Cybercrime has set its sights on Latin America. This year, the region is experiencing one of the most critical peaks in cybercrime ever recorded. On average, 2,803 cyberattacks per company were recorded each week this year, well above the global average of 1,984.
These data indicate that this region has become one of the most aggressively targeted areas by malicious actors globally.
The phenomenon is intensifying in critical sectors, from government to healthcare, banking, and industry, and is putting at risk a digital ecosystem that is advancing faster than its ability to protect itself.
One of the most alarming pieces of data comes from Colombia, now one of the epicenters of malicious activity in the region: in the first half of 2025 alone, more than 7.1 billion cyberattacks were recorded, a historic figure that far exceeds all previous records in the country.
"Latin America has become the world’s most targeted region for cyber attacks, not by coincidence, but by structural imbalance. We’ve become more digitized without accelerating resilience”, Juliana Roman, Head of Rotate LATAM, explained to Techoly. “The result is a perfect storm where cybercriminals see opportunity, scale, and low friction. Until governments and companies treat cybersecurity as a shared regional issue, the gap between innovation and protection will only widen”.
Explosive growth in cyberattacks
The Latin American landscape confirms a sustained and aggressive pattern of digital criminal activity. This year, organizations in the region are receiving nearly 3,000 intrusion attempts per week, with Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, and Chile leading the ranking of countries most frequently attacked.
Regarding this accelerated expansion of risk, Serge-Olivier Paquette, CPO of Flare, warns that the crisis is no longer local but has become an interconnected phenomenon. "Cybersecurity challenges are no longer regional, but global. As companies expand, they are forced to face a much broader and more complex threat landscape, something that Latin America is now experiencing acutely," he told Techloy.
Among the most commonly used vectors are ransomware attacks, which continue to become more sophisticated with double and triple extortion; hyper-targeted phishing, driven by automation and AI; and spyware aimed at corporate espionage and attacks on governments.
In critical infrastructures such as healthcare, finance, energy, and public administration, the frequency and complexity of attacks are reaching historic levels. The situation is even more worrying in the industrial segment, with the region accounting for 20.4% of compromised industrial systems, the highest rate in the world.
Paquette explains that one of the factors enabling this growth is the lack of preventive diagnostics. “Many of the regions with the highest growth in attacks lack visibility into internal and external exposures before data breaches or misuse occur, and Latin America is no exception,” he explained.
A high economic and reputational cost
The cost of cybercrime in Latin America could exceed $3.81 million per incident, including ransom payments, operational disruptions, data losses, and reputational damage.
The consequences hit the private sector particularly hard: 60% of companies that suffer a severe attack fail to recover within six months, a critical indicator for medium and large-sized companies with high digital dependence.
"Many companies are advancing in cybersecurity almost blindly, without a concrete understanding of their actual vulnerabilities. This leads to scattered efforts and decisions that do not always respond to the most urgent needs. When an organization manages to accurately identify its level of exposure, it becomes possible to organize priorities and build a much more coherent evolutionary path", says Daniela Álvarez de Lugo, General Manager for the Northern Latin America Region at Kaspersky.
As if this were not enough, the cybersecurity sector faces a shortage of more than 300,000 specialized professionals, which hinders its ability to respond to increasingly sophisticated incidents.
Artificial intelligence has arrived as a double-edged sword. Although it promises automation and efficiency, it also empowers attackers. Serge-Olivier Paquette warns about this critical point. “AI-based systems, widely used today by both businesses and cybercriminals, introduce new risks. Compromised AI agents and contaminated data sets can accelerate the spread and scale of attacks,” said the expert.
While large corporations are adopting Zero Trust strategies and automation in their SOCs, sectors such as education, manufacturing, and SMEs are still far from achieving basic levels of protection.
For experts, 2025 marks a decisive year in regional cybersecurity. Reducing exposure requires international cooperation, sustained investment, regulatory updates, and massive talent training.
End-user education remains a critical pillar, as more than 80% of incidents originate from human error or insecure configurations.
With these recent figures, it is clear that Latin America must do everything possible to reverse the upward curve in the coming months. Here, the combination of innovation, cooperation, and a culture of security will be key to protecting the digital advances that today sustain the region's economy.
Sergio Ramos Montoya is a journalist with over a decade of experience covering technology and innovation. Currently, serving as the Editor of SocialGeek, one of the pioneering media outlets specializing in technology in Colombia and Latin America, with additional contributions to Contxto, Entrepreneur Magazine en Español, Fast Company México, Novobrief, and The Hindustan Times.
