Anderson Fagundes da Silva, Head of Loss Prevention Transportation at Mercado Livre Brazil explores business resilience in Latin America.

2024 presents a challenging year for security and business continuity in Latin America – here is a brief overview of the main considerations.

When it comes to information and cybersecurity, one of the main changes will come from artificial intelligence (AI).

With the progress of ChatGPT and other applications incorporating generative AI technologies, an opportunity arises to strengthen cybersecurity, but along with this comes an increase in suspicious activity on messaging applications.

This is anticipated to grow further as cyber-crime expands its reach from the dark web to more widely used platforms.

In Latin America, there has also been a significant increase in malicious campaigns using common malware, especially remote access trojan (RAT)-type threats, aiming to obtain valuable information and generate economic benefits.

Supply chain attacks in Latin America

Over recent years, there has been a rise in cases of attacks on the supply chain (including cyber-attacks, cargo theft, use of the chain to transport drugs and illicit products, etc.).

Criminal groups take advantage of vulnerabilities in the supply chain to impose illegalities on its global connection and all of this represents a growing threat to Latin America.

Change to the attackers’ strategy could allow them to specifically target critical links in the chain, disrupting vital operations in the region without adequate protective measures.

The implementation of preventive measures throughout the supply chain is therefore imperative.

Geopolitical risks

The year 2024 will go down in history as the year in which more voters will go to the polls.

Of the more than 80 elections worldwide, six will be in Latin America, not counting municipal elections in Brazil and Chile.

Of all the regions in the world, Latin America, according to experts, is the one that will grow least economically.

This is particularly worrying in a region with fragile democratic institutions and tends to generate a greater number of demonstrations, causing instability and possible social conflict.

Without strong institutions, the chance of instability in Latin American countries is always high and the consequences are potentially disastrous.

According to projections by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, in 2024, the Latin American economy is expected to grow by an average of just 1.9%.

That’s 0.3 points less than in 2023. It’s the lowest rate of all regions in the world.

This increases insecurity – institutions and companies will have to engage their security plans and their business continuity plans, in a crucial moment of preventive preparation for corporations that have operations in the region.

Companies must prepare their resilience and crisis and risk management teams, as they will be heavily involved.

About Anderson Fagundes da Silva

Anderson Fagundes da Silva has over 25 years of experience in the security field.

He was a Military Police Officer of the Brazilian Army and passed through large organizations in the areas of ports, airports, logistics, industry and tobacco.

This article was originally published in the Special February Influencers Edition of Security Journal Americas. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.