Brazil suffered more than 3.2 billion cyberattack attempts in the first quarter of 2021, according to Fortinet. The country leads the ranking of Latin America, with almost half of the 7 billion attempts in this period.
According to a survey by Eskive, an information security awareness company, since the beginning of 2021 many companies have been suffering from a specific type of malware, known as ransomware, in which criminals hijack and encrypt files to extort the company requesting payment of millionaire ransoms. The most common attacks seek to breach data to gain financial advantage or expose the brand.
Priscila Meyer, Co-Founder and CEO, Eskive, said: “The attacks are sophisticated and have great potential to cause huge financial and image losses for the victim company. The breach to the company’s systems is usually caused by users’ carelessness or lack of preparation in identifying a threat.”
These numbers reveal an embryonic scenario in data care within companies, in which the human factor, the main vulnerability to attacks, is neglected.
“In light of this, companies are increasingly understanding the need to educate their employees so that they become the main layer of protection for their data,” said Meyer.
The financial sector is Eskive’s main operating sector, followed by retail and healthcare, encompassing large companies with gross annual sales greater than R$ 300 million.
