Latin America Is Now the World’s Most Dangerous Place for Cyberattacks—And It’s Getting Worse

The numbers are staggering. Organizations across Latin America and the Caribbean now face an average of 3,065 cyberattacks every single week—a 26% surge from the previous year. That’s roughly 40% more attacks than the global average. And with ransomware activity accelerating, credential theft exploding, and nation-state actors circling the region like sharks, the question isn’t whether your organization will be targeted. It’s when.

Latin America has officially dethroned Africa as the most attacked region on the planet. That’s according to the latest data from Check Point Research, which paints a picture of a region under digital siege. But here’s what makes this situation particularly alarming: most organizations in Latin America know they’re vulnerable, yet only a fraction are doing anything meaningful about it.

Welcome to the new frontline of global cybercrime.

Five Key Takeaways

1. Latin America Is Now the World’s Most Attacked Region

Organizations across Latin America face an average of 3,065 cyberattacks per week, representing a 26% year-over-year increase that outpaced every other region globally. This surge pushed Latin America past Africa to claim the unwanted title of cybercriminals’ favorite target.

2. Stolen Credentials Are Fueling an Attack Epidemic

CrowdStrike documented over one billion stolen credentials from Latin American organizations circulating on underground markets, with access broker activity jumping 38% in the past year. Spanish-language Telegram channels have become thriving marketplaces where criminals buy and sell login credentials that enable ransomware attacks and data theft.

3. Ransomware Gangs Are Shifting to Data Extortion

Cybercriminals are moving away from simple file encryption toward double extortion tactics that steal sensitive data before demanding payment. Ransomware attacks rose 15% across Latin America, with Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina absorbing the heaviest hits from groups like RansomHub and LockBit.

4. China-Linked Hackers Are Targeting Government and Telecom

Nation-state adversaries including VIXEN PANDA, AQUATIC PANDA, and LIMINAL PANDA are conducting espionage campaigns against Latin American governments, military organizations, and telecommunications providers. This marks a strategic shift as global powers increasingly view the region as a high-value intelligence target.

5. AI Adoption Without Governance Creates Dangerous Gaps

While 91% of organizations using generative AI experienced risky prompts, only 14% of Latin American organizations feel confident their teams can handle cyberthreats. Shadow AI was involved in 20% of breaches globally, adding an average of $670,000 to incident costs for organizations lacking proper access controls.

Why Latin America? Why Now?

Understanding why Latin America has become ground zero for cyberattacks requires looking at a perfect storm of factors that make the region irresistible to threat actors.

The rapid digitalization sweeping through Latin American economies has dramatically expanded the attack surface. Governments are pushing digital services. Businesses are moving operations online. Consumers are embracing mobile banking and e-commerce at unprecedented rates. This digital transformation creates enormous opportunity—for legitimate businesses and cybercriminals alike.

But here’s the catch: cybersecurity investment hasn’t kept pace with digital adoption. According to research from the World Economic Forum, only 14% of organizations in Latin America are confident that their IT teams have the skills required to tackle cybercrime. That’s a staggering gap between technological ambition and security reality.

The region also presents attractive targets. Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina—the three most targeted countries—have massive digital footprints and extensive cross-border business connections. Financial services, manufacturing, healthcare, and government institutions all hold valuable data and operate critical infrastructure. These sectors process enormous volumes of sensitive information daily, making them prime targets for data theft and extortion.

And then there’s the economic calculation. A data breach now costs organizations globally an average of $4.44 million, according to IBM’s latest Cost of a Data Breach Report. In Latin America specifically, that number hovers around $3.81 million per incident. For ransomware gangs and credential thieves, the math is simple: high-value targets plus weak defenses equals easy money.

The New Playbook: Data Extortion Over Encryption

Ransomware isn’t what it used to be. The old model—encrypt files, demand payment, maybe give back access—is evolving into something more insidious.

Cybercriminals have shifted toward data-leak extortion. Instead of just locking up systems, attackers now exfiltrate sensitive data first, then threaten to publish it unless victims pay. This double extortion tactic puts organizations in an impossible position: even if they have backups and can restore operations, they still face the nightmare of having customer data, financial records, or trade secrets splashed across the dark web.

According to Check Point, more than 5% of organizations in Latin America suffered ransomware attacks in the last quarter alone. CrowdStrike’s analysis shows ransomware and extortion attacks across the region jumped 15% year-over-year, with Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina taking the heaviest hits. RansomHub and LockBit emerged as the most active ransomware variants targeting the region.

