Vietnam CyberSafe Hacks 2026
Contract Overview
Solicitation details, issuing organization, response deadlines, documents, and interested companies for this government contract opportunity.
AI Contract Overview
The U.S. Department of State’s Consulate General Ho Chi Minh City is soliciting proposals under the Vietnam CyberSafe Hacks 2026 program, identified by solicitation number FY26-PDS-HCMC-01, to combat the rapidly growing threat of transnational cyber scams and human trafficking in Southeast Asia. The program targets students and early-stage professionals aged 18–30 in Vietnam, aiming to strengthen their awareness of cyber fraud schemes and build technical skills in emerging American technologies, particularly open-source AI and cybersecurity, to develop secure, innovative, and legally compliant solutions. The initiative will directly reach 5,000 Vietnamese youth nationwide through awareness campaigns and equip 200–400 participants with advanced digital competencies, while hosting hackathons in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi to generate 50–100 prototype solutions focused on scam detection, public awareness, and digital trust. Activities will occur at U.S. Mission Vietnam’s American Spaces, including the American Centers in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and the American Hangouts in Thai Nguyen and An Giang. The program is designed to disrupt the financial and labor pipelines sustaining cyber scam operations, which have defrauded Americans of over $10 billion in 2024 and forced thousands of Vietnamese into exploitative conditions. Proposals must be submitted by August 2, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. GMT+7 via Grants.gov or email to achcmc@state.gov, and must include mandatory forms SF-424, SF-424A, and, where applicable, SF-424B, along with a 10-page narrative proposal using the provided template or applicant’s own format. Applicants must have a valid Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and active SAM.gov registration, with the exception of individuals. Budgets must be submitted in U.S. dollars and itemized across personnel, fringe benefits, travel, equipment (defined as items costing $10,000 or more per unit), supplies, consultants, other direct costs, and indirect costs (capped at 15% of Modified Total Direct Costs unless a negotiated rate is provided). Evaluation is based on five weighted criteria: program idea quality and feasibility (30 points), institutional capacity (25 points), project planning (20 points), budget reasonableness (10 points), and monitoring and evaluation plan (10 points), with a
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Full Description
The U.S. Department of State’s Consulate General Ho Chi Minh City announces an open competition to implement a program to combat cyber scams.
Transnational organized crime in Southeast Asia is increasing at an unprecedented pace. The region has witnessed the proliferation of industrial-scale cyber fraud and scam operations, driven by sophisticated transnational criminal syndicates and networks of human traffickers. These criminal enterprises have expanded to inaccessible border areas, particularly in the Mekong region, and have become global leaders in cyber-enabled and cryptocurrency investment fraud—defrauding Americans of over $10 billion in 2024 alone.
Vietnam stands at a critical inflection point where rapid digital transformation and adoption meet these sophisticated transnational cybercrimes. Economic losses in Vietnam from cyber-enabled scams have reached billions of dollars. Thousands of Vietnamese, primarily aged 18-35, have been trafficked to neighboring countries and forced to work in scam operations against their will, often targeting Americans. Traffickers target young jobseekers with technology skills, including students, and recruit primarily through social media platforms.
Against this backdrop, this program will equip and deploy students and early-stage professionals aged 18-30 to raise awareness of, and reduce vulnerabilities to, cyber scams and trafficking. Participants will examine the cyber-enabled scam and trafficking landscape and develop skills in emerging American technologies and cybersecurity to build practical, innovative, secure, and legally compliant solutions that address these challenges and advance U.S. and regional prosperity and security.
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