Vietnam's president calls for tougher internet controls

In an article published on the government website on Sunday, Vietnam's President Tran Dai Quang called on for tougher controls on the internet and highlighted threats to cybersecurity.

He said hostile forces had used the internet to organize offensive campaigns that "undermined the prestige of the leaders of the party and the state, with a negative impact on cadres, party members and people".

Quang said Vietnam needed to pay greater attention to controlling online information, especially on social networks, and needed an effective solution "to prevent news sites and blogs with bad and dangerous content".

Vietnam is in the top 10 countries for Facebook users by numbers and Google's YouTube is also a popular platform.

Quang also highlighted threats to cybersecurity, saying Vietnam was under increasing attack by criminals seeking information and state secrets, and attempting to carry out acts of sabotage.

Thousands of computers in Vietnam were affected by the WannaCry virus in May.