Cybersecurity: Risks, Progress, and the Way Forward in Latin America and the Caribbean

This report, prepared in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Global Cyber Security Capacity Centre of the University of Oxford, analyzes the cybersecurity capacity of OAS member states and encourages countries to implement the most up-to-date standards in cybersecurity, while protecting the fundamental rights of their people. As in the previous edition, the study analyzes the cyber maturity of each country in the five dimensions identified in the Cybersecurity Capacity Maturity Model for Nations (CMM): (i) Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy; (ii) Cyberculture and Society; (iii) Cybersecurity Education, Training, and Skills; (iv) Legal and Regulatory Frameworks; and (v) Standards, Organizations, and Technologies. The progress made in the region—much of it with the support of the OAS—is evident. The 2016 report, for example, indicated that four out of five countries lacked cybersecurity strategies or a critical infrastructure protection plan. By the beginning of 2020, 12 countries had approved national cybersecurity strategies, including Colombia (2011 and 2016), Panama (2013), Trinidad and Tobago (2013), Jamaica (2015), Paraguay (2017), Chile (2017), Costa Rica (2017), Mexico (2017), Guatemala (2018), Dominican Republic (2018), Argentina (2019), and Brazil (2020), with several others in progress. With regard to data collection and validation carried out by our member states, the report represents an overview of the complex and changing universe of cyberspace. We hope that this study provides a perspective that allows us to appreciate where we are, that enables us to make decisions based on evidence, and that improves our collective understanding of the challenges and opportunities implied by cybersecurity in our region. The information and analysis in this report will help all stakeholders—governments, private sector, academia, and civil society—to work to build a safer, more resilient, and productive cyberspace in our hemisphere