Hanoi (VNA)ไ – Personal data is the property of every individual and organisation, therefore personal information protection will contribute to diminishing risk for one’s self, experts have warned.

Enhancing social awareness on personal data protection in particular and safe and healthy interaction on cyber space in general are crucial in the digital era nowadays, said Dinh Tien Dung, Deputy Director of the Department of External Information under the Ministry of Information and Communications, at a conference on human rights and external information held in Hanoi on May 18.   According to the deputy director, personal data protection has been a great concern for many organisations and countries worldwide and they have been ahead Vietnam in this field for a long time with legal experiences and practical implementation. Due to differences in legal system, knowledge, economy and society, the application of international lessons in personal data protection needs to ensure suitability with the current social condition in Vietnam. At the event, Dung talked in detail about the Government’s Decree No 13/2023/ND-CP on Personal Data Protection, affirming that its contents follow international practices while creating a fair business environment meeting legal requirements in Vietnam. Dung said the decree is issued to meet the requirement of institutionalising the provisions of the Constitution and the law on the right to protect personal information, human rights, citizen’s rights and cyber security. Particularly, the decree has concretised a number of contents in the Law on Cybersecurity on prevention and combat of cyber espionage, protection of information belonging to state secrets, work secrets, business secrets, personal secrets, among others. “The promulgation of Decree 13 is necessary to meet the requirements of protecting personal data rights; prevent acts of infringing upon personal data, affecting the rights and interests of individuals and organisations,” Dung said. Nguyen Duc Tuan, Director of the Vietnam Cybersecurity Emergency Response Teams/ Coordination Centr (VNCERT) (right) speaks at the conference. (Photo:VietnamPlus) Sharing the same view, Nguyen Duc Tuan, Director of Vietnam Cyber Emergency Response Centre, Department of Information Security under the Ministry of Information and Communications said personal information data are considered a “gold mine” and most data attacks will target personal data. According to Tuan, private data leaks can lead to many types of crimes relating to frauds or the risk of being lured into illegal activity lines, which can even indirectly cause life-related consequences. Meanwhile, the situation of buying and selling personal information is quite common nowadays. He raised the alarm that the current awareness of personal information security remains limited. Many types of personal information are arbitrarily publicised on social networks. Even children's personal information is easily shared by parents. This indirectly creates risks for the children. Tuan said that most of the causes behind personal data leaks are due to internet users, adding that everyone has the responsibility to protect their own personal information. Agencies and organisations must be responsible for ensuring the safety of collected personal data.  Deputy Director General Dinh Tien Dung called attention to three points for data owners, organisations and businesses regarding personal data. The first is to strictly comply with the provisions of the Personal Data Protection Decree, in which relevant responsibilities have been specified. The second is to study and clearly define the contents that they need to implement in accordance with the provisions of the Decree. Finally, data owners need to study and understand their rights and responsibilities as stipulated in the Decree in order to find a better way to protect their legitimate rights and interests./.