Cyber cops to patrol Vietnam net
Vietnam is tightening its control over the growing numbers of people online.
A special police unit to combat cyber crime and prevent the spread of banned materials via the net is due to start work in September, state media said.
The communist nation has curbed access to the internet, and blocked sites it deems inappropriate. It also routinely monitors e-mails.
Some two million Vietnamese are online, from a population of 81 million, but the number is rising rapidly.
Online dilemma
Like its neighbour China, Vietnam is grappling with the freedoms offered by the internet.
The country wants to develop it as a means of economic growth, while maintaining a tight grip on its users.
Although only a small number of Vietnamese are online, that number is rising as people access the web via inexpensive internet cafes.
As part of its efforts to regulate the net, Vietnam has set up a special police unit which is due to officially start operations in September.
According to state media, the cyber cops will focus on crimes such as credit card fraud, hacking, gambling and posting banned information online.
"Online crime is expected to become a major problem as more people begin using the internet and connection speeds increase," Nguyen Tu Quang, Director of Hanoi Technology University's Network Security Centre, is quoted as saying.
Net dissidents
Vietnam already has tight controls on internet access.
Last year it set up the Internet Centre of Vietnam to ensure the net was not being used to oppose the communist system.
Human rights and dissident sites are blocked, and official permission is needed for any website hosted in the country.
In addition, net cafes have to keep a record of their users' identities and the websites they visit.
Last week a court in Vietnam sentenced a veteran pro-democracy activist to more than two years in prison for undermining the communist system.
Dr Nguyen Dan Que was the third Vietnamese dissident to be convicted in July for using the internet to swap information and criticise Hanoi.
BBC News - August 05, 2004.
Cyber cops to monitor Internet in Vietnam
HANOI - A new police unit will start cracking down on Internet criminals next month as communist Vietnam works to maintain control over its growing number of online users.
The special unit, under the Ministry of Public Security, will focus on crimes such as credit card fraud, hacking, gambling and posting banned information online, the Vietnam News reported Wednesday.
The announcement comes as Vietnam wrangles with increasing international pressure after jailing several political dissidents who used the Internet to criticize the government.
Although the unit will take action against those who post anti-communist messages, it will mainly focus on financial abuses, said Nguyen Tu Quang, director of Hanoi's Technology University Network Security Center, which trained the cyber officers.
He said the unit would begin operating in early September and would also target the spread of online viruses and viewing of restricted Web sites.
The cyber police unit will work in collaboration with Internet service providers, universities, banks, former hackers and other security forces, Quang said.
About 2 million of Vietnam's 81 million people access the Web, mostly at inexpensive Internet cafes. The number of users is expected to triple by next year, the paper said.
The Associated Press - August 04, 2004.
Cyber cops to hunt 'bad' sites
HANOI - A special police taskforce will begin operations next month to fight cyber-crime in Vietnam, the Ministry of Public Security said on Tuesday.
The new unit is aimed at combating the growing number of internet hackers operating in the communist nation, as well as preventing criminal gangs using the web to traffic people or drugs.
"Firstly we will punish those who develop or intentionally transmit viruses to sabotage the computer network in Vietnam," said an official from the ministry's economic crimes department, under whose control the force will come.
The maximum penalty for such offenders is seven years in prison.
Preventing other criminal activities
"We will also attempt to prevent other criminal activities from being conducted over the Internet and will try to block pornographic websites," he added, requesting anonymity.
Only around four million people out of a population of 81 million people regularly surf the internet in Vietnam, mainly through cyber cafes.
The official declined to reveal any further details about the taskforce, but insisted that its mandate did not include monitoring the activities of political and religious dissidents.
"That is not in our remit, but if we discover any such wrongdoings we will pass on the information to other police services," he said.
The government is determined to prevent pro-democracy advocates and other disaffected individuals from using the internet to communicate and voice their opposition to the communist regime.
This year it has unveiled a series of measures to prevent "bad and poisonous information" being circulated online and has promised heavy punishment for offenders.
Last week an elderly human rights activist was sentenced to 30 months in prison for "abusing democratic rights" to undermine the state. He was the third cyber-dissident to be convicted of these charges in July.
International human rights groups have accused the government of using national security as a pretext to silence all dissents.
By Andrea Botha - News24.com - August 03, 2004.
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