Cybersecurity Handbook for Women Leaders Launched

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and the Vietnam Women Entrepreneurs Council (VWEC) recently launched the Cybersecurity Handbook for Women Leaders in Hanoi. The book provides businesswomen and female leaders of enterprises and organizations with basic knowledge of information security on the internet and cyberspace, prevention measures, ways to detect cyber threats and necessary actions in response to cyberattacks.

At the event, nearly 80 representatives from ministries, agencies, embassies, international organizations, associations, businesses, digital transformation experts, businesswomen and women directors of social organizations and social enterprises in Hanoi City and neighboring provinces attended shared experiences on how to improve the secure use of digital information and data in the internet.

In the current era of explosive information technology, networking and information technology are important factors to boost the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), social organizations and social enterprises. Nevertheless, in addition to opportunities, this environment also brings enormous risks and challenges for individual users as well as for businesses and organizations, including women-led ones, in ensuring information security.

According to the UN Women, in 2022, more than 90% of victims of online scam fraud were women because gender restrictions make women less likely to take part in technological and digital transformation training, exchange, networking or other activities. This is particularly true for women in remote and isolated areas, women and girls with disabilities and elderly women. The most common cybercrimes against women are cyber extortion, intimidation, cyber pornography, obscene pornography, stalking, bullying, defamation, morphing and profile falsification.

The program was launched by the VWEC under VCCI in collaboration with UN Women and the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV). The launch formed part of a program that supports women-led enterprises, associations, societies, clubs and social organizations, and businesswomen to safely use and exploit information and data in cyberspace”, which is part of the UN Women Program “Women, Peace and Cybersecurity: Promoting Women's Peace and Security in the Digital World”. The program aims to improve the capacity of using and exploiting secure digital information and data in cyberspace for female-owned enterprises, associations and clubs; and support to promote digital transformation in women-led/owned businesses, social enterprises and social organizations.

By Anh Mai, Vietnam Business Forum