This is the latest findings from IBM’s annual Cost of a Data Breach report with 550 businesses across 17 countries including Vietnam impacted by data breaches surveyed.

The research finds that Vietnam consumers pay data breach prices amid soaring inflation. Invisible ‘cyber tax’ is what stands out most in this year’s finding – the financial impact of breaches is now extending well beyond the breaches organizations themselves.

The soaring cost not only cut into companies’ bottom line but hurt customers. Sixty percent of companies say they’ve increased prices because of data breaches. 

The report underscores the importance of cyber security to Vietnam’s digital transformation roadmap which is a driving force for innovation and the foundation for a modern economy.

Vietnam consumers pay the price as data breach costs reach an all-time high. The country’s digital economy revenue reached $53 billion in the first quarter of this year, according to the National Committee on Digital Transformation.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam enterprises have been through similar episodes in the past albeit on a smaller scale such as SARS in 2003 and H1N1 in 2009.

Through lessons learned from these past episodes, some companies have devised business continuity measures and continued to refine them over time with regular exercises to familiarize their employees with the response plans.

While these measures may not completely mitigate the effects of COVID-19 when it struck due to its far-reaching implications which may not have been foreseen prior. It is clear that companies that have considered and practiced their responses during “peace-time” would be in a far better position to deal with the business implications of COVID-19.   

The state of readiness of Vietnam enterprises against the effects of a major cyberattack such as ransomware. Companies that have kept up with the rapid developments in the cyber threat landscape and continued to hone their defenses and practice their responses in cyberspace would be far better off in responding to a major cyber attack than another company that does not do that. 

Cyber resilience is the ability to keep operating even if hackers penetrate your defenses. As with COVID-19, having ‘vaccination’ is key to our response to a major cyberattack. 

In cyberspace, implementing Zero Trust architectures holistically with relevant solutions and processes as well as adopting the ‘Assume Breached’ mindset is the ‘vaccination’ enterprises need to safeguard themselves against ‘cyber pandemics’ such as the proliferation of ransomware that many enterprises need to contend with today” he explained.  “While it may not totally prevent an enterprise from being ‘infected’ by malware, having such vaccination drastically reduces the probability of an enterprise being fatally affected.

However, malware in cyberspace mutates just like viruses in real life too.  It is, therefore, crucial for enterprises to always review if the efficacy of the ‘vaccination’ is waning and if ‘boosters’ i.e. additional counter-measures are needed against the rapidly mutating cyber threats.

In Vietnam, cyber threats such as ransomware attacks are no longer contained in the digital domain. They now spill over into the physical realm, with real-world consequences.

Given Vietnam’s digital transformation roadmap which is a driving force for innovation and the foundation for a modern economy, rising cyberattacks have also prompted action from the Government to help enterprises play a bigger and more active role in managing cyber risk.

In the first half of 2022, the number of users ordering food on the GoFood increased by 66% from a year earlier. 

Users also tend to place orders with a higher total value. In the first 6 months of 2022, the average value of each order on GoFood increased by 23%, and the average revenue of GoFood partners increased nearly 3 times compared with the same period last year.

After easing social distance regulations in Vietnam. The number of merchants operating on GoFood climbed by 83% in the first half of 2022 over the same period. In June alone, the number of new stores on the platform increased by 21% from the previous month and increased by 31% compared to the average of the first 3 months of 2022.

Ms. Le Nguyen Ngoc Dung, director of Gofood, said that the growth in revenue of restaurant partners on Gojek is a good sign of the recovery and prosperity of the economy. 

On the Gojek side, the company has focused on supporting partners such as creating a completely free online registration platform, creating conditions for restaurants to easily participate in business on GoFood; launching and promoting the application of GoBiz, an order management platform to help GoFood restaurant partners optimize the online food delivery process and develop effective business; provide analytical data about business activities and open programs to support partners to expand customer, enhance brand image, and increase sales.

Source: Vietnam+

The number of digital companies has constantly increased in Vietnam, from 45,600 in 2019 to 58,000 in 2020, and 64,000 in 2021, and the figure is expected to reach 70,000 by the end of this year.  

In the first half of 2022, digital enterprises earned $72.5 billion in revenue, representing a year-on-year increase of 17.8 percent, the ministry reported. 

Of the total revenue, hardware and electronics export turnover was estimated at $57 billion, up 16.4 percent against the same period last year in which computers brought back $ 29.1 billion of export turnover (up 21.8 percent) and mobile $ 27.9 billion (up 11.2 percent). 

Particularly, the value rate of “Make in Vietnam” reached over 26.7 percent to about $19.4 billion.  

In addition, the postal market made a revenue growth of over 30 percent. 

However, digital corporates are located unevenly, focusing in four localities namely HCMC, Ha Noi, Da Nang and Bac Ninh. These localities accounted for over 72 percent of total number of digital firms in Vietnam.

Source: VGP