State of cybersecurity in logistics in Latin America and the Caribbean

Abstract

The dizzying changes that have been brought about by technologies of the fourth industrial revolution in the transition to logistics 4.0 will have an impact on countries, businesses, industries and society as a whole. The COVID-19 pandemic has reduced production, exports and imports in Latin America and the Caribbean. At the same time, it has become a catalyst for digitization, accelerating the transition process and making it possible for operations to continue during lockdowns and enabling them gradually to recover, while also reducing interaction among people. In order to maintain their operational base, organizations have opened virtual branches in homes, allowing work to continue in home office mode. In this context, powerful pre-existing cybersecurity threats are a reality. Since the beginning of the pandemic, in addition to the operational problems that have affected logistics centres, cyberattacks have increased, and logistics continues to be one of the hardest-hit economic sectors. Evidence shows an increase in cyberattacks in the last year, although complete information on critical infrastructure and logistics chains is not available.