VietNamNet Bridge - Warning about threats from Chinese-made equipment used in Vietnam, experts have suggested diversifying supply sources to reduce reliance on China.

Minister of Information and Communication Truong Minh Tuan at a recent government press conference confirmed that Vietnamese telecom networks mostly use equipment from China.

The confirmation has raised concerns among the public, especially after security firms warned about spyware installed in China-made devices.

The concern increased after the cyberattack on the Tan Son Nhat and Noi Bai International Airports. Hackers deployed a deface attack, changing the screens displaying information about flights and hacking the loudspeaker system. 

The concern increased after the cyberattack on the Tan Son Nhat and Noi Bai International Airports. Hackers deployed a deface attack, changing the screens displaying information about flights and hacking the loudspeaker system.

Meanwhile, Thanh Nien newspaper reported that one internet cable route goes through China.

Nguyen Truong Thang, director of the Information Security Institute under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, commented that the situation is in developed countries as well.

Other countries suspect Chinese telecom equipment manufacturers, especially Huawei and ZTE. 

Huawei now ranks second in the world in turnover from telecom infrastructure devices, just after Swedish Ericsson, while ZTE ranks sixth and Alcatel- Lucent, Nokia Siemens and Cisco from third to fifth.

With its scale and secret business management by Ren Zhengfei, a former army officer of the China People’s Liberation Army, security agencies in the world cast their doubts on Huawei, believing that the firm receives support from the Chinese government.

The Vietnamese Bidding Law stipulates that investors must not have discriminatory treatment toward goods manufacturers and suppliers. This gives Chinese manufacturers a big advantage and helps them win bids with products at low prices.

Since Vietnam cannot master equipment production and inspection technology, it has to rely on hi-tech imports, either from China or other countries, through suppliers such as Cisco, Ericsson, Nokia Siemens and Alcatel-Lucent.

However, since the telecom groups have their products assembled mostly in China, their products also bear security risks.

According to Thang, the US and Europe can deal with the problem with administrative orders or non-technical barriers, citing national security, unhealthy competition, copyright problems and the Chinese subsidy

As for Vietnam, Thang said it should apply necessary measures to minimize the national security risk by using equipment from different sources and applying the cross-examination policy.

In related news, the Bach Khoa Anti-virus Center (BKAV), the leading Vietnamese network security firm, has released a report showing that more than 90 percent of routers with flaws in Vietnam are from China.

Dat Viet