During the last month they have registered cyber attacks to State platforms, such as the Your Employment portal, of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security; the General Directorate of Control of Arms and Ammunition (Digecam), and the University of San Carlos of Guatemala.
In addition, there was an alert about an alleged theft of information in the Superintendency of Tax Administration (SAT) and the National Registry of Persons (Renap), although the authorities of these institutions ruled out the theft of files. In the opinion of experts, this pattern shows vulnerabilities that had already been warned.
Héctor Fernando Cabrera Dubón, general director of the company Synergy and cybersecurity expert, indicated that the lack of a state structure that coordinates cybersecurity, the use of obsolete technological platforms and the poor training of personnel are the main factors that facilitate hacking and the theft of information in Guatemala.
“I would say that we could structure it into three large groups: there is a legal deficiency, an institutional one and a technical one,” he explained.
Cabrera explained that in the State there is no clear hierarchy of guidelines or protocols to prevent and respond to cyber attacks, which causes each institution to operate independently and without coordination.
Cybersecurity governing body
The specialist added that it is an organizational error that at the country level there is no institution that establishes the parameters to improve digital security.
“The majority of countries that have been successful in their digitalization or in their transformation towards the digital world have had a reference at the country level, an institution that establishes the parameters, the norms and gives the guidelines in general for all other organizations, speaking of the Executive,” he indicated.
He pointed out that, in Guatemala, each institution has an IT department, but it is not coordinated with others.
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“On the institutional side there is no organization or person that coordinates the issue of IT—Information Technology—or cybersecurity in the country,” he stated.
The cybersecurity expert pointed out that this lack of governance causes public agencies to develop their systems without standards, which increases vulnerabilities against computer attacks.
The company Devel, specialized in computer security, indicated that the attacks registered in Guatemala are part of a regional trend and that each year more than 360 billion attempted cyber attacks are registered in Latin America.
Obsolete systems
Another factor identified is the use of outdated technology. In Cabrera’s opinion, several institutions operate with old versions of systems and applications, which facilitates the theft of information from their platforms.
“The hacking of the Ministry of Labor was due to the fact that they were using a very old version of the API—Application Programming Interface—and the hackers put it in there,” he said.
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He explained that added to this is the inadequate management of internal security, such as passwords that do not comply with basic protocols and the lack of segmentation in institutional networks, which exposes sensitive data.
Without constant training
Cabrera highlighted the lack of specialized training in cybersecurity within the state apparatus, which limits the ability to respond to incidents.
“There is a total lack of deep knowledge in cybersecurity,” he said.
The expert warned that, if these weaknesses are not corrected, attacks could increase in the short term, because hacker groups identify Guatemala as a target with low digital protection.
No cybersecurity law
Cabrera said that Guatemala needs a cybersecurity lawwhich has been under discussion for the last two years in the Congress of the Republic, but has not been approved.
“That is the first problem: we do not have a cybersecurity law, it does not exist, and let’s say that that makes it easier to evade the law, because there is not even a cybersecurity law in principle,” he said.
Government activates protocols after hacks
After the attacks against different institutions, the Government of Guatemala issued a statement in which it indicated that the response protocols were activated to contain the impact, protect the information and reinforce the security of the affected systems.
“The competent authorities maintain permanent monitoring and inter-institutional coordination aimed at identifying, containing and mitigating any malicious activity, without currently registering a direct impact on essential public services,” he explained.
In addition, he indicated that instructions have been issued to all public entities to strengthen their security controls, reduce exposure and strengthen their incident response capabilities.
“Strategic actions are being implemented with international support, within the framework of cooperation alliances with partner countries such as Spain, the United States and the Republic of China (Taiwan), aimed at the sustained strengthening of national capabilities in cybersecurity, thus consolidating a comprehensive approach to protecting the State’s digital infrastructure,” he commented.
“Guatemala has specialized personnel and the support of international allies, which allows us to face this situation in a comprehensive manner, strengthening the country’s digital resilience and preserving institutional stability,” the statement stated.