On Tuesday (12/09), São Paulo International Airport, in Guarulhos, suffered a cyber-attack. According to GRU Airport, the company that manages the airport, operations were not affected. The target was the company’s official website, says the dealership. The reason for the attack or where it came from was not disclosed.
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Risks in the Airport
The airport is the same one where two Brazilians had their luggage exchanged for others with 40 Kg of cocaine inside, leading to their arrested after landing in Germany on charges of international drug trafficking in March of this year.
Gangs of Thieves
The biggest Brazilian airport aggregates several risks for its passengers. Throughout the years, it also became famous for the presence of professional gangs of thieves that target passengers’ valuable belongings, particularly their luggage.
Analysis:
A survey released by the cybersecurity solutions company Fortinet, based on data from FortiGuard Labs, indicates that Brazil was the second most affected country in Latin America in 2022, with 103.16 billion attempted cyber-attacks, an increase of 16% with compared to the previous year (88.5 billion). In the region, the country is second only to Mexico (with 187 billion). Also, according to the study, in the comparison between the last quarter of the year and the previous one, there was a 61.7% increase in the number of attempted cyber-attacks suffered by the country.
Year by year, online crimes having been growing in Brazil, and increasing the potential risk they pose to businesses and common people. This process, which was already in course before the Covid-19 pandemic, accelerated after the health crisis. The reason behind that is exactly the fact that the physical isolation imposed by the virus accelerated digital transformation in all sectors of the economy. People and companies moved even more of their activities to the online environment. The process naturally exposed more and more assets and processes to cyber-attacks of all kinds. Efficient methods of protection include updates, insurance policies, and the adoption of security procedures. However, as risks in this type of crime are low, profits are high, and opportunities continue to expand, it is likely that the scenario will remain the same for a long time.
