Representatives of the Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade visit and work with VNISA

On January 31st, 2024, the delegation of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade led by Mr. Brendan Downing, Australian Ambassador for Networks and Critical Infrastructure, visited and worked with the Vietnam Information Security Association. (VNISA).

Accompanied with Ambassador Downing were representatives from the Department of International Cooperation – Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, representatives from the Australian Embassy in Vietnam and representatives of RMIT University.

VNISA delegation members at the meeting were Vice President Khong Huy Hung, along with a number of VNISA office staff and leaders from such companies as FPT-IS, CMC Cyber Security, and VSEC.

Overview of the meeting

At the meeting, the two sides emphasized strengthening and promoting cooperation and exchange of techniques and technology in the field of information security between the two countries. Ambassador Brendan Downing highly appreciated Vietnam’s efforts in focusing on investment and infrastructure development in the field of information security in recent years.

Besides, Ambassador Downing also pointed out common challenges between Vietnam and Australia in the field of information security, including the risks of cyber-attacks, typically ransomware attacks on computers and mobile devices. This issue is one of the driving forces for the Australian government to increase the dissemination of information security and safety knowledge to the community, especially to small and medium enterprises.

VNISA Vice President Khong Huy Hung presented a gift to Ambassador Brendan Downing

On behalf of VNISA, Vice President Khong Huy Hung said that Vietnam has learned a lot of experience in the field of information security and safety from Australia through technology exchanges, sending experts to Australia for training, and through seminars and information security training programs organized by the Embassy of Australia and RMIT University in Vietnam.

VNISA also expressed the hope that Australia will soon disseminate and translate Australia’s White Paper on Information Security into Vietnamese. Thus, agencies and organizations in the field of information security in Vietnam could learn to shorten the progress of building their own set of information security standards.

Representatives of VSEC, CMC, and FPT businesses at the meeting also expressed their hope that the Australian side would support Vietnamese businesses in cooperating and sharing experiences with Australian information security businesses.

Group photos of the meeting attendees

At the end of the meeting, the two sides agreed to maintain the cooperative relationship on information security through exchanging experiences, while enhancing training and disseminating knowledge through organizing seminars, expert exchange… Ambassador Brendan Downing pledged to continue to consider Vietnam, including VNISA, as an important partner in the region, and see Vietnam as a gateway for Australian security businesses to invest and expand deeper into the Southeast Asian market.