On 3 November 2026, Vietnam's Government Cipher Committee and Viettel held the launch of VGC v1.0, the country's first homegrown security chip, together with a secure semiconductor platform meant to underpin future generations. It is not the fastest chip in the world, but it is the first time a high-security chip has been controlled in-country from cryptographic algorithm to design and testing. For software teams, the news matters because it touches the lowest layer of any secure system: the hardware.
Who built the VGC v1.0 security chip?
VGC v1.0 comes from a partnership between the Government Cipher Committee, the national cryptography authority, and Viettel, with the Viettel Semiconductor Center (Viettel Semi) leading the design work. According to coverage by GenK on 3 November 2026, the project ran for 24 months and involved more than 40 engineers and experts. The split of roles was clear: the Committee set the security requirements, algorithms and evaluation criteria, while Viettel handled chip design and turned the blueprint into silicon.
The chip was also framed as a result of Resolution 57-NQ/TW, the Politburo's directive on science, technology, innovation and national digital transformation. In other words, it is both an engineering product and a concrete step in a national semiconductor strategy.
Specs: RISC-V, 28 nm and a dedicated crypto block
The published numbers are compact:
- Package size: 10 x 10 mm.
- Process: 28 nm CMOS.
- Instruction set: RISC-V, an open architecture.
- Cryptography: the MKV block cipher implemented as a dedicated hardware processing block.
28 nm is far from cutting-edge. For a security chip, though, clock speed is not the first priority; control over the design is. Choosing RISC-V lets the engineers verify and adjust the processor themselves instead of depending on a closed foreign core.
According to measurements by the two organizations, the chip encrypts and decrypts roughly 10 times faster than a pure-software approach for the same task. That figure comes from the developers themselves and has not been independently reviewed, so treat it as an early indicator.
Why build it at home: the backdoor problem
GenK's report points to a familiar fear in security circles: a backdoor, a secret piece of logic planted in a circuit at design time. If the controller chip in a secure storage device is imported, users can hardly verify what is inside.
Lt. Gen. Vu Ngoc Thiem, head of the Government Cipher Committee, stressed that mastering algorithms is not enough; you also need to control where they run, where keys are generated, and how well the hardware resists direct attacks. MKV was already published as national standard TCVN 14263:2024, so moving it into silicon is a logical next step.
A reality check: a finished chip is not a certified product
Credit to the Committee for not overselling. It said plainly that successfully fabricating a chip does not mean every device using it automatically meets every security level. Application products, such as the VGC secure USB storage device, still have to be refined, tested and certified under the Committee's procedures if they are to protect state secrets.
They also acknowledged that the semiconductor supply chain is global, from EDA tools and wafer fabrication to materials, packaging and testing. The practical strategy is therefore to master the layers tied directly to national security: cryptographic algorithms, security architecture, chip design and independent verification. They describe VGC v1.0 as a milestone worth respecting, but only a beginning.
What it means for businesses and software teams
For most software companies, VGC v1.0 will not change daily work yet. A few things are worth watching:
- A domestic secure-device ecosystem. With a chip available, tokens, secure storage and encryption modules could be built on a local platform, creating demand for firmware, drivers and SDKs.
- Integration requirements. Business apps, digital-signature systems and sensitive-data storage will need to work with new devices, which calls for hardware-integration skills and knowledge of national cryptographic standards.
- Talent. RISC-V and chip design are becoming real career paths in Vietnam, and embedded engineers will gain opportunities.
- Security from the ground up. The broader lesson is that safety is not only about source code but also about the hardware supply chain underneath.
There is no public information yet on pricing, commercial timing or integration partners, so concrete plans should wait for official announcements.
What to do next
If your company builds systems involving digital signatures, sensitive data storage or embedded devices, now is a good time to review dependencies on imported hardware and follow announcements about VGC-based devices. For more reading, see how a hardware startup raised big money in our post on Northwood Space, or how software teams track platform updates in our post on the Node.js 26 release schedule. And if you need help building software that integrates with devices and security requirements, contact the Besoft team.
Sources
- GenK, "Nong: Hom nay 3/11, chip bao mat 'Make in Viet Nam' dau tien se chinh thuc lo dien", 3 Nov 2026: https://genk.vn/nong-hom-nay-3-11-chip-bao-mat-make-in-viet-nam-dau-tien-se-chinh-thuc-lo-dien-165261103080324499.chn
- GenK, "Nhung hinh anh ve con chip bao mat dau tien do Viet Nam thiet ke chinh thuc duoc tiet lo", 3 Nov 2026: https://genk.vn/nhung-hinh-anh-ve-con-chip-bao-mat-dau-tien-do-viet-nam-thiet-ke-chinh-thuc-duoc-tiet-lo-165261103163052666.chn
