Mexico faces over half of Latin American cybercrimes due largely to US ties

Mexico accounted for just over half of all cyber threats reported in Latin America in the first half of 2024, cyber security firm Fortinet said in a study.

As Mexico undergoes a nearshoring boom, in which companies shift production closer to their primary markets, cyber criminals have been targeting sectors such as logistics and automotive and electronics manufacturing to maximise the impact and benefits of their attacks.

Hackers are increasingly targeting specific market segments to obtain larger ransoms, and are also using artificial intelligence to boost efficiency, executives said at the study's presentation.

Mexico suffered 31 billion cybercrime attempts during the first half of 2024, or 55 percent of those in Latin America, the report showed.

Mexico is facing more attacks than Brazil due to its proximity and commercial ties with the United States, Fortinet's Mexico chief Jorge Miranda said in a presentation.

Processing companies associated with nearshoring are being directly targeted by ransomware attacks for much larger ransoms, he noted.

While first-half figures in Mexico may seem like a slowdown from its 94 billion attacks in all of 2023, Miranda stressed that the cybercrime rate remains very high.

Fortinet said it hopes Mexico will enact a cyber security law to shore up against attacks within the next year or two.

President Claudia Sheinbaum pledged last week to create a cyber security and artificial intelligence centre during her term, but did not mention a law.

Mexico faces over half of Latin American cybercrimes due largely to US ties

Mexico faces over half of Latin American cybercrimes due largely to US ties

Mexico faces over half of Latin American cybercrimes due largely to US ties

Mexico faces over half of Latin American cybercrimes due largely to US ties

Mexico faces over half of Latin American cybercrimes due largely to US ties