Latin America. According to data from the firm Statista, the cybersecurity market in Latin America was valued at 8,340 million dollars in 2023. It is estimated that between 2023 and 2028, the market as a whole will grow at a compound annual rate of around 6.95 percent, exceeding $11 billion by 2028.
Jairo Parra, cybersecurity expert for Akamai Latin America, highlighted that cyberattacks against the business sector are becoming more frequent, selective and complex. Malicious actors use more varied techniques, mixing different types of attacks into coordinated campaigns.
These multi-dimensional attacks have a higher chance of success against companies with limited IT resources and solutions focused on a single type of security against cyber threats.
According to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), only seven of the 32 Latin American countries have plans to protect their critical infrastructure from cyberattacks, and only 20 have Cyber Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs). The annual cost of cyberattacks in Latin America and the Caribbean could exceed $90 million by 2025, with an average of more than 18.5 million attacks per year.
In the midst of this growing need to address cybersecurity, the Akamai expert detailed the six urgent points that companies must address to protect their security.
1) Educate and raise awareness. It is critical to educate and raise awareness among employees about ever-evolving cyber threats. Many of the most damaging breaches are caused by employee error. Cybersecurity programs should take all possible measures to prevent employees from falling victim to phishing campaigns or accidentally doing something that allows malicious files or malware to be downloaded.
2) Safe access. As the traditional network perimeter disappears, cybersecurity solutions must enable secure access to business applications while protecting end users from advanced threats. Ignoring this aspect can lead to serious consequences, including data breaches that compromise not only the security of the company, but also the trust of customers.
3) Protection of Web sites and applications. When websites are essential assets to the organization, effective attacks can cripple operations, reduce revenue, and cause reputational damage. Protecting your site and web applications from denial-of-service attacks, bot attacks, injections, and other cyberattacks is critical.
4) Secure APIs. APIs are essential for business communication, collaboration, and agility. As their usage grows, attackers are increasingly targeting APIs. These must be protected just like Web applications, but they require different types of defenses.
5) Total security. Protect your workforce with Zero Trust Network Access, including multi-factor authentication (MFA) to prevent account takeover, micro-segmentation to minimize impact, and a secure web gateway to prevent data exfiltration.
6) Security audits and penetration tests. It is essential to ensure the overall security of a system or network. Comprehensive audits allow you to identify potential vulnerabilities and weaknesses and address them proactively. Penetration testing involves simulating real attacks to test the effectiveness of existing security measures.
