Fighting to protect national sovereignty in cyberspace

Fighting in cyberspace

The Internet and social networks have brought many positive values; connecting the community, sharing feelings, exchanging work and business, bringing practical effects to the economy and in the fields of politics and society... Through that, information is transmitted quickly and has a wide spread. However, in cyberspace, besides the majority of users who are conscious and responsible, there are still deviant statements that go against the morality and traditions of the nation, becoming one of the most potential factors in spreading wrong and hostile views; causing difficulties for ideological unity within the Party and social consensus; causing political instability and security, dividing the solidarity between the Party and the people. In particular, hostile forces take advantage of artificial intelligence (AI), GPT chat... to create new risks and challenges.

The fight against wrong views in cyberspace is a fierce, complicated and long-term front. Hostile forces and political opportunists thoroughly exploit cyberspace, especially social networks with the ability to interact, create quick effects, and are very difficult to control, manage, monitor and censor. The main method is to create mixed sources of true and false information, causing confusion in public opinion; promote opposing thoughts, incite, oppose and sabotage in a very systematic, tight manner, with clear goals, which are: Propaganda against, calling for gatherings, demonstrations, riots, disturbing public order by means of "color revolution", "street revolution", "peaceful evolution".

Notably, some countries are still secretly carrying out reconnaissance, surveillance, intelligence activities, deploying cyber weapons systems, ready to attack and violate Vietnam's sovereignty in cyberspace. Reactionary organizations have built social media accounts, media channels, connecting with domestic and foreign opposition elements across borders to "loudly" preach and criticize Vietnam for violating democracy and human rights, claiming that Vietnam is the "enemy of the internet"; developing media channels in ethnic minority languages, inciting separatist and autonomous activities; connecting and attracting political opportunists, including incumbent officials, some retired officials and opposition elements among intellectuals and artists to intensify their opposition to the Party; always promoting the so-called "bourgeois democracy" and "civil society".

Hostile forces take advantage of loopholes in land handling, economic cases, anti-corruption campaigns, etc. to spread distorted articles, to direct public opinion, and to disrupt political security on social networks. They take advantage of official press information about political events, seas, islands, and complex developments in the world and region, etc. to create objectivity, then insert fictional information and distort the truth. They take advantage of the curiosity and lack of understanding of many people to incite the online community to participate in spreading bad and toxic information, creating public opinion, which then escalates into political issues, causing information disruption.

Therefore, identifying the plots and sabotage tricks of hostile forces in cyberspace is a struggle to protect the Party's ideological foundation; it is an urgent issue, a task of the entire political system, and the awareness and responsibility of the whole society.

Protecting sovereignty in cyberspace

Cyber ​​sovereignty is an inseparable part of national sovereignty and ensuring national sovereignty in cyberspace is protecting national and ethnic sovereignty. Therefore, it is necessary to promote the combined strength to protect information systems, data, digital resources, and ensure the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of information. In the era of strong digital transformation, building e-Government, moving towards digital government, digital economy, digital society, digital citizens, especially in the fields of military, defense, and security, cyberspace has become an environment for conducting cyber warfare and information warfare, requiring a good resolution of the relationship between exploitation, use, and firmly protecting national sovereignty in cyberspace.

First of all, it is necessary to strengthen the leadership of the Party, the management and administration of the State, the drastic and effective participation of all levels and sectors to mobilize all resources. Raise awareness, responsibility and skills for cadres, party members and people of all walks of life regularly and continuously with appropriate and effective content and measures. Organize and seriously implement Resolution No. 29-NQ/TW of the Politburo on protecting the Fatherland in cyberspace; Resolution No. 30-NQ/TW of the Politburo on national cybersecurity strategy.

Perfecting the strategy for protecting sovereignty in cyberspace. Supplementing and institutionalizing the system of legal documents. Continuing to establish and fully implement sovereignty, national security interests, and maintain social order and safety of Vietnam in cyberspace. Perfecting the national legal framework, promulgating mechanisms and policies in accordance with international regulations, in order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of State management of information security and cyber security. Being ready to respond to cyber security challenges; protecting the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and individuals.

Clearly define the role and importance of information warfare and cyber warfare. Be autonomous in technology, invest in technical infrastructure, especially technology infrastructure and hardware, from core infrastructure to personal electronic devices to limit the intrusion of malicious codes, because we currently mainly import from abroad, so security still has many loopholes. Proactively "build" and "prevent", "fight" and "protect", promptly detect and respond to cyber security threats and cyber espionage to protect national interests and maintain sovereignty in cyberspace.

Strengthening and developing specialized forces, especially high-quality human resources in the fields of information technology and network security, ensuring professional expertise, political acumen, and legal knowledge. Modernizing weapons and equipment to meet the requirements of cyber warfare and network security in the new situation. Mobilizing the participation of all classes of people; closely coordinating between the Army, Police, information and communication forces and other forces, in which the Army and Police are the core. Focusing on fighting against subjects such as: Hostile forces, allies, and lackeys who plot and act to use cyberspace to interfere, eliminate the leadership of the Party, and overthrow the socialist regime; reactionary organizations at home and abroad; opportunistic forces, degraded in political ideology, morality, and lifestyle, plotting and acting in collusion with external forces, using cyberspace to sabotage the cause of national construction and defense; Organizations and individuals using cyberspace to conduct activities of intrusion and sabotage in the economic, political, ideological, cultural, social, defense, security, foreign affairs, infringing upon national and ethnic interests, and the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and individuals.

In the field of defense and military, cyberspace is a combat environment, allowing commanders and soldiers to use information systems to manage, operate, control weapons, and conduct technical reconnaissance; and to use automated command systems to interact in combat operations. The emergence of cyberspace has created new forms of warfare and combat forces, such as the Russia-Ukraine war... which has changed the doctrine, thinking, and methods of conducting war.

On the basis of the State's management of services in cyberspace, it is necessary to strengthen close coordination between departments, ministries, branches and localities to create a solid defense posture; monitor and ensure information safety and security, serving the task of protecting the integrity of national sovereignty in cyberspace; raise awareness and self-protection capacity of people when participating in activities in cyberspace, complying with the provisions of law.

Strengthen international cooperation to ensure network safety and security. Seek international support to combat and refute false arguments against Vietnam. Participate in international conventions in accordance with Vietnamese law. Coordinate effectively in implementing protocols and agreements on cooperation in crime prevention and control.

Fighting for and protecting national sovereignty in cyberspace is a difficult and complicated task in the process of implementing the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Cyberspace brings many new opportunities for building and developing the country, but also creates many challenges that influence and affect all aspects of social life. Promoting the combined strength of the entire Party, the entire people, the entire army, and the entire political system, we are determined to strongly implement digital transformation to build a strong, prosperous, and developed Vietnam.