The healthcare and manufacturing sectors are particularly exposed. Angel Velasquez, security engineering manager for Latin America at Check Point, warns that ransomware activity will “continue accelerating next quarter with more frequent and targeted attacks, especially against healthcare and manufacturing.” These industries combine high-value data with operational systems that organizations simply cannot afford to have offline—making them ideal extortion targets.

Credentials Are the New Currency

If ransomware is the headline threat, credential theft is the silent epidemic quietly enabling everything else.

CrowdStrike documented a 38% rise in activity among access brokers operating in Latin America. These are the middlemen of cybercrime—criminals who specialize in stealing login credentials and then selling that access to ransomware gangs, state-sponsored hackers, or anyone else willing to pay.

The scale is breathtaking. CrowdStrike Intelligence recovered more than one billion credentials belonging to Latin American individuals and organizations from data leaks and malware stealer logs. That’s not a typo. Over one billion sets of stolen credentials are floating around underground markets, ready to be weaponized.

Spanish-language Telegram channels have become thriving marketplaces for this stolen access. Forums like Acceso X, CryptersAndTools Updates, and MalwareBit Team serve as hubs for malware distribution, credential dumps, and hacking tutorials. Regional adversaries sell access and tools through these Spanish-speaking underground forums, making attacks more efficient and repeatable.

Adam Meyers, head of counter adversary operations at CrowdStrike, puts it bluntly: “Massive volumes of stolen credentials are driving identity-based intrusions at scale.” Looking ahead, his team expects “continued pressure from ransomware and data extortion, particularly where credential-driven access remains effective.”

Nation-State Actors Join the Party

Latin America is no longer a secondary target for state-sponsored cyber operations. Major global powers now view the region as strategically significant—and their hackers are acting accordingly.

China-linked adversaries have dramatically increased their activities across Central and South America. CrowdStrike tracks multiple China-nexus groups—including VIXEN PANDA, AQUATIC PANDA, and LIMINAL PANDA—conducting espionage campaigns against government organizations, telecommunications providers, and military entities throughout the region.

These aren’t smash-and-grab operations. They’re sophisticated, long-term intelligence gathering efforts aligned with Beijing’s strategic objectives. VIXEN PANDA has targeted government and non-government organizations across multiple Latin American countries since 2019. LIMINAL PANDA focuses on telecom networks, likely to support broader intelligence collection. AQUATIC PANDA has reportedly targeted South American entities from 2022 through 2024.

But China isn’t the only player. CrowdStrike observed Nigeria-based AVIATOR SPIDER, Russia-based RENAISSANCE SPIDER, and SOLAR SPIDER targeting Latin American entities for the first time. Global adversaries who previously focused elsewhere are now turning their attention to the region.

The implications extend beyond espionage. Recent US military operations in the Caribbean and Venezuela likely included cyber components. Political instability—particularly in Venezuela—creates opportunities for disinformation campaigns and disruptive attacks. Hacktivist groups like GhostSec have timed operations around major political events, including the Venezuelan presidential election and civil protests in Cuba and Guatemala.

Meyers summarizes the shift: “Latin America now sits at the intersection of global and regional threat activity. While state-sponsored activity is lower in volume than financially motivated crime, it’s strategically significant and reflects how Latin America has evolved from a peripheral geography to a key focus area for sophisticated adversaries.”

The AI Wild Card

Artificial intelligence is reshaping the threat landscape in ways that should keep security leaders up at night.

On the attack side, threat actors are leveraging generative AI to create more sophisticated, more convincing, and more scalable attacks. AI-generated phishing emails bypass traditional detection. Deepfake impersonation makes social engineering more effective. Dark web LLMs help less-skilled criminals punch above their weight.

But the defensive side of AI introduces its own risks. Check Point’s research found that 91% of organizations using generative AI tools experienced risky prompts. About 3% of prompts posed a risk of leaking sensitive data, while a quarter included potentially sensitive information.

The IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report reveals the stakes of ungoverned AI adoption. Among organizations that experienced AI-related security incidents, a staggering 97% reported lacking proper AI access controls. Shadow AI—where employees use unsanctioned AI tools without IT oversight—was involved in 20% of breaches and added an average of $670,000 to breach costs.

For Latin American organizations racing to adopt AI while struggling with basic cybersecurity fundamentals, this creates a dangerous dynamic. The pressure to deploy AI for competitive advantage often outpaces the governance frameworks needed to use it safely.

The Most Vulnerable Sectors

Not all industries face equal risk. Some sectors in Latin America have become particularly attractive targets.

