The research conducted at Universidad Siglo XXI in Buenos Aires and compiled in the report Cybercrime and Trends in Argentina: Emerging Challenges for Cyberprevention and Digital Governance indicates that 24% of Argentinians were victims of a cybercrime up until the last days of September this year. One in four citizens suffered a cybercrime.
The most recurrent modalities in the local ecosystem include digital fraud (41%), identity theft on social networks or WhatsApp (29%), and general information theft (14.5%). Additionally, 56.7% of respondents stated they knew someone close to them who experienced a similar situation. This report was prepared by Insight 21, the research center of the aforementioned university. The information was extracted from the most important cities in the country, such as Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires (CABA), Córdoba, Rosario, Mendoza, Corrientes, Comodoro Rivadavia, and San Miguel de Tucumán.
In fact, the country receives an average of more than 2,400 attempted cyberattacks per week per organization. In the first nine months of the year, cyberattacks increased by 2%, and the state agency CERT.ar has already exceeded 700 incident alerts against the State so far this year. This organization is the national Computer Emergency Response Team of the Republic of Argentina and operates under the structure of the National Cybersecurity Directorate.
On the other hand, the research from Universidad Siglo XXI analyzes the phenomenon of cybercrime from a criminological and sociodigital perspective, “focusing on the dynamics of victimization, risk perception, and cyberprevention practices developed by users.” The study detected “a higher incidence of victimization among economically active adults, which could suggest a relationship between the intensity of digital interaction and exposure to crime. The analysis also allowed for the observation of a persistent gap between risk perception and preventive behavior.”
Attack on the ‘Mi Argentina’ App and ransomware against Education
Regarding the latest incidents that occurred between September and early October of this year, the report indicates that “at the end of September, the Government initiated an investigation following publications on the Dark Web where a group of attackers claimed to have breached the Mi Argentina application and stolen the personal data of six million citizens.” The “Mi Argentina” application is the official citizen digital profile of the State, “which functions as a document wallet and transaction portal on the mobile phone.”
The other case took place in the week of September 14 to 20, when specialized cybersecurity reports identified the Ministry of Education among the victims of a ransomware attack perpetrated by the emerging group known as n0n. Additionally, in early October, “illegal computer access to the official accounts of the municipality of Garza in the province of Santiago del Estero” in the north of the country was confirmed. In this case, the attackers breached the Government Secretariat’s access to attempt a clandestine transfer of 15 million pesos (10,000 dollars), “which was stopped thanks to the activation of security protocols.”
Considering the number and type of cases throughout this year, Argentina has reached a “very high” level of cybercrimes and attacks, placing it “among the most exposed and attacked countries in Latin America” according to another report, this time from the newspaper El Estratégico. By specifying Argentina’s position among the most digitally attacked nations in Latin America, it ranks third or fourth, “only surpassed by regional giants such as Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia.”
More than 50,000 official complaints for scams
The newspaper Perfil, from Buenos Aires, also addresses this situation and analyzes the compilation of statistics from the Specialized Cybercrime Prosecutor’s Unit and a study by the consultancy BioCatch titled 43% of Argentinians Suffered a Digital Fraud or Hack, where it is observed how phishing and WhatsApp account theft have become the most recurrent modalities in the country. Thus, “virtual scams and frauds exceed 50,000 official annual complaints, and various studies indicate that a high percentage of Argentinians (more than 40%) have suffered some form of digital fraud or hack, such as WhatsApp account theft or phishing.”
Returning to the report Cybercrime and Trends in Argentina, it is important to highlight some of the other conclusions reached by the research: “While a large part of respondents acknowledges the existence of digital threats and adopts certain protective measures, practices of vulnerability continue to be recorded, especially linked to the provision of personal data and the absence of behavioral changes following victimization experiences.” In this context, the study highlights the need to strengthen comprehensive cyberprevention and digital literacy strategies, aimed at developing self-protection capabilities and formulating public policies adapted to the social and territorial particularities of the phenomenon.
