Latin America Faces Rising Cybersecurity Threats as AI Emerges as Key Solution
A World Bank report highlights Latin America and the Caribbean as the fastest-growing region for cyber incidents, with a 25% annual increase over the past decade. The region is also the least protected, prompting a shift toward AI-driven solutions.
According to a World Bank report, Latin America and the Caribbean have become the world's fastest-growing region for disclosed cyber incidents, with a 25% average annual growth rate over the last decade. The report also identifies the region as the least protected globally.
Recent Cyberattacks Highlight Vulnerabilities
- In December 2023, the US Embassy in San José and Costa Rica's Presidency revealed that Chinese-based cybercriminal groups had infiltrated the country's technology systems.
- Shortly before this, Costa Rica's Oil Refinery (RECOPE) suffered a ransomware attack. RECOPE is critical to the region, operating oil pipelines from the Caribbean to the Pacific.
- Other notable incidents include:
- Massive data breaches exposing confidential records of nearly every citizen (Ecuador, 2019; Argentina, 2022).
- A malware attack shutting down all public bank branches (Chile, 2020).
- A cyber incident disrupting voting for citizens abroad during Ecuador's 2023 presidential election.
AI Emerges as a Potential Solution
With the rise of AI-generated code, cybersecurity challenges are escalating, but startups are leveraging AI to combat threats. DeepSource, a San Francisco-based startup and Y-Combinator Winter 2020 alum, recently launched AI agents designed to identify and fix security vulnerabilities in code.
"Code is no longer being written just by humans. The surge of AI-generated code means 10x more code can now be developed in the same amount of time, and by less experienced developers. But we’re not speeding up our code security practices by that same factor," said Sanket Saurav, CEO of DeepSource.
Investment Opportunities in Latin America
The global cybersecurity workforce gap exceeds 4 million, and the industry is projected to grow by 14% in Latin America. This presents significant opportunities for:
- Startups developing AI-driven security tools.
- Investors looking to capitalize on the region's unmet cybersecurity needs.
This article includes a client of an Espacio portfolio company.
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About the Author
Dr. Emily Wang
AI Product Strategy Expert
Former Google AI Product Manager with 10 years of experience in AI product development and strategy formulation. Led multiple successful AI products from 0 to 1 development process, now provides product strategy consulting for AI startups while writing AI product analysis articles for various tech media outlets.