An analysis conducted in late 2025 by ESET, a leading company in proactive threat detection, highlighted the evolution of ransomware (data kidnapping) as one of trends to watch closely in 2026. This first quarter of the year confirms its importance, and the cybersecurity company analyzes the most attacked industries, which countries were most affected, the situation in Latin America, and the incidence of each group.

Topics of paramount importance and interest to both experts and cautious users who follow these incidents.

According to the ransomware.live report, the three groups that dominated the first quarter of the year were Qilin, The Gentlemen, and Akira, which together accounted for almost 900 victims, representing more than 30% of the total attacks (approximately 2,200).

Qilin ransomware took first place with more than 400 attacks during the quarter. This ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) group, which also held this position last year, took the professionalization of cybercrime to a new level, so to speak, by providing legal counsel to its affiliates to strengthen their leverage during ransom negotiations.

Second place, with almost 250 attacks, went to The Gentlemen. This RaaS group represents a new era: it is moving away from mass attacks to focus on tailored operations. A silent and far more dangerous model, according to ESET, that redefines the rules of the game with targeted and adaptive campaigns.

Akira completed this negative podium, with more than 200 attacks to its name, many in Latin America. Its spread was so widespread that it even put major cybersecurity agencies around the world on alert, including the FBI.

Regarding the industries most affected by ransomware during the first three months of 2026, ESET found the manufacturing, technology, and healthcare sectors to be the most impacted. Following closely behind were business services, construction, and financial services.

“What is clear is that cyber attackers do not choose their victims randomly, but rather seek out organizations where they can generate a strong impact or sense of urgency, whether due to the immediate need to have their systems available, because they cannot afford long operational downtime, or because they handle critical or sensitive information. Ransomware groups continue to focus on economic and reputational impact, targeting industries undergoing digitalization but demonstrating less maturity in cybersecurity,” says Mario Micucci, Cybersecurity Researcher at ESET Latin America.

Internationally, with more than 1,000 attacks recorded, the United States was the country most affected by ransomware during the first quarter of 2026. The countries that followed recorded only 100 attacks or fewer, such as Germany, Great Britain, and France. Canada completed the top five affected countries.

Regarding Latin America, Brazil (50 attacks) and Mexico (30) were the most affected countries, but incidents were also recorded in Argentina, Chile, Peru, Paraguay, Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia, Guatemala, Panama, and the Dominican Republic

The first quarter of 2026 confirms the trend that ransomware is not a temporary or declining threat, but a consolidated and constantly evolving phenomenon. “The combination of highly active groups, new emerging actors, and increasingly targeted attacks demonstrates that the model remains profitable for cyber attackers. Looking ahead, the focus should be on how organizations can strengthen their prevention, detection, and response capabilities, especially in critical sectors and regions where cybersecurity maturity still has significant gaps,” concludes Micucci of ESET.

For more information on this topic, please visit: https://www.welivesecurity.com/es/ransomware/actividad-ransomware-primer-trimestre-2026/.

Additionally, for other useful preventative information, visit https://www.eset.com/ve/ in Venezuela, and follow them on social media @eset_ve, Instagram (@esetla), and Facebook (ESET).

With information and image reference ​​provided by ESET and Comstat Rowland

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Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization) announced on Friday, March 13, the results of a 72-country operation against cybercrime, which led to the arrest of 94 people, the seizure of equipment, and the suspension of websites.

Among the Spanish-speaking countries where the operation was carried out are Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Spain, Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay, and Venezuela, in addition to Spain.

The agency, headquartered in Lyon, France, stated that in addition to suspending some 45,000 servers and web addresses used for criminal activities, it is still investigating 110 individuals.

Operation Synergia III, as the Interpol operation is known, was conducted between July 18, 2025, and January 31, 2026, with actions in key locations through the coordinated efforts of national authorities investigating online cyber scams or phishing, malware, and ransomware.

Cases of identity theft and credit card fraud were also identified, as well as romance scams to obtain bank transfers; and fake online casinos, banking sites, or government websites used to steal money from users or obtain sensitive customer information.

M.Pino

Source: bancaynegocios

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Cybercriminals have found that using artificial intelligence allows them to enhance their scams, making their deceptions more realistic and harder to detect. Recently, fake videos have surfaced impersonating internationally renowned figures, such as Lionel Messi or the CEO of a major organization.  However, these scams also occur on a smaller scale, such as targeting a school principal in the United States. ESET, a leading proactive threat detection company, reviews some of the cases where deepfakes were the main tool used in scams that resulted in millions of dollars in losses or the compromise of sensitive information.