Government and military organizations top the list, facing nearly 4,200 attacks per week across the region. The 2022 Conti ransomware attack on Costa Rica’s government systems—which forced a state of emergency and caused weeks of disruption—demonstrated how devastating these attacks can be. More recently, Mexico’s defense ministry breach by hacktivist group Guacamaya leaked thousands of classified documents and private emails.

Healthcare organizations face unique pressures. They hold extraordinarily sensitive patient data, operate life-critical systems that can’t afford downtime, and historically underinvest in cybersecurity. Check Point identifies healthcare as a primary target for accelerating ransomware activity.

Communications and telecommunications providers are critical infrastructure—and they know it. Attackers understand that compromising telecom networks can enable broader intelligence collection, facilitate other attacks, and cause massive operational disruption.

Financial services and manufacturing round out the top targets. These sectors process high-value transactions, hold valuable intellectual property, and operate systems where downtime translates directly into millions in losses.

What’s Actually Being Done—And Why It’s Not Enough

Latin American governments haven’t ignored the threat entirely. Several countries have developed national cybersecurity strategies. Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay, Chile, Mexico, and Argentina have taken steps toward building institutional capacity.

But progress remains uneven. Only seven Latin American countries have specialized cybersecurity units within their armed forces. Many nations lack adequate legal frameworks, institutional capacity, and human capital resources to mount effective defenses. The cybersecurity skills gap is acute—educational institutions simply cannot keep pace with demand for qualified professionals.

Private sector investment is growing but inconsistent. Brazilian, Colombian, and Chilean companies are leading the development of corporate security strategies, but many organizations across the region still rely on fragile defenses. Consider this: 41% of organizations in Mexico still exclusively use passwords for authentication. No multi-factor authentication. No advanced identity verification. Just passwords.

The gap between perceived readiness and reality is striking. While 65% of Latin American organizations feel prepared to face cyber threats, only 17% evaluate their cybersecurity strategy monthly or continuously. Fully 10% admit to never having conducted a formal review.

Meanwhile, some government partnerships raise additional concerns. CrowdStrike’s research notes that while governments are working with global cyber powers to bolster infrastructure resilience, they may be opening new doors by working with Chinese technology vendors and investigating spyware for domestic surveillance.

How to Fight Back

The threat landscape facing Latin America isn’t going to improve on its own. Organizations that want to survive—let alone thrive—need to take concrete action.

Prevention-first security is no longer optional. Waiting to detect and respond to attacks means accepting damage. Organizations need AI-driven threat prevention, real-time intelligence, and cloud security capabilities that stop breaches before they occur.

Identity security demands immediate attention. With stolen credentials fueling the majority of intrusions, organizations must move beyond passwords. Multi-factor authentication, zero-trust architectures, and continuous verification of access permissions are baseline requirements.

Ransomware resilience requires preparation. Maintain up-to-date, segmented backups. Test recovery processes regularly. Define clear incident response plans and practice them through tabletop exercises. When ransomware strikes, the organizations that recover fastest are those that prepared in advance.

AI governance cannot wait. As organizations adopt generative AI tools, they need policies to manage that adoption, detect shadow AI, and prevent sensitive data from leaking through unsanctioned applications. The 97% of AI-related breach victims who lacked proper access controls learned this lesson the hard way.

Investment in people matters as much as technology. The cybersecurity skills gap won’t close overnight, but organizations can start by training existing staff, partnering with managed security providers, and advocating for expanded cybersecurity education programs.

What Happens Next

Latin America finds itself at a crossroads. The region’s rapid digital transformation has created enormous economic opportunity—but also made it the world’s favorite hunting ground for cybercriminals, ransomware gangs, and nation-state hackers.

The threats are real. The attacks are accelerating. The consequences of failure—measured in millions of dollars, compromised data, and operational chaos—are severe.

But the path forward isn’t mysterious. Organizations that invest in prevention, prioritize identity security, prepare for ransomware, govern their AI adoption, and develop their security talent will be far better positioned to weather the storm.

The question is whether Latin American organizations will act before the next wave of attacks forces their hand. Because if the past year’s trends hold, that wave is coming fast.

The cybersecurity threat landscape continues to evolve rapidly. Organizations should consult with qualified security professionals to assess their specific risk exposure and develop appropriate defensive strategies.

To learn how Kiteworks can help, schedule a custom demo today.

The cybersecurity threat landscape continues to evolve rapidly. Organizations should consult with qualified security professionals to assess their specific risk exposure and develop appropriate defensive strategies.

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