“Latin American and Caribbean Cybersecurity Trends and Government Responses” Report published

From the Organization of American States’ (OAS) press release dated May 3rd 2013 :

The Organization of American States (OAS) through the Secretariat of Multidimensional Security (SMS) and the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism (CICITE) released today the report “Latin American and Caribbean Cybersecurity Trends and Government Responses.”

Prepared in collaboration with the company Trend Micro, the report illustrates and analyzes cybersecurity and cybercrime trends in the region. The document contains detailed information on cyberthreats in the Americas, and for the first time incorporates the perspectives and experiences of OAS Member State governments.

The Secretary General of the OAS, Jose Miguel Insulza, affirmed that “this research responds to the needs of regional governments to confront cybercrime, which is increasingly frequent and threatening, due to the accelerating evolution of technology.” He added that “to evaluate and effectively combat cyber threats, countries need detailed and reliable threat information, which this report provides. It represents a significant advance, considering that a study like this has not yet been carried out in our region. Organized crime now utilizes modern technology and in certain cases these criminals have more resources at their disposal than countries can dedicate to scientific development. We need to change this.”

The report found an overall increase in cyber attacks; an increase in “hacktivism,” or politically motivated hacking; internet-assisted money laundering; and attacks against critical infrastructure. Other trends discussed include levels of malware, spam, and wire fraud.

You can read the rest of the OAS press release at
http://www.oas.org/en/media_center/press_release.asp?sCodigo=E-173/13

Trend Micro has also blogged about the publication of the “Latin American and Caribbean Cybersecurity Trends and Government responses”

http://blog.trendmicro.com/trendlabs-security-intelligence/the-state-of-cybersecurity-in-latin-america/

PDF of the report can be downloaded at
Latin American and Caribbean Cybersecurity Trends and Government Responses (PDF ; 2.3MB)