In recent years we have seen how the internet has revolutionized the world around us and the way we interact with others in all areas. According to research, in Latin America and the Caribbean alone almost 70% of the population uses online services and the percentage continues to rise, the growth rate of Internet users in the region is the third highest in the world, at 2.4% .
Santos Campa, Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean of Futurex, a company specialized in cybersecurity, shared an article with Cointelegraph in Spanish where it mentions that users from Latin America, like those from all over the world, use the internet to interact with people in a recreational way, but also to manage businesses and carry out monetary transactions. . In the case of the financial sector, according to Campa, it has experienced one of the highest rates of digitalization in recent years in the region, each day a greater number of customers use non-face-to-face means to carry out transactions over the Internet, payments through devices phones or any other type of banking procedures, and for this reason financial organizations and banks have been pioneers in information technology and cybersecurity.
However, it highlights that the growing interaction in the digital world has made financial organizations the main targets of cyber attacks. “Several reports agree that cyberattacks in Latin America have increased over the past year, largely due to the rise of digitization in financial services”he mentioned.
Campa commented that according to various analyses, during the first eight months of 2021, cyberattacks increased 24% compared to the previous year. “The home office and hacking are the main points of attack, both for consumers and companies. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) estimates that, at the aggregate level, the economic damage from cyber attacks could exceed 1% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in some countries, and the number of attacks on critical infrastructure could reach 6%. of GDP”he detailed.
On the other hand, the Futurex representative stressed that less than a decade ago the main risks faced by banks were robberies at their physical headquarters, cloning of cards and the identity theft of their customers, but that Currently, the attacks that represent the greatest danger for these organizations are cyber attacks.
“Although there is undoubtedly still the risk of card cloning or identity theft, for some years cyber attacks have begun to attract more and more attention from financial institutions, due to the great economic damage they represent.Campa said.
“According to the United Nations Organization (UN), every 39 seconds there is a computer attack, a situation that increased from 2020, the year in which virtual transactions began to increase, as a consequence of confinement due to the Covid 1 pandemic.9,” he added.
Mexican situation
In Mexico, Campa said, between July 5 and 11, 2020, the National Commission for the Protection and Defense of Users of Financial Services (Condusef), the Bank of Mexico (Banxico) and the Tax Administration System (SAT) were victims of cyber attacks on their respective internet pages. “The most affected was Condusef, whose portal was completely seized for several hours by cyberattackers. On the contrary, the SAT (Tax Administration Service in Mexico) and the Bank of Mexico (Banxico) although they suffered difficulties, due to the greater robustness of their security systems, they did not suffer any severe damage”he explained.
In this sense, Campa told us that despite the fact that the financial industry has been investing in cybersecurity for years, the most recent studies show that it is still a challenge to be able to identify and keep up with current cyberthreats, due to the number and complexity of their threats. evolution.
He also explained that this is why the HSM Hardware Security Modules have become vital tools for financial and banking organizations. “An HSM is a hardware-based cryptographic device that generates, stores, and protects cryptographic keys and often provides hardware acceleration for cryptographic operations. HSMs are tested, validated, and certify to rigorous standards such as FIPS 140-2Campa explained.
“Enterprises use HSMs to keep cryptographic functions related to transactions, identities, and applications separate from regular operations and to control access to those functions. For example, a company may use an HSM to protect trade secrets or intellectual property by ensuring that only authorized persons can access the HSM to complete a cryptographic key transfer.he added.
That said, Campa points out in his article that currently, HSMs are one of the best options to strengthen and guarantee the security of a wide range of encryption and digital signature applications, so they are vital to protect private keys and cryptographic operations, and explains that some of the cases and benefits of using HSMs for financial companies are:
- Control of keys and data in the cloud; protect containerized applications.
- Protect root and subordinate keys of Public Key Infrastructures.
- Address insider threats and make it easy for DevOps to access secrets.
- Improve encryption key protection for data in transit and at rest.
- They protect the keys that ensure the integrity of the software and enable legally binding transactions.
- Protect TLS/SSL encryption keys.
- Create trusted identity credentials.
- Protect the keys that create and sign payment credentials.
“Banks and other institutions that are part of the financial system find cybercrime one of their greatest current challenges. Although financial institutions are investing more and more in cybersecurity, the increase in cyberattacks implies the need for an even greater effort, as well as always having the support of cutting-edge technology supplied by expert security manufacturing companies”mentioned Campa, who concluded by emphasizing that cybersecurity has become an essential part of maintaining the stability and growth of financial economic organizations.
“Their use and management play a decisive role in the decisions of the world’s leading financial institutions, which is why companies and institutions must be prepared with the best tools to always be one step ahead of cybercriminals, which is what today gives a differential value that users appreciate more and more”said.
Disclaimer: The information and/or opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views or editorial line of Cointelegraph. The information set forth herein should not be taken as financial advice or investment recommendation. All investment and commercial movement involve risks and it is the responsibility of each person to do their due research before making an investment decision.
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