Hacktivism or politically motivated hacking received widespread media attention in 2012, and information provided by the Member States suggests that this form of cyber incident is indeed on the rise in the region. Two countries reported coordinated cyber-attack campaigns in response to legislative initiatives to strengthen copyright enforcement and reform tax codes. In both cases, as the bills neared ratification, hacker forums became saturated with plans to launch large-scale cyber attacks on governmental infrastructure unless the bills were vetoed. Both national CSIRTs received advanced warnings of the pending attacks and thus managed to keep the damage to a minimum. Investigations of both incidents were inconclusive; one did not yield actionable evidence while the other eventually stalled after early leads went cold. Interestingly, in some cases such hacktivist campaigns brought important unforeseen benefits. In two of the countries that contributed to this report, unidentified groups threatened to launch attacks against multiple governmental institutions. For one of the countries threatened, it was the first instance of an explicit warning of politically motivated hacking. The threats motivated both governments to implement plans of action to mitigate and respond to potential attacks. Although the incidents in question never fully materialized, they did provoke increased collaboration among key stakeholders, including law enforcement agencies, Internet service providers (ISPs), and an infrastructure operator. The information provided by the Member States indicates that the capacity gained and lessons learned from planning for and, in some cases, proactively responding to such incidents have become a central driver for increasing countries’ national cyber-resilience. Other important cybersecurity trends were reported as well. Spyware was found on law enforcement servers in at least one country. Numerous states provided information suggesting that traditional organized crime syndicates have increasingly turned to the Internet to extort and launder funds—very much in keeping with observed global trends. One country reported that more than 80% of the crimes they investigated in 2012 involved some aspect of electronic crime or the illicit use of IT. And while information and communication technology (ICT) may not yet be the main vehicle for the majority of crimes, it certainly has become an integral part of all investigations, highlighting the need for appropriate legislative instruments, trained investigators and prosecutors, and increased international cooperation on cyber issues. Despite better visibility, hacktivism did not supplant monetary gain as the primary motivation behind hacking and the illicit use of the Internet in the region. Hackers still went after personal and financial data, fueling online black markets worldwide. Yet accurately measuring in quantitative terms the economic impact and loss hacking caused in the Americas and the Caribbean in 2012 is impossible. The figure is extremely high, likely greater than the loss caused by any other form of crime, including drug trafficking. ICS Concerns Both OAS and Trend Micro data indicated a rise in the number of attacks against critical infrastructure. Many critical infrastructures, including those that drive the financial, transportation, energy, and healthcare sectors, are dependent on industrial control systems (ICS). Many of these ICS, in turn, utilize the Internet, which allows critical infrastructures to efficiently and cheaply function. While it enables cheap and timely delivery of critical services, however, ICS connectivity also provides criminals and terrorists opportunities to strike countries where they will feel it most. PAGE 4 | Latin American and Caribbean Cybersecurity Trends and Government Responses