Gareth Owen: As governments and businesses shift investments to a digital economy, the region faces significant cybersecurity challenges related to cross-border data privacy, lack of resources and talent, and cybercriminals’ awareness of potential profits. associated with ransomware and phishing attacks. In general, Latin American governments have fragmented regulations and privacy standards that vary by country. This creates complexity for companies operating across borders, especially in growing sectors such as finance, healthcare and e-commerce.
There is a shortage of trained cybersecurity and IT professionals throughout Latin America, making it difficult for organizations to secure their assets, protect their customer information and intellectual property, and respond to cyber incidents. Finally, Latin America has seen a significant increase in ransomware and phishing attacks targeting both businesses and government agencies. As the region accelerates its growth in digital transformation, remote work and cross-border commerce, vulnerabilities in less secure networks increase; This is especially acute for small and medium-sized businesses.
Q: As cyber threats become increasingly sophisticated, what steps can Latin American governments and private sectors take to improve their cybersecurity infrastructure?
GO: I am a big believer in education and believe that a long-term approach to cybersecurity starts in high schools. Latin American governments should consider expanding initiatives that build fundamental skills, awareness and practical experience starting in secondary education. Integrating basic cybersecurity and IT concepts into educational programs helps reduce phishing incidents generated through social engineering channels. Collaborate with technology companies, startups, universities and large employers to create mentoring and internship programs in rural and urban areas to begin training knowledge workers.
As for near-term infrastructure changes, governments should reduce their attack surfaces by closing access to open ports and deploying encrypted connections. Minimizing exposed systems, services, and network entry points reduces the number of areas attackers can target and makes it more difficult for unauthorized users to gain access or exploit weaknesses. Additionally, a smaller attack surface makes it easier to monitor, protect, and maintain systems, reducing the workload on IT and security teams. This shifts the focus to resources that protect critical applications and endpoints.
Q: Latin America has seen an increase in cyberattacks targeting both companies and government institutions. How do you assess the region’s ability to detect and respond to these threats in real time?
GO: Governments and companies in Latin America are becoming increasingly aware of cybersecurity risks. I am seeing more collaboration with international cybersecurity vendors and agencies, which is helping to improve threat intelligence and support real-time monitoring efforts. The European Union (EU) collaborates through its Cyberresilience for Development (Cyber4Div) program, which fosters partnerships between Latin American governments and European cybersecurity agencies. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) provide training on real-time monitoring, threat detection, incident response, and information sharing through the Organization of American States ( OAS).
Separately, response capabilities are accelerating and the early adoption of AI for incident response and remediation is strengthening these efforts.
Q: What do you see as the future of cybersecurity in Latin America, especially considering the growing digital transformation and dependence on online services in the region?
GO: The future of cybersecurity in Latin America will likely be defined by rapid technological advances, stronger regulatory frameworks, and a collaborative approach to addressing both emerging and long-standing cyber threats. As the region continues its significant growth in digital transformation and reliance on online services, some trends are developing:
Adoption of Zero Trust and Zero Port architectures: a major shift to decouple infrastructure from centralized defense to distributed solutions focused on a reduced attack surface (zero open ports) and identity verification using cryptographic keys from the edge to the core, ensuring the privacy of each communication.
Cross-border collaboration focused on data privacy and cybersecurity regulations and frameworks aligned with the needs of citizens and businesses.
Focus on developing cybersecurity talent and education with increased investment, starting in high schools and then moving to universities and the workplace.
Q: How do you foresee the impact of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, on cybersecurity in Latin America over the coming years?
GO: I believe that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) will have a positive impact on cybersecurity, especially in the areas of incident response, remediation and automation in the coming years, by:
Streamline and make remediation more effective by optimizing the patching and update process, prioritizing patches based on vulnerability severity and risk of exploitation. The reduction in time reduces the risk of the organization.
Automating firmware, software, and system updates will help streamline the deployment process, identifying compatibility issues and reducing the time between discovery and remediation.
Early results from real-time incident response and threat containment are showing promising results in improving decision-making and isolating threats more quickly, reducing potential damage and risk to organizations.
Q: NoPorts is known for offering innovative cybersecurity solutions. Can you explain how NoPorts differentiates itself from other companies in the industry, especially in the context of Latin America’s unique cybersecurity landscape?
GO: NoPorts distinguishes itself in the cybersecurity industry by offering a unique approach that is well suited to the specific challenges facing the cybersecurity landscape in Latin America. Here’s how NoPorts differentiates itself:
Elimination of Open Ports: NoPorts eliminates the need for open ports, reducing attack surfaces, which is a great advantage for Latin American organizations with limited cybersecurity resources.
Zero Trust Architecture: Each access request is fully authenticated, which is well suited to distributed networks in Latin America to ensure robust protection against unauthorized access.
End-to-End Encryption: NoPorts secures data in transit with end-to-end encryption, essential for Latin American organizations handling sensitive data and facing new data protection regulations.
Simplified Remote Access: NoPorts offers secure and easy remote access without complex configurations, making it ideal for Latin American companies without extensive cybersecurity experience.
Compatibility with Existing Systems: NoPorts integrates with diverse devices, allowing Latin American organizations to strengthen security without having to reorganize their entire existing infrastructure.
Q: What are NoPorts’ current priorities and strategic objectives, and how does the company plan to contribute to improving cybersecurity in the region over the coming years?
GO: Atsign Incorporated developed NoPorts to make organizations’ infrastructure invisible on the Internet. By not having ports exposed to the Internet, an organization’s attack surface is reduced, eliminating common attack scenarios such as DDos, lateral movement, and man-in-the-middle compromises on assets protected by NoPorts. We continue to develop features focused on securing cloud services, machine-to-machine communications, and remote access, reducing infrastructure costs associated with current cybersecurity tools such as VPNs, firewalls, reverse proxies, SASA, and SSE solutions. In short, our goal is to make every organization invisible to cyber attackers while improving privacy and security for customers and employees.
Latin America is a growing market for Atsign and our go-to-market strategy is to align with the partner community regionally and within countries. This approach allows for localized support with companies already involved with their customers, who have greater knowledge of the issues and approaches to improve security and reduce risk.
Source: Ambito
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
