Even though the use of Internet-facing ICS is not inherently dangerous, many of the systems shown in the figure above were not password protected or kept up-to-date with the latest security patches, needlessly exposing them to attacks. A Trend Micro study detailed that Internet-facing ICS suffer daily attacks. Data shows that over a period of 28 days, a total of 39 attacks from 14 different countries were recorded. Out of these 39 attacks, 12 were unique and could be classified as “targeted” while 13 were repeated by several of the same actors over a period of several days and could be considered “targeted” and/or “automated.”4 Country Reports on Cybercrime All of the information in this section came from reports submitted by OAS Member States. Cybercrime Trends in Chile In 2012, the number of cyber incidents that led to investigation and response in Chile decreased by 33%, as reported by the cybercrime unit of the Federal Police Department. The number of Internet-based wire fraud incidents, which often consisted of phishing and pharming attacks, decreased by 122% overall. Authorities attributed the decrease in this type of incident, which made up a large portion the country’s criminal web traffic, to the dismantling of a notorious syndicate responsible for large-scale malware distribution often used in defrauding banks and individuals. Chile noted that many crimes now involve elements of Internet exploitation, as drug dealers and other criminals use the web to facilitate their activities. The prevalence of Internet-based crime there highlighted difficulties in international cooperation, which was cited in Chile as the biggest hindrance to cyber incident response, investigation, and deterrence. Cybercrime Trends in Colombia According to colCERT, which is Colombia’s national CSIRT, the country recorded fewer cyber incidents in 2012 than in 2011, pairing it with Chile as one of the few Latin American countries with that distinction. It was unclear, however, whether this was due to a real decrease in the number of incidents, better security management on the part of government agencies that colCERT served, or the implementation of policies that changed the scope of assistance Colombia’s response teams rendered. In any case, fraud was the most prevalent type of cyber incident reported by colCERT in 2012. One notable contributor to this number was prolific cybercriminal, Jorge Maximilian “Pacho” Viola, who was captured in Colombia last year. Dubbed the “Tsar of Cloning,” Viola had committed fraud in at least seven Latin American countries and was eventually arrested with over 8,000 cloned credit cards and US$9 million in his possession.5 Various types of hacking and website spoofing followed in Colombia’s list of most prevalent cyber incidents. Hacktivist attacks, which most frequently targeted state and military entities and financial institutions, were widely reported by the country’s response teams. 4 5 http://www.trendmicro.com/cloud-content/us/pdfs/security-intelligence/white-papers/wp-whosreally-attacking-your-ics-equipment.pdf http://latinamericacurrentevents.com/head-of-major-credit-card-cloning-ring-arrested-incolombia/18040/ PAGE 6 | Latin American and Caribbean Cybersecurity Trends and Government Responses