Vietnam’s Government Cipher Committee and Viettel have unveiled the VGC v1.0 security chip and a semiconductor platform, the Government News reported. The project integrates cryptographic algorithms into hardware and sets out further device development, volume production and application-specific assessment.
Design responsibilities and measured performance
The committee’s M2 unit defines security requirements, algorithms and evaluation criteria. Viettel’s semiconductor centre handles circuit design and implementation.
VGC v1.0 has a 10 × 10 mm package, 300 million transistors and a 28 nm CMOS process. Testing cited in the report found encryption and decryption approximately 15 times faster than a software-only solution on the same task. That comparison is task-specific rather than a universal computing-performance claim.
The first batch passed technical tests and received certification for socioeconomic use in the first quarter of 2026. The report separately stresses that products protecting state secrets must satisfy the corresponding standards and conditions.
Reuse and validation shape the next stage
The platform uses the open RISC-V instruction-set architecture so later products can inherit design and verification work. Initial applications include secure USB storage, with national digital-signature certification identified as a next direction.
The cooperation agreement covers volume production, multicore security chips, specialist training and testing in actual devices. Finance, cameras, sensors and critical infrastructure are described as potential applications. Further assessment and certification must follow each intended environment. Viettel’s Hòa Lạc fabrication plant remains under construction, distinct from the chip announcement and from a completed domestic manufacturing chain.