Hanoi (VNA)ꦗ - Solutions, technology applications, and orientations to develop a secure and sustainable Internet infrastructure in Vietnam topped the agenda of the 2024 VNNIC (Vietnam Internet Network Information Centre) Internet Conference in Hanoi on June 7.

According to statistics from Wearesocial and DataReportal, as of January 2024, Vietnam had 78.44 million Internet users, equivalent to 79.1% of the population. A boom in Internet connections will pose a huge challenge to infrastructure - the core infrastructure for connections in the digital era. To ensure this type of infrastructure can meet the requirements of the new context, development needs to be oriented systematically for safety and sustainability. Speaking at the conference, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Huy Dung said that since officially connecting to the world in 1997, Vietnam's Internet system has developed rapidly, larger in scale, faster in connection, and more modern in technology. From a single independent network, it has grown to nearly 1,000 networks with Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and network numbers connected to each other. Dung said that the infrastructure planning to 2050 clearly states that information and communications infrastructure supports national digital transformation. It also plays a role in opening up new socio-economic development space, and creating a favourable environment for innovation to improve national competitiveness. To meet the demands for digital transformation, Vietnam needs a sustainable, smart, and safe digital infrastructure, with huge data storage and high bandwidth, he stated. He said that to develop Internet services and new technologies, Vietnam’s infrastructure needs to be upgraded and made compatible with new technology, while remaining secure. VNNIC Director General Nguyen Hong Thang said that the Internet is strongly influenced by the rapid development and application of new technologies such as 5G, Internet of Thing (IoT), Cloud Computing, Big Data, and artificial intelligence (AI). Therefore, to meet the development of Internet services and new technologies, Vietnam's Internet infrastructure needs to be changed and improved further, added Thang. According to him, Vietnam is ensuring the safety and sustainability of the Internet, including the issue of raising awareness of the need to ensure safety at the Internet infrastructure layer. Technology creates a lot of value and technology and also things that need to be solved, he said, adding that the most effective way is to use technology to solve problems arising from technology. Regarding the domain name “.vn”, which has been present for 30 years, the VNNIC leader stated that the centre has developed solutions to prevent it from being abused. The centre has also cooperated with universities and research institutes to apply AI in detecting domain names whether they are at risk of being used for malicious purposes or not as soon as they are registered. The AI technology is in the research phase and will be put into operation in 2024. The safe and sustainable development of Internet infrastructure requires the joint efforts of both the technical community and parties in the Internet ecosystem. He expressed his hope that the VNNIC Internet Conference continues to be developed by the community, as an in-depth forum for technology that helps shape the future larger, faster, and safer Internet picture of Vietnam. The VNNIC Internet Conference is an annual series of technical and technological events, which specialise in the Internet, resources and infrastructure, advanced technologies and standards, contributing to the development of Vietnam's Internet. The main topic of this year’s conference was "Secure and sustainable Internet infrastructure in the development of emerging technologies". The aim is to orient the expert community on the application of new solutions and technologies in Internet infrastructure management and development. A central goal is to develop a "bigger, faster, safer, flatter" Internet, and apply technology in evaluating, monitoring, and exploiting Internet data for the construction of digital infrastructure and national digital transformation./.