PUNTA DEL ESTE.- Mexico is set to close the year in first position in Latin America in terms of detection of malicious code, such as spyware and banking Trojans, due to its attraction of cybercriminals due to the strength of the economy and the phenomenon of the relocation of investments, known as nearshoring.
Data from ESET indicate that between January and October of this year, nearly 42 thousand spyware or spyware codes were detected in the country, a tool that, as its name suggests, carries out espionage on affected users.
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The figure is 1.5 times higher than that detected in Peru, which occupies second position, and 2.5 times higher than in Brazil, a nation that ranked first in cyberattacks in the region in previous years.
Regarding banking Trojans, which are used to extract financial data from victims, the cybersecurity company detected 24,203 unique cases in Mexico, a figure greater than the little more than 10,000 registered in Brazil and the nearly six thousand in Argentina.
David González, Computer Security researcher at ESET, explained to El Sol de México that these figures refer to the codes detected by the company’s security tools, but that the number of users targeted by the cyberattacks is four times greater. . Within the framework of the company’s eighth Computer Security Forum, the specialist insisted that the strength of the Mexican economy is attractive for cybercrime campaigns.
“Mexico is one of the strongest economies in the region. “The peso gained more strength in the last year and the country is going through a very good economic moment, which greatly influences how cybercriminals look for their targets.”
González recalled that the country that grew the most in cyberattack detection was Brazil, but in recent years, after the pandemic, Mexico showed greater economic strength and is more attractive.
“Nearshoring has also affected the decision of cybercriminals regarding their objectives; a few years ago Brazil was the leader, but now Mexico has passed it.”
In October, the Secretary of Economy, Raquel Buenrostro, said in an appearance in the Chamber of Deputies that Mexico expects investments of more than 110 billion dollars, of which 80 billion are announcements from foreign companies as a result of the relocation of floors. In addition to the good economic moment that the country is going through, next year will be a trigger for malicious programs in the country due to the elections, considered the ESET analyst.
González pointed out that the use of tools such as RedLine Stealer or data theft malware that can extract confidential information from a device is increasing in the country.
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Last April, The New York Times reported that Mexico became the largest user of the Pegasus spy program, a software that the Israeli group NSO develops and markets exclusively to governments.
The ESET researcher explained that while Pegasus is used for specific purposes, such as spying on government opponents, RedLine can be directed against any user or company, so its use could grow next year.
2023-11-15 11:00:00
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