The Vietnamese brokerage market is currently facing significant challenges following a large-scale cyberattack on VNDIRECT, one of the major players in the country’s securities sector. The recent events have had a profound impact on the operations of exchanges and the trust of investors.
Ranked third among brokers in Vietnam, VNDIRECT has been struggling to restore its services after the attack that took place over the weekend on March 23-24.
The company has announced the partial restoration of access to their services, starting from customer accounts to financial products. However, due to the phased approach and high system load, customers are facing access issues. The company has appealed for patience and requested customers to wait for further updates.
The repercussions of the attack are not only impacting VNDIRECT but also the Vietnamese stock market in general. The HNOI exchange has decided to temporarily halt online trading of securities through the VNDIRECT platform until the issue is fully resolved.
The effects of the crisis are also reflected in the value of VNDIRECT shares, which have declined by approximately 4% since the start of the week. Furthermore, the trading volume on the Ho Chi Minh exchange has dropped by 10% as VNDIRECT customers were unable to conduct transactions.
A representative from the State Securities Commission of Vietnam stated that the attack would not significantly impact the country’s financial institutions, noting that other brokers were unaffected.
The CEO of VNDirect underscored the severity of the situation, revealing that the attack was orchestrated by professional Apt-hackers with the intention of encrypting the company’s data. The successful decryption of the blocked data has been announced, and the system restoration process has commenced. The company assures that customer assets and personal information were not compromised.
In addition to the issues faced by VNDirect, several affiliated companies such as the IPA investment company and the IPAAM Foundation also fell victim to cyberattacks. Their websites remain inaccessible, further complicating the situation in Vietnam’s stock market.
This incident highlights the importance of raising awareness among all market participants about