HANOI, Vietnam—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.
Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in eWEEK.
