The country has seen more than 27 million attacks this year so far, says research
By Angelica Mari for Brazil Tech
Internet users in Brazil are the most targeted by cybercriminals in Latin America, according to a recent study.
Data released by Kaspersky Lab suggests that the number of cyberattacks in the country is way higher than in other nations in the region, based on the 400 million such incidents that it recorded in 2015 so far.
The company has recorded 27.642.589 hacking attempts in Brazil this year, so 31 percent of all local Internet users, while countries such as Mexico, Peru, Colombia and Venezuela hovered around 21 percent.
Brazil also happens to be the country with the highest Internet penetration in Latin America.
According to William Beer, managing director of cybersecurity at management consultancy Alvarez & Marsal, Brazilian organizations have a lot of work to do when it comes to protecting information online.
"There is a lack of focus on cybersecurity both in the public and private sector. Senior executives at organizations don't really see that as a priority," Beer tells ZDNet.
The economic crisis Brazil is currently experiencing is an additional area of concern, according to Beer. The security expert recalls that when the downturn hit the UK in 2008, the first area that suffered cuts was security.
"That is because security wasn't considered something that would provide immediate returns. However, those organizations suffered to rebuild their security teams and strategy later on," he says.