Critical Infrastructure in Latin America: Connected, Dependent and Vulnerable

The objective of this paper authored by ther distinguished William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies is to call the attention of those in the military and intelligence communities, and academic, industrial, and civic authorities in Latin America and the Caribbean about the vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure in the region particularly power grids and its security system in the cyberspace.

Technological advances have benefited our world in immensurable ways, but there is an ominous flip side: digital technology can be turned against us. Hackers can activate baby monitors to spy on individuals, while thieves and terrorists are analyzing social media posts to plot everything from home invasions to disrupting critical infrastructure. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) based on computers are the driving forces that have been created and can be hacked. This is a sobering fact given our radical dependence, connectivity, and vulnerability on these machines for everything from our individual needs to the financial and production services of a nation’s power grid.

Cyber criminals have become adept at using the Internet for robbery on an almost unimaginable scale; siphoning off wealth or hijacking several million dollars is grand larceny. More worrisome is the increasing number of cyberattacks designed to collect enormous quantities of data in what appear to be wholesale intelligence-gathering operations.

The Perry Center is at the forefront of addressing these disturbing and dangerous threats to America's infrastructure.

Individuals in the Federal Government and private sector engaged in ay studies or operations directed at the threat of Cyber Crime and Critical Infrastructure.