Nine Panamanian state agencies suffered cyberattacks in early 2026 — ransomware, intrusions, and impersonation of official accounts. The government’s response was concrete: $26 million allocated to cybersecurity, distributed between the National Authority for Government Innovation (AIG) and other state entities. Panama’s case reflects a trend that all of Latin America is experiencing.
ESET researchers discovered in November 2025 a campaign they named CallPhantom: 28 fraudulent applications on Google Play that promised access to call history, SMS, and WhatsApp messages from any phone number. The most striking detail is not that they were fake — it’s that they accumulated over 7.3 million downloads before being removed.
Argentina’s national tax authority was rebranded in 2024 — AFIP became ARCA (Agencia de Recaudación y Control Aduanero). But attackers kept using the old name in phishing campaigns, precisely because it generates more urgency and recognition than a recently renamed agency. The strategy didn’t change; only the context they’re exploiting changed.