Lack of Strong Cyber Security Exacerbates Domestic Issues in Latin America
DEVELOPMENTS
In advance of a United Nations International Telecommunications Union (ITU) conference in Mexico last October, ITU Secretary General Hamadoun Touré said his goal was to have a “cyber peace treaty.” This followed up on his stated desire to achieve an international agreement in which nations pledged not to cyber-attack each other.
Cyber warfare is a new phenomenon that nations are only beginning to understand. Indeed, when the term is brought up, it usually connotes nations conspiring to do harm to one another without launching missiles or spilling blood; the infamous attacks on Estonia and Georgia’s government websites – blamed largely on Russia – cast a bright light on this nascent topic.
In the Americas, cyber attacks between nations are less common, or at least not as publicized as they are in other places around the world. This is indicative of the nature of relations throughout Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) generally: a largely homogenous region in terms of language, history, and culture; shared issues of wealth inequity and growing poverty; and the fact that warfare between LAC nations is rare. What has become most evident for regional leaders and observers, though, is the realization that outdated technology and infrastructure prevents governments from best protecting the security of their citizens and their institutions. These vulnerabilities leave the countries of LAC open to internal and external attacks at a time when some of them are confronting enormous, unprecedented challenges.
BACKGROUND
Brazil is at the forefront of cyber security issues for many reasons: it is the second most populous country in the hemisphere after the United States, and the fifth most populous in the world; its military and security forces are tasked with overseeing one of the largest and most rugged countries in the world; and it continues to evolve in its emergence onto the world stage.
A recent presentation on Latin American cyber security issues by the High Technology Crime Investigation Association revealed troubling statistics for Brazil: six in ten computers in the country are attacked with viruses and malware, besting the global average of five in ten; Brazil ties with India, second only to China at 83 percent, where 76 percent of adults have experienced some form of cyber crime; and in an analysis of 14 countries, it costs an average of $1,408 dollars and took 44 days to resolve the average cyber attack on an individual, making Brazil the most expensive and time-consuming. (By comparison, the US: $127/24 days; China: $944/23 days; and India $113.84/43 days).
In September 2009, the government announced the creation of a cyber security technical group, which will coordinate cyber security activities across critical government agencies and help protect key electronic and physical infrastructure. One justification for the group, experts asserted, was that one of the government’s hundreds of networks had received over three million attacks in just twelve months. And serving as host to the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics requires Brazil to construct and secure sports, transportation, hotel, and other high-visibility and high-use infrastructure.
Brazil has taken these and other challenges head on. It has begun a massive operation to reduce crime and poverty in the favellas around Rio de Janiero, and recent flooding that killed hundreds of people has prompted the government to plan for a national disaster response system. These kinds of operations will require state-of-the-art technology to communicate over, and secure networks to operate under.
Brazil is not alone among its neighbors, who continue to be confronted by cyber security issues. Mexico is facing a key test of its security apparatus as it fights an internal war against drug kingpins and smugglers acting with impunity. The government, primarily with its military and security institutions, is struggling to fight this unconventional war, and finds itself hampered by organized crime’s ability to employ better technology, use stronger weapons, and dismantle civilian and military power through infiltrations, kidnappings, and assassinations.
When Venezuelan oil workers protested and held strikes against the government of President Hugo Chávez in 2002-03, the longest in Latin American history, they weren’t just demanding political reforms: some were able to electronically attack the state-run oil refining and piping system. President Chavez himself has also been accused of the electronic rigging of elections.
As with most other nations and regions, LAC lacks a cyber security infrastructure, which is critical in a region where most attacks and issues, electronic or otherwise, begin internally.
ANALYSIS
The U.S. must be a leader on cyber security-related issues, not only for its own domestic security (for example, the same HTCIA study referenced earlier says 73 percent of American adults have experienced some form of cyber-related crime – not far off from Brazil and India), but for the security of its allies around the world as well. Indeed, as has been proven time and again, destabilization around the world impacts the U.S. at home and its interests abroad. While it has made some advancements, — like the creation of US Cyber Command and the construction of a state-of-the-art facility in Utah dedicated to preventing cyber attacks — funding for a White House-initiative to further combat cyber warfare was stripped from the defense funding bill passed by Congress in December. Various lawmakers still assert, however, that cyber security will be a main focus for Congress in 2011.
There are regional mechanisms in LAC that must provide better coordination. The Organization of American States, for example, has been working on cyber security for over a decade, and remains the formal, high-level arena for nations of the Western Hemisphere to interact. The U.S. should use this stage to work with its allies and provide leadership for the other members — especially nations like Brazil and Mexico, who are facing real crises because of a lack of security and coordination.
The nations of the world are increasingly focused on preventing terrorism from killing their civilians and disrupting their activities at home and abroad. But acts of cyber warfare can have devastating consequences, in a matter of seconds, and be carried out by an invisible enemy. The Americas must stay ahead of the curve by upgrading their systems to avoid the domestic crises associated with cyber warfare. Therefore, Secretary General Touré’s hope for international cyber peace should also mean that nations are resolved to fight cyber attacks together, not just anticipate them from one another.
Sean Bartlett is the Americas Regional Editor of Foreign Policy Digest.