Deepfake is an artificial intelligence-based technique for synthesizing human images to create fake content from scratch, using existing videos or even just a still image. They are designed to replicate the appearance and voice of a real person.

“With the evolution of Artificial Intelligence, these videos and audio recordings seem increasingly real. Many exploit the image of public figures or well-known entities to say something false, as part of a scam that aims to obtain money or sensitive information,” says Camilo Gutiérrez Amaya, Head of the ESET Latin America Research Lab.

ESET compiled amazing, truly real, and recent cases

Lionel Messi: The Argentine football player is one of the most recognized personalities worldwide. In this case, cybercriminals exploited his popularity to carry out a deepfake scam, promoting an app that promised suspiciously high and irresistible earnings. The app in question was called “Wildcat Dive,” and in the fake video, Messi claimed it was one of his main sources of income and that it had helped many people earn money. Through advertisements on the social network Instagram, the cybercriminals distributed snippets of a fabricated interview, which was based on a real interview the footballer had given to a well-known Argentine streaming program.

Arup: In early 2024, the architectural firm that designed the Sydney Opera House and the Etihad Stadium, Arup, made headlines when a financial employee at the company’s Hong Kong office received a video call from (allegedly) the company’s CFO. The result of the meeting was 15 transfers totaling over $25 million. The bad news is that it was actually a deepfake, so the transfers had not been approved by anyone in the company.

Ferrari: In this case, cybercriminals attempted a deepfake voice scam, impersonating Benedetto Vigna, the CEO of the automotive company. In July 2024, using voice imitation, they tried to convince the company’s finance executives to make a large money transfer. One of the employees became suspicious and asked a question that the AI ​​used in the scam could not answer correctly. Not only did this attack fail, but it prompted Ferrari to reinforce its employee training to prevent similar scams in the future.

WPP: One of the world’s largest advertising companies was also the target of a scam attempt involving a deepfake. In mid-2024, cybercriminals used a fake WhatsApp account, a voice recording, and YouTube footage of a virtual meeting to impersonate the company’s CFO, Mark Read. The malicious actors organized a meeting via Microsoft Teams, under the pretext of creating a new company, and used this as a lure to obtain money and sensitive personal data from the company. According to WPP, this attack was unsuccessful thanks to the company’s vigilance and the training its employees received to detect these scams.

School in Baltimore: Not only high-profile companies are targeted by deepfakes. In this case, a school principal was heard making racist and antisemitic comments. The incident went viral (over 2 million views) and resulted in death threats against the educator. After an investigation, local police confirmed that the audio was a fake, manipulated with AI.

Elon Musk: A cryptocurrency investment scam used Elon Musk’s image to spread ads on X and YouTube, promoting supposed investment opportunities that promised high returns on Bitcoin. The ads included a link to a fraudulent website where unsuspecting users were asked to make initial deposits to participate in the alleged investment. According to the US Federal Trade Commission, the scam, which included deepfakes, resulted in losses of over $80 million for more than 7,000 victims who believed in the supposed investment.

President Zelensky: Politics was also affected by deepfake scams. In March 2022, during the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, a fake video circulated showing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urging his troops to surrender. The president responded almost immediately with a genuine video posted on his official channels.

While deepfake scams are becoming increasingly realistic and difficult to detect, ESET shares some best practices to reduce the risk of falling victim to these types of scams

• Be wary of eye-catching advertisements that offer an opportunity for easy and unrealistic gains. Also be suspicious of those that feature well-known celebrities.
• Pay attention to the video quality: if there are visual glitches, poor synchronization, or low resolution, it is likely a deepfake.
• Use security software on all devices to help block fake websites and emails containing malicious content.
• For businesses, it is important to not authorize payments solely based on a phone call or video call. Consider using keywords or internal codes as an additional verification method.
• Continuous training is essential: being trained to recognize the warning signs of deepfakes and scams is another key practice.
• Take advantage of the tools currently available to detect deepfakes and combat misinformation.

ESET invites you to learn more about cybersecurity by visiting: https://www.welivesecurity.com/es/.

For additional useful preventative information, visit ESET’s website in Venezuela: https://www.eset.com/ve/, and follow them on social media @eset_ve. Also on Instagram (@esetla) and Facebook (ESET).

Information and images courtesy of ESET and Comstat Rowland

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A new banking Trojan attacks Android phones silently. It is called Crocodilus and is highly effective because it uses an imperceptible black screen.

