Costa Rica is the second country most affected by ransomware in Central America

QCOSTARICA — Costa Rica is the second country most affected by ransomware in Central America according to a Kaspersky study.

Costa Rica registered 5,100 attempted attacks, according to the 2023 Threat Panorama prepared with data in the 12-month period of June 2022 to July 2023.

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Ransomware is malicious code that locks and encrypts a victim’s data, files, devices or systems, rendering them inaccessible and unusable until the attacker receives a ransom payment.

Although it is not the most technically advanced cyber threat, it allows criminals to block business operations and extort money.

Piracy is one of the most common threats, as it can have malicious software and not have security patches to address vulnerabilities that cybercriminals could take advantage of.

There is also adware, which displays unwanted ads.

Other risks include malicious scripts, fake addresses, and infected files. These attacks typically involve deceptive messages, malicious files in emails, and infections while browsing the web.

“The online scams we analyzed in this section of the study demonstrate that victims often look for free alternatives to avoid paying for a service, which can lead to the installation of malware on their devices. Unfortunately, in Latin America, the culture of free often leads to piracy, which puts users at risk. Avoiding this problem requires the adoption of safe practices and the use of official software and programs,” said Fabio Assolini, director of the Kaspersky Global Research and Analysis Team for Latin America.

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In addition to users, organizations are also targets of cybercriminals using these methods.

Government entities are the ones that attract the most attention from criminals with 15.49% of infection attempts, according to the cybersecurity firm’s analysis.

They are followed by the agricultural sectors (11.82%), commerce (11.55%), industry (8.57%), education (6.92%), health (5.28%), Telecommunications (4.55% ) and financial and insurance (4.55%).

In the region, Panama is the country most affected with 7,900 threats. El Salvador is third on the list with 1,700 threats, folowed by Guatamla with 1,200 threats.

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In total, 1.19 billion blocks were recorded, representing an average of 37.9 attack attempts per second in Latin America. Brazil is the main target of these attacks, registering an average of 1,515 blocks per minute, followed by Mexico (275 per minute), Colombia (117) and Peru (107).

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