State of the Attack Landscape One of the most surprising data points Trend Micro uncovered is that file infectors plagued the most citizens’ computers. This often indicates the prevalence of insufficiently secured removable storage devices and unpatched OSs and/or applications. The continued viability of file infectors reflects the difficulties the region has been experiencing to protect itself from malware, which again is evidence of a lack of user awareness. State of the Cybercriminal Underground The cybercriminal underground in Latin America heavily relies on banking Trojans compared with other regions that use other malware like ransomware and ATSs. Threat actors in the region learn from the mistakes of their criminal colleagues in other regions, notably in Eastern Europe. They recognized that the use of hijacked servers contributed to successful law enforcement operations, and have consequently shifted to using free hosting services to carry out malicious activities. Law enforcement agencies need to take note of this region-specific tactic and adjust their policing and investigation tactics accordingly. Threat actors and their illicit economic operations heavily relied on Orkut and IRC services, which served as underground bazaars for the exchange of money and criminal goods and services. These processes were often facilitated by mules effecting payments to mask the identities of those organizing the schemes. Recommendations Based on the observations of OAS Member States and the data Trend Micro collected, three recommendations can be made: 1. Raise awareness of safe cyberhabits and general cybersecurity awareness among end users, critical infrastructure operators, and government employees. This will make it more difficult for cybercriminals to perpetrate attacks that were so common against the three aforementioned groups. Raising awareness can be one of the cheapest and most effective ways to minimize cybersecurity risks and close security gaps that remain wide open. 2. Invest in and promote enrollment in technical-degree programs. Securing government-owned and private networks requires technical know-how that is difficult to acquire in the short term. Along with awareness-raising campaigns in schools, academic institutions need to do more to attract students to computer science and information security degree tracks. This will ensure that there remains an ample pool of qualified candidates from which to draw professionals who will be needed to fill the increasing number of information security careers. PAGE 25 | Latin American and Caribbean Cybersecurity Trends and Government Responses