Vietnam CyberSafe Hacks 2026

The U.S. Department of State's Consulate General Ho Chi Minh City is soliciting applications to implement a program combating cyber scams and human trafficking in Southeast Asia, with an application deadline of August 2, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. GMT +7. Eligible applicants are not-for-profit organizations, educational institutions, public international organizations, and governmental institutions; for-profit entities are excluded. Cost sharing is encouraged but not required. One award of $35,633 is anticipated, with a project start date of November 1, 2026 and a performance period of 6 to 12 months.

The program will be implemented at U.S. Mission Vietnam's American Spaces and other locations in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and additional Vietnamese cities. The program equips students and early-stage professionals aged 18–30 with cybersecurity and emerging technology skills to develop solutions addressing cyber scams and human trafficking. Primary objectives include strengthening knowledge of cyber scam operations among 5,000 Vietnamese nationwide, boosting problem-solving and cybersecurity skills among 200–400+ participants, and generating 50–100 prototype solutions through hackathons addressing scam prevention, detection, awareness, and victim protection.

Applications must include federal forms (SF-424, SF-424A, SF-424B), a proposal of maximum 10 pages, detailed budget justification, key personnel resumes, and letters of support from partners. All organizations must obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and maintain active registration in SAM.gov. Evaluation criteria are program quality and feasibility (30 points), organizational capacity and previous grant performance (25 points), project planning ability (20 points), budget (10 points), monitoring and evaluation (10 points), and sustainability (5 points). The program operates under CFDA 19.441 (ECA – American Spaces) and is funded through FY26 Fulbright Hays.