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The U.S. government sent an interagency group of cyber defense experts to Barbados to conduct comprehensive network assessments in partnership with the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) and Regional Security System (RSS) from January 23 to February 2. The assessments took place at Paragon Base (Regional Security System HQ), Coast Guard Pelican Base (Barbados Coast Guard HQ), and Saint Ann’s Fort…
The commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), U.S. Army General Laura J. Richardson, visited Panama January 31-February 2 as part of a U.S. delegation taking part in a High-Level Security Dialogue (HLSD) between Panama and the United States. During her stay, Gen. Richardson also met with Minister of Public Security Juan Pino and Panama Canal Administrator Ricaurte Vasquez for talks focused…
In recent years, hacking into technological systems and databases hosted in a virtual environment has become an increasingly recurrent strategy to obtain confidential data. State sponsor actors are the leading cause of cyber concerns, with China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea sponsoring 77 percent of all suspected operations worldwide since 2005, the Cyber Operations Tracker of U.S.-based think tank Faced…
The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) brings advantages that are being discovered as the technology is being implemented, but it allows those that engage in cybercrime greater opportunities to carry out their criminal activities. In terms of security, AI allows for faster threat detection, intelligence analysis, fraud identification, in addition to border surveillance and monitoring, among many other advantages. “Artificial…
In early November, government representatives, cybersecurity experts and military personnel from the armed forces of the countries that make up the Inter-American Defense Board (IADB) took part in the Hemispheric Cyber Defense Conference 2023. The event was held in Washington, D.C. Under the theme Strengthening Cyber Shields: Toward Hemispheric Cooperation in Digital Defense, the conference stressed the importance of collaboration…
The Brazilian Army’s (EB) Cyber Defense Command (ComDCiber) held the First Ordinary Session of the VI Ibero-American Cyber Defense Forum in early October, in Brasilia. The event was held in parallel to Exercise Cyber Guardian 5.0, considered one of the main cyber defense simulations in the Southern Hemisphere. Thirteen countries attended the Ibero-American Cyber Defense Forum: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia,…
Australia’s digital spy agency has identified China as the major backer of serious hacking against Australian companies and critical infrastructure. The Australian Signals Directorate, or ASD, on November 15 released its cyber threat report for the past year. It stated that serious attacks on federal government agencies or critical infrastructure that led to the “extensive compromise” of sensitive data have…
Latin America is the least prepared region in the world for cyberattacks, the Global Cybersecurity Index, an initiative of the United Nations' International Telecommunication Union, indicated in its last report. However, following the dramatic attack against Costa Rica in 2022 by Russian group Conti, countries of the region have been upping their defense systems and seeking to establish cooperation with…
The Peruvian Armed Forces are committed to the defense and development of the nation. Guaranteeing the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of the republic, commanding units to combat terrorism and illicit drug trafficking, illegal mining, and other crimes, as well as directing multisectoral civic campaigns and the participation of the Armed Forces in Disaster Risk Management are part of the…
In its latest Internet Security Report, for the first quarter of 2023, U.S. cybersecurity company WatchGuard Technologies, indicated that 75 percent of the new threats of its top 10 list of malwares have strong ties to Russia or China. “These hacker groups target unsuspecting users and unprotected devices. In many cases, this leads to scams, but attacks can be compounded…
Brigadier General Jorge Fabián Berredo, operational commander of the Argentine Armed Forces’ Joint Chiefs of Staff, wants to transform the operational command into an active, diligent entity that strengthens the Joint Armed Forces Command. Brig. Gen. Berredo spoke with Diálogo about Antarctic campaigns, United Nations peacekeeping missions that include Argentine blue helmets, support to the community during catastrophe or natural…
More than 30 judges, prosecutors and police officers from Uruguay, Peru, and Argentina gathered in Montevideo August 14-18 to participate in a cybercrime conference organized by the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (ICHIP) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The conference allowed participants to learn online investigation techniques, digital evidence collection from…
