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December 11, 2025

Vietnam Issues New Cybersecurity Law

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On December 10, 2025, the National Assembly of Vietnam passed a new Cybersecurity Law, which will take effect on July 1, 2026. The new Cybersecurity Law was developed based on the consolidation of the 2018 Cybersecurity Law and the 2015 Law on Network Information Security.

While the final approved version of the new Cybersecurity Law has not yet been published, according to official reports, the following notable requirements are confirmed to be included:

  • The new Cybersecurity Law dedicates a specific article to prohibited acts related to cybersecurity, under which it strictly prohibits posting or disseminating information online that propagandizes against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The law also prohibits, among other things, (i) the appropriation, trading, seizure, or intentional disclosure of information classified as state secrets, work secrets, business secrets, personal secrets, family secrets, and private life; (ii) intentionally eavesdropping, recording, or filming online conversations without authorization; and (iii) the use of artificial intelligence (AI) or new technologies to conduct prohibited acts.
  • The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) has the authority to require enterprises providing telecommunications, internet, and online services, as well as system administrators, to remove information violating cybersecurity laws from systems under their management. The MPS is also assigned responsibility for ensuring information security in cyberspace and data security, establishing mechanisms for IP address identity management, verifying digital account registration information, and issuing warnings and sharing information on cybersecurity threats.
  • Information systems are classified into five levels (similar to the 2015 Law on Network Information Security) based on the degree of harm to national security and social order if an incident occurs.
  • The MPS is the lead agency assisting the government in state management of cybersecurity. The Ministry of National Defense is responsible for managing military information systems, and the Government Cipher Committee manages cryptographic and cipher information systems.

Interestingly, while the last publicly circulated draft version of the new Cybersecurity Law submitted to the National Assembly for approval had reinstated controversial data localization requirements, the official reports have not mentioned this aspect. It remains to be seen whether the data localization requirements have survived and are included in the official version of the new Cybersecurity Law.

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