Surging cyberattacks boost Latin America to riskiest region

Latin America and the Caribbean can now lay claim to an unenviable status: cyberattackers’ favorite region to target with cyberattacks.

Organizations in Latin America saw an average of 3,065 attacks per week last year, a year-over-year surge of 26%, leapfrogging Africa as the top geographic region for cyber-risk, according to the latest data from Check Point Research. About three-quarters (76%) of organizations suffered information disclosure attacks, while a majority also encountered attempts at remote code execution and authentication bypass. In all, Latin American organizations see about 40% more attacks than the global average. 

“Attacks are rising due to a shift toward data-leak extortion …, [a] surge in credential-stealing campaigns, increased exploitation of edge devices, and the growing use of AI by attackers,” says Angel Velasquez, security engineering manager for the Latin American region at Check Point Software, adding that more than 5% of organizations in the region also suffered ransomware attacks. “We expect ransomware activity to continue accelerating next quarter with more frequent and targeted attacks, especially against healthcare and manufacturing.”

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