In conversation with , Sergio OronaThe cybersecurity specialist and CEO of XparFound analyzed the progress of cyberattacks in Argentina and warned of the lack of digital culture in small and medium-sized companies.
Cyber attacks are on the rise: SMEs are under threat
The outlook for Argentine small and medium-sized businesses is