Vietnamese Banks Susceptible to High-Tech Crime

Posted by Reading Time: < 1 minute

Oct. 27 – Government officials have warned that banks in Vietnam are increasingly becoming a target for crimes committed over the internet.

Le Tan Don, vice head of Da Nang investigation police unit, spoke during a conference on banking crimes held in the central city of Da Nang, reports Thanh Nien News.

He said that the country is likely to encounter more hi-tech crimes in the banking sector in the future which could involve breach of security systems to draw out money from automatic teller machines, hacking of personal databases, identity theft, and stealing of credit card information.

In September, Da Nang police discovered a plot wherein hackers transferred US$461,000 from a bank in England to an account in a Vietnam-based bank.The hackers are said to be part of an international crime ring operating in the country.

Vietnam's inadequate legal framework is also hampering police efforts to deal with hi-tech crime. The country's inadequate IT facilities and staff at government agencies, businesses and organizations make it easy for hackers to go into systems and change databases.

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) is calling for a revision of rules of what constitutes as evidence in hi-tech cases and the way it is gathered. According to the Vietnam News Agency, MOJ said that pictures, files and videos saved on computers or computer networks should be admissable in open court.

The government should also allow the MoJ to give inspection agencies the right to use certain techniques during the investigative process, like recovering deleted databases.