The virus makes it easier for cybercriminals by silencing the device to steal banking credentials.

“It targets people in Spain and Turkey, and its success has surprised both banks and cryptocurrency platforms.” The specialists at ThreatFabric were responsible for the discovery, and “it poses a very comprehensive threat because it is equipped with modern techniques such as remote control, black screen overlays, and advanced data collection through accessibility logging, among others.”

The Trojan is installed using a dropper, an executable malware that can bypass restrictions on Android 13 and later. Once installed, it requests the Accessibility Service be enabled for proper operation and “connects to the command server to receive instructions, which include the list of target apps, as well as the interface that will impersonate the legitimate app (overlays) to steal user credentials.”

Crocodilus can perform keylogging, which relies on a keylogger or keystroke log, and thus records on-screen password input. By acting remotely, it facilitates the actions of cybercriminals.

M.Pino

Source: 20minutos

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It’s no surprise that Artificial Intelligence has revolutionized the world, and that cybercriminals have taken advantage of all this potential to create highly realistic and sophisticated targeted social engineering attacks. Techniques involving voice cloning to impersonate family members, friends, or acquaintances are on the rise, with the aim of obtaining private information or even money from their victims. ESET, a leading company in proactive threat detection, analyzes the methodology used by attackers in these types of scams, how they can affect people, and how we should avoid becoming victims.

Cybercriminals take small fragments of a real recording and, using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and voice patterns, create conversations and phrases to carry out their deceptions, with consequences that are as serious as they are costly. These samples are obtained from voice recordings or videos posted on social media platforms like Instagram or TikTok.

To measure the impact, the United States Federal Trade Commission reported that in 2023, the United States lost $2.7 billion due to scams alone. Along these lines, Starling Bank (a British online bank) warned about the prevalence of these types of scams in the United Kingdom. The survey of more than 3,000 people revealed that more than a quarter of adults say they have been the victim of an AI voice cloning scam at least once a year. Furthermore, 46 % of respondents stated they were unaware such scams existed.

The growing number of scams involving Artificial Intelligence led the FBI to issue a statement warning people: “Attackers are leveraging AI to create highly convincing voice or video messages and emails to enable fraud schemes against individuals and businesses alike. These sophisticated tactics can result in devastating financial losses, reputational damage, and the compromise of sensitive data,” the US investigative agency noted.

ESET recommendations

ESET warns that when faced with these types of scams involving social engineering, the first advice is to remain highly alert. This means paying special attention to unexpected messages that urgently request money or account credentials. Similarly, call back a family member or friend using a known phone number.

Another measure suggested by the ESET research team is to have a “safe phrase,” agreed upon in advance by family and friends, to verify whether the person on the other end of the line is who they claim to be.

It’s also very important to implement multifactor authentication whenever possible. It’s about adding an extra layer of security to prevent cybercriminals from accessing our accounts and systems.

“For companies, beyond combining solutions to reduce the number of phishing emails, calls, and messages that reach their employees, it’s essential to educate and raise awareness among their teams so they can detect scams and avoid falling into the trap,” commented Camilo Gutiérrez Amaya, Head of the ESET Latin America Research Lab.

Contact information for ESET, a digital and IT security specialist and source of this information and recommendations: https://www.eset.com/ve/.

Also available on social media: Instagram (@esetla) and Facebook: (ESET).

With information and reference images provided by ESET and Comstat Rowland

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With the advancement of new technologies, more sophisticated methods for fraud and other digital crimes are emerging. Particularly in e-commerce, security is a priority.

The arrival of simpler payment methods, based on AI and other emerging technologies, does not stop the emergence of new forms of fraud. Cybercriminals adapt, improve their attack tools and break down all barriers.

The financial sector is the preferred sector for digital fraudsters. Losses far exceed those obtained by criminals from drug trafficking and other illegal activities globally.

Scam methods are becoming more aggressive thanks to the use by cybercriminals of generative AI that allows them to impersonate identities in a way that is imperceptible to victims.

Deepfakes are used to carry out fraudulent transactions that bypass system barriers. But this method is not enough, and instant payments are added by impersonating trusted contacts. These so-called “friendly” scams are the most dangerous.

Cybersecurity experts advise staying alert to any unusual details in an email, a phone call or operations in stores where payment can be made by contactless, fingerprint payment, among others. Also, activate two-factor authentication on all devices, which is highly effective against digital fraud.

M.Pino

With information from international media

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The leading company in proactive threat detection, ESET, conducted a thorough analysis of the most common scam modalities detected on the Facebook Marketplace over the course of the year. This report details the crucial signals that users should pay attention to in order to identify and avoid falling into the traps of cybercriminals.

