Cybercrime is rising and Latam… doesn’t care?

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Contxto – No rest for the wicked. And they’ve been busy as of late in launching phishing attacks throughout multiple countries in Latin America. Their latest preferred form of bait is offering information related to coronavirus (Covid-19) or handouts to cope with the crisis. And there’s data to back this.

Cybersecurity company Kaspersky has detected an average 74 percent increase in this form of cybercrime in the region. These types of malicious attacks come primarily in the form of  WhatsApp messages that offer “official information,” “easy money,” or food stamps, by downloading an app. 

And given concerns in surviving lockdowns and the inbound economic slump means desperation runs high, so hackers aim low, preying on people’s vulnerability (and ignorance). These apps will not in fact aid users, but rather help cybercriminals extract their personal information from them. 

That data can then be sold over the dark web, used for fraudulent purposes, or whatever need best serves them.

So listen to mom’s sound old advice and don’t talk to strangers, and don’t ever download anything that sounds too good to be true.

Nothing is sacred for hackers. So don’t be duped by their means.

Who’s afraid of the big bad hacker?

What’s perhaps more disturbing are the levels of apathy concerning cybersecurity in the region. 

In Kaspersky’s “Iceberg Digital” study, the company found that one out of every four people in Latin America are not worried nor do they care if a delinquent hacks their personal devices.  

Argentina occupies the #1 spot in having the most cybersecurity-indifferent population at 36 percent.

Second place goes to Chile (28 percent) and, third to Mexico (27 percent). They’re followed by Brazilians (22 percent) and Colombians (22 percent). Meanwhile, Peruvians are the least apathetic when it comes to cybersecurity at 20 percent.

Would you be comfortable knowing that a complete stranger knows your name, address, phone number, and email address—or that of your loved ones? I think not.

You think if they have this information, they’ll use it for a noble cause? Pfft, fat chance.

Related articles: Tech and startups from Argentina!

-ML