chose internet shops for their playing activities.

Although more than half said they felt relaxed after playing games, online games were not their favourite entertainment. Nearly 95 per cent chose other activities to spend their free time.

Dr Tran Hoa Binh who chaired the research said the survey the first of its kind in Viet Nam, would provide a firm foundation for the Government to base its online game management policies on.

Binh said the survey was implemented in Ha Noi, HCM City, Da Nang and Can Tho cities, and Dong Nai and Hai Duong provinces.

He said online games could seriously affect players' time, money and health if they failed to keep control. He said it was also necessary for strict controls on internet shops.

On Tuesday, HCM City's Department of Information and Telecommunication sent messages to 18 online game suppliers to require them to stop supplying services to internet shops between 10pm to 8am from Monday.

Earlier, these suppliers were asked to cut down internet services to internet shops within 200 metres of schools. — VNS

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Most internet cafes still break proximity rule

An internet cafe in Cau Giay District, Ha Noi. — VNA/VNS Photo Tran Thanh Giang

HA NOI — Many internet shops located within 200 metres of schools were operating and supplying internet services despite regulations that ordered them to close down before Monday, said director of Ha Noi's Information and Communications Department Pham Quoc Ban.

Previously, the department had instructed internet service providers to cut services to 204 internet shops located within 200 metres of schools as part of a drive to tighten controls on online games.

Ban said the department also found that these shops failed to install required management software and meet health and safety regulations.

Many were open all day, despite a ruling that said shops must close between 10pm and 6am.

"I have seen hundreds of young people between 14-16 years old playing games, eating and sleeping at internet shops at night," said Ban at a conference on Tuesday.

Department inspector Nguyen Van Minh said district authorities reported that only half of the internet shops abided by the time regulation.

The inspector cited an internet shop on Giang Vo Street as an example. The shop is across the street from the Hoa Sen Nursery School and was open despite being required to close down.

Minh said the shop's internet had been blocked, but the owner had it reconnected.

Two students commit suicide Two students committed suicide last week after being scolded by their parents for their online gaming addiction. Bui Tan Cuong, 14, from southern Tien Giang Province often skipped class to play games. Pham Quang Vu, 15, from Pleiku City in Central Highland Gia Lai Province sold his parents' jewellery to get money to play games. The two were said to be good students before developing an addiction to online games. — VNS

Ban placed the blame on internet service providers who had failed to check with their internet agents regularly and were unaware of the regulations.

Viettel Corporation's Internet Service Centre deputy director Bui Quang Huy said an internet shop could buy multiple packages from an internet provider, which would allow stores to continue to operate after being banned.

Huy suggested that testing devices should be installed at these shops to monitor their operations and their gaming content. Huy said such devices would work as ‘a long-term and effective method' to prevent illegal operations.

The regulations should be implemented nationwide, not only in Ha Noi, he said.

Deputy Minister of the Information and Communications Le Nam Thang said the ministry would consider expanding their regulations. — VNS

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HCMC disagrees with ministry’s online curfew

The Ministry of Information and Communications should cut the supply of online games service rather than institute online curfews at Internet cafes, according to Ho Chi Minh City authorities.

The response came after the ministry ordered the suspension of internet service to all internet cafes nationwide from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. from this September 1. 

However, in a written reply to the ministry's demand, HCMC Department of Information and Communications said there is no legal basis for a government body to order the suspension of internet service to internet shops after their business hours.

According to the department, not all Internet shops have broken the law and there is, subsequently, no reason to punish their businesses.

Worse still, the shops will probably file lawsuits demanding compensation from Internet service providers for cutting service without good reason.

Under local law, shops that allow customers to use the Internet after posted business hours are supposed to be fined between VND1-2 million (US$52.36-104.73), the statement said.

The cutting of Internet services, meanwhile, will only help restrict online game playing by some 1 percent of Internet subscribers, because home Internet subscribers now exceed Internet shops, according to the department.

The city agency proposed that the ministry order online game providers to cut their services to Internet shops from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m., arguing that the move would be more practical and effective.

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