Security News > 2020 > February > Inside the Rising Cybercrime Threat in Latin America
There is a darker side to the Latin American hacking scene.
"The cartels aren't using hackers to provide an alternative to drug money, just a relatively easy additional source of income - it's easier to use a hacker to syphon money out of an ATM than to break into one, or rob a bank."
"Everyone in the region is very financially motivated, so it doesn't take much. But we've also heard reports of hackers being abducted and forced to work with the gangs. The marriage between hackers and the cartels," she added, "Will be the most pressing threat during 2020.".
In the past, much of Latin America's cybercrime was local, caused by language and money transfer issues.
With the more advanced Latin American hackers joining forces with well-established and cash-rich drug cartels, and with relatively easy international money laundering and transfer available through cryptocurrency, the danger now is that Latin American hackers will cease being confined to Latin American countries, and will begin to see anywhere in the world as a potential target.