Under the direction of Camilo Gutiérrez Amaya, Head of the Research Laboratory at ESET Latin America, the growing appeal of Marketplace as an online shopping and sales platform has attracted the attention of cybercriminals, resulting in an increase in scams and deceptions on this platform.

• Defective Items: Sellers post products with misleading photos, presenting them in perfect condition, but deliver damaged products, especially problematic in electronic items.
• Fake Items: Cases of counterfeit goods, such as designer clothes, perfumes, jewelry, and cosmetics, are common. Tempting offers are often an indicator of possible deception.
• Google Voice Scams: They take advantage of Marketplace to commit fraud on other platforms, requesting verification codes to steal Google Voice accounts.
• Overpayment: Scammers pretend to be buyers who claim to have overpaid and request a refund of the difference, without actually making any payment.
• Never Arrive Purchase: Sellers receive payment but do not deliver the item, applicable to items shipped from outside the buyer’s local area.
• Phishing and Fake Sweepstakes: Scammers use phishing emails with fake offers and sweepstakes to get personal information from victims.
• Insurance Scam: They pretend to be buyers willing to pay for shipping, but ask the seller for a small fee for an insurance assumption.
• Misleading Offers: Advertise high-quality products at tempting prices, then inform the buyer that the product is no longer available, offering more expensive alternatives.

ESET tips for detecting scams on Facebook Marketplace

• Inspect Items Personally: Purchase only from local sellers and review items prior to transaction.
• Meeting in Safe Places: Establish as meeting point public places, well lit and preferably during the day.
• Review Buyer/Seller Profiles: Know profile ratings and be alert to newly created profiles.
• Check Market Prices: Be suspicious if there is a large difference between the selling price and the market price, as it could indicate forgery, theft or defects.
• Caution with Offers and Gifts: Avoid providing personal data to access offers and gifts.
• Use Trusted Payment Methods: Use secure payment methods through Facebook Messenger, such as PayPal and Facebook Checkout.
• Keep Conversations on Facebook: Avoid moving the conversation to other platforms where it’s easier to scam people.
• Do Not Send Items Before Payment: If you are a seller, do not send products before receiving payment.
• Monitor Price Changes: Be on the lookout for unexpected changes in the agreed price.
• Do Not Share Verification Codes: Avoid sharing verification codes with potential buyers.

It is advisable to denounce or report

In case of suspected fraud, ESET advises to report the vendor and immediately report the incident to the Facebook Marketplace. Gutiérrez Amaya underlines the importance of adopting good security practices to prevent problems when surfing and shopping online.

With information and image provided by ESET and Comstat Rowland

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La entrada ESET listed the most common scams in Marketplace during 2023 apareció primero en Bitfinance.

Venezuela, like other countries in the region and the world, faces challenges in the field of cybersecurity. These challenges include the need to strengthen technical resources, provide ongoing training for professionals in the field, foster collaboration and cooperation to share information and best practices, and educate and prepare users to protect themselves against phishing threats perpetrated by cybercriminals with in order to obtain private data.

In this context, the Venezuelan Banking Association (ABV) has organized a meeting for the creation of the Cybersecurity Technical Committee, in which national bank officials from various areas participated, including security, technology, technological risk, systems and prevention of risks, among others.

Pedro Pacheco Rodríguez, executive president of the ABV, emphasized the importance of having this union committee, whose main objective is to promote a solid culture of cybersecurity. This culture must be extended not only within the financial sector, but also to other sectors of the economy and to the general public, including users of banking products.

The Cybersecurity Committee will carry out a series of activities, including the creation of a financial education project on this matter and the promotion of greater cooperation in the sharing of relevant information for the entire banking industry, in order to to prevent computer crimes that may compromise security.

In addition, the committee plans to hold annual events with the participation of national and international experts, addressing various aspects related to risks and how to deal with them in case of contingencies.

The executive president of the ABV stressed that the Cybersecurity Technical Committee is based on four fundamental pillars: trust, capacity for associative relationships, civic awareness and ethical behavior. The objective is to protect not only the activities of a crucial sector for the economic development of the country, but also the disclosure of information on cybersecurity that affects bank users and society in general.

K. Tovar

Source: Bancaynegocios

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This Tuesday, July 11, Amazon Prime Day kicks off, an event that will last 48 hours and in which the ‘e-commerce’ platform will make available to users new offers on all kinds of products, ranging from technology to technology. fashion, through personal care, among other items.

This is an appointment marked on the calendar not only for buyers, but also for cybercriminals, who take advantage of mass purchases to carry out their corresponding malicious campaigns.

So much so that, according to Check Point data, while Amazon-related phishing campaigns have experienced an 8 % global increase, those related to Amazon Prime have multiplied 16-fold in the last month alone.

During this period, almost 1,500 new domains related to the term ‘Amazon’ were registered, of which 92 percent were found to be malicious or suspicious.

In addition, one in 68 new domains related to ‘Amazon’ was also related to ‘Amazon Prime’. About 93% of the latter were also at risk.

How to identify phishing attempts

The cybersecurity company has specified that different emails with fraudulent links that direct users to fake web pages that happen to look the same as Amazon are being distributed these days.

Hence, one of the most frequent attacks is ‘phishing’, which begins with sending an email or text message where the sender appears as ‘Amazon.co.uk’. Once the victims have accessed, they are asked for their credit card number. By filling out this form, cybercriminals have free access to your data and bank accounts.

Therefore, to buy safely on Amazon Prime Day, Check Point advises taking other graphic errors into account, since these types of false pages usually have them because they use automatic translators.

It is also convenient to use a strong password for each service and that it is not easily deciphered. That is, it should have at least 12 characters, that uppercase, lowercase, and numbers are combined, and that obvious credentials, such as birthdays or proper names, be excluded.

Likewise, it is important, when buying ‘online’, to look for the symbol of secure connection encryption (SSL), that is, the padlock on the link, which is located on the left in the address bar.

Before proceeding with the purchase, and especially if it is about ‘flash offers’, it is advisable to review what you are buying and avoid impulse clicks. Finally, you should also spot bargains, since “if something sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t,” according to Check Point.

Source: dpa

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Cybercriminals are carrying out attack techniques that are up to 15 years old to find and exploit vulnerabilities and security gaps in the systems of companies and organizations.

This is one of the conclusions reached by Barracuda Networks in a recent report called ‘Threat Spotlight’, where it points out that malicious agents use these techniques to install malicious programs, interrupt the operation of devices or steal confidential information.

The security solutions company has commented that cybercriminals “quickly” take advantage of the new opportunities that are presented to spread their malicious campaigns on the computers of companies and organizations. One of them took place in December 2021, when there was a Log4J flaw. That is, a remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability that allows malicious agents to execute arbitrary Java code, taking control of a target server.

Due to this bug, Barracuda Networks has concluded that there was an increase in cyberattacks exploiting this vulnerability, reaching 150 % more attacks of this type the following year.

The company has commented that attackers know that the types of attacks that have been successful in the past can also work today, and to do so, they focus on weaknesses that in most cases have existed for years. To reach this conclusion, his team of researchers has carried out an analysis for three months of ID data detection, a tool that is used 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the company’s Operations Center (SOC).

First, it has indicated that cyberattackers have tried to gain control of vulnerable systems using techniques that date back to 2008, that is, 15 years ago. Thanks to them, they can take advantage of web servers that are misconfigured to obtain data such as application codes or files that they should not have access to.

Attackers exploit bugs in programming languages

Another of the attackers’ targets are bugs in the programming languages ​​that developers use to create applications included in operating systems, on the web, or in ‘middleware’. That is, the ‘software’ system that provides common cloud functions and services for applications.

In this case, cybercriminals take advantage of user actions, such as when they add a product to their ‘online’ shopping cart or when they enter their personal data and press the ‘Send’ button, to send that information to an external server. If your Common Gateway Interface (CGI) configuration is configured incorrectly, the attacker will be able to gain remote control of the system, and you will be vulnerable to malicious code injection.

The cybersecurity company has commented that another of the main objectives of the attackers is to get hold of sensitive and protected information through vulnerable servers, such as passwords, user lists, contact information. In this case, they use improperly legitimate processes to find out how many computers have an active IP connection. Thus, this action can help plan and prepare large-scale malicious campaigns.

Finally, Barracuda Networks has qualified that malicious actors try to generate chaos in a general way, interrupting services and altering the data packets of the ‘online’ traffic. Thus, they manage to saturate the communication channels and the destination servers. The company has recognized that security flaws “have no expiration date and the risk is that, over time, they may be more difficult to locate and mitigate”, so they are reduced to vulnerabilities embedded in a system or in an application. , in the words of the senior SOC Manager, Offensive Security at Barracuda XDR, Merium Khalid.

Source: dpa

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