The 50th rank means it is classified as a country demonstrating deep commitment in all five pillars of the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI), according to a report by the ITU.

The index reflects member countries’ commitment to legal measures, organizational measures, technology, capacity building, and cooperation.

Vietnam, a member of the ITU since 1951, saw its 2018 index rise to 0.693 from 0.245 in 2017, when it ranked 101st out of 195 countries.

Singapore was first in the 2018 list, followed by the U.S. and Malaysia.

Vietnam ranked 11th out of 38 countries in the Asia Pacific.

The Ministry of Information and Communications said last week on its portal that it is working on "synchronous solutions" to enhance Vietnam’s GCI so that it jumps 20 places this year.

It also said it would urge Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to instruct government agencies to ensure information security at organizations as part of the efforts to improve the country’s ranking.

It said Vietnam suffered 3,159 cyberattacks in the first six months of this year, a 45.9 percent decrease year-on-year. 

But government entities have not been doing well in cybersafety. A recent report by the ministry showed government agencies suffered twice as many number of attacks with malicious codes in the first six months compared to the same period last year.

Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said at the 2019 Vietnam Security Summit in April that last year none of the country’s 90 ministries and departments had the highest cybersafety rating of grade A, only 17 percent had a grade B rating, while 70 percent were in grade C, and 13 percent in grade D.

None had grade E, the lowest, either.

Half of these organizations do not have a unit in charge of cybersecurity or engage a cybersecurity firm for the purpose.

Thus, when there is an attack, they do not know how to respond, he told the conference.