[ti:Vietnam's Digital Dreams Held Back by Malware Epidemic] [ar:June Simms] [al:Technology Report] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]From VOA Learning English, [00:02.00]this is the Technology Report. [00:05.20]Vietnam's information, communications [00:09.22]and technology industries [00:11.52]have grown quickly over the past 10 years. [00:15.74]The Vietnamese government has high hopes for the future, [00:20.33]it wants the country to become a center [00:23.64]for Information Technology Services in the years to come. [00:29.05]But to capture its share of the knowledge economy, [00:33.94]experts say Vietnam will have to do more [00:37.75]to deal with cyber security issues. [00:40.80]One major problem is malicious computer software, [00:45.92]known as malware. [00:47.72]Malware programs are used to damage computer operations, [00:53.79]steal information or gain entry to private computer systems. [01:00.48]Michael Mudd is Chair of the Information Technology, [01:05.46]Intellectual property and Telecommunications Committee [01:09.98]at the American Chamber of Commerce. [01:12.93]He says Vietnam is among the top five suppliers [01:17.94]of malware and spam messages in the world. [01:21.92]He says the country is facing a crisis, [01:25.67]mainly because of lack of knowledge about the issue. [01:29.94]"In the countries that have been involved in IT for longer, [01:35.76]they are more aware of anti-virus programs. [01:40.32]Everywhere I go in Vietnam, [01:43.65]I look in places and offices and stuff like this, [01:46.52]and hardly any computer, apart from the very big ones, [01:49.77]are protected by any anti-virus program at all," he explained. [01:53.33]Wahab Yusoff is an official with McAfee, [01:57.59]the computer software company. [02:00.19]He says the issue of malware is a very reactive one, [02:06.07]you do not do anything until it hits you. [02:09.68]"I think the awareness is increasing, [02:12.18]but there's a sense of laissez faire, [02:15.46]I'm not being affected, I would be hit by it. [02:17.81]But the awareness is increasing. [02:19.96]But compared to Singapore, [02:21.16]it's a much smaller country and community, [02:23.52]I think it's less," said Yusoff. [02:25.78]The use of pirated software is one of the main ways [02:29.75]malware can infect computers systems. [02:33.95]The Business Software Alliance says [02:37.72]about 81 percent of the computers in Vietnam [02:41.34]use pirated copies of software programs. [02:45.67]Michael Mudd says infected computers [02:49.25]could take up to 20 percent of available bandwidth, [02:54.21]causing major economy loses. [02:57.37]To deal with the problem, he says, [02:59.88]Vietnam does not need more "antivirus scientists [03:04.39]with four-year college degrees." [03:07.26]He says the country instead needs an army of IT experts [03:13.26]who can care for computer systems [03:16.16]and remove malware already loaded in the machines. [03:21.73]Mr Mudd says education about cyber security should start early, [03:28.06]even at school age. [03:30.01]He says this will help people understand the value [03:34.28]of investing in legitimate software and antivirus programs. [03:39.79]And that is the Technology Report from VOA Learning English. [03:45.96]I'm June Simms. [03:48.01]¸ü¶àÌýÁ¦Çë·ÃÎÊ51voa.com