Researchers with Trend Micro reported
that a series of sophisticated attacks on finance and government
institutions has helped to push a 40 percent jump in cyber crime
incidents in the region since last year.
According to a study, carried out with
local governments and law enforcement agencies in the region, targeted
attacks were on the rise and losses from cyber crime were higher than
any other form of crime.
As with other parts of the world, the
researchers found that popular attacks included hacktivism and targeting
critical infrastructures. The study uncovered a number of incidents
where industrial control systems were targeted, which makes a region in
which many of its nation states are economically developing and reliant
on fragile infrastructure vulnerable to a large-scale attack.
"These incidents highlight the dangers
that well-coordinated attacks on critical infrastructures pose to public
wellbeing and economic development," the researchers said in the
report.
"While attacks involving critical
infrastructures have not yet caused catastrophic losses or physical
damage in the Americas and the Caribbean, they do highlight the need for
vigilance and improved resilience, as many critical systems in the
region remain exposed."
Latin America and the Caribbean are not
alone in facing such attacks. Government systems and critical
infrastructure attacks have faced developing nations and world economic
leaders alike, and both state-sponsored and private groups look to steal
confidential information and trade secrets.
What did raise eyebrows with researchers,
however, was that so many attacks were only now being spotted in the
region. The researchers noted that in many instances there were
indications that the attacks had been previously occurring but were only
recently spotted.
"Several governments clarified that the
numbers they provided did not necessarily reflect real changes in attack
frequency, but rather improvements in network monitoring and better
trained personnel, which allowed organisations to detect more system
breaches and other illicit cyber activities," the researchers said in
the report.
"Interestingly, those countries with
recently established national CSIRTs [Computer Security Incident
Response Teams] reported some of the most significant increases in
managed incidents."