The research conducted at Universidad Siglo XXI in Buenos Aires and compiled in the report Cybercrime and Trends in Argentina: Emerging Challenges for Cyberprevention and Digital Governance indicates that 24% of Argentinians were victims of a cybercrime up until the last days of September this year. One in four citizens suffered a cybercrime.
The most recurrent modalities in the local ecosystem include digital fraud (41%), identity theft on social networks or WhatsApp (29%), and general information theft (14.5%). Additionally, 56.7% of respondents stated they knew someone close to them who experienced a similar situation. This report was prepared by Insight 21, the research center of the aforementioned university. The information was extracted from the most important cities in the country, such as Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires (CABA), Córdoba, Rosario, Mendoza, Corrientes, Comodoro Rivadavia, and San Miguel de Tucumán.
In fact, the country receives an average of more than 2,400 attempted cyberattacks per week per organization. In the first nine months of the year, cyberattacks increased by 2%, and the state agency CERT.ar has already exceeded 700 incident alerts against the State so far this year. This organization is the national Computer Emergency Response Team of the Republic of Argentina and operates under the structure of the National Cybersecurity Directorate.
On the other hand, the research from Universidad Siglo XXI analyzes the phenomenon of cybercrime from a criminological and sociodigital perspective, “focusing on the dynamics of victimization, risk perception, and cyberprevention practices developed by users.” The study detected “a higher incidence of victimization among economically active adults, which could suggest a relationship between the intensity of digital interaction and exposure to crime. The analysis also allowed for the observation of a persistent gap between risk perception and preventive behavior.”
Attack on the ‘Mi Argentina’ App and ransomware against Education
Regarding the latest incidents that occurred between September and early October of this year, the report indicates that “at the end of September, the Government initiated an investigation following publications on the Dark Web where a group of attackers claimed to have breached the Mi Argentina application and stolen the personal data of six million citizens.” The “Mi Argentina” application is the official citizen digital profile of the State, “which functions as a document wallet and transaction portal on the mobile phone.”
The other case took place in the week of September 14 to 20, when specialized cybersecurity reports identified the Ministry of Education among the victims of a ransomware attack perpetrated by the emerging group known as n0n. Additionally, in early October, “illegal computer access to the official accounts of the municipality of Garza in the province of Santiago del Estero” in the north of the country was confirmed. In this case, the attackers breached the Government Secretariat’s access to attempt a clandestine transfer of 15 million pesos (10,000 dollars), “which was stopped thanks to the activation of security protocols.”
Considering the number and type of cases throughout this year, Argentina has reached a “very high” level of cybercrimes and attacks, placing it “among the most exposed and attacked countries in Latin America” according to another report, this time from the newspaper El Estratégico. By specifying Argentina’s position among the most digitally attacked nations in Latin America, it ranks third or fourth, “only surpassed by regional giants such as Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia.”
More than 50,000 official complaints for scams
The newspaper Perfil, from Buenos Aires, also addresses this situation and analyzes the compilation of statistics from the Specialized Cybercrime Prosecutor’s Unit and a study by the consultancy BioCatch titled 43% of Argentinians Suffered a Digital Fraud or Hack, where it is observed how phishing and WhatsApp account theft have become the most recurrent modalities in the country. Thus, “virtual scams and frauds exceed 50,000 official annual complaints, and various studies indicate that a high percentage of Argentinians (more than 40%) have suffered some form of digital fraud or hack, such as WhatsApp account theft or phishing.”
Returning to the report Cybercrime and Trends in Argentina, it is important to highlight some of the other conclusions reached by the research: “While a large part of respondents acknowledges the existence of digital threats and adopts certain protective measures, practices of vulnerability continue to be recorded, especially linked to the provision of personal data and the absence of behavioral changes following victimization experiences.” In this context, the study highlights the need to strengthen comprehensive cyberprevention and digital literacy strategies, aimed at developing self-protection capabilities and formulating public policies adapted to the social and territorial particularities of the phenomenon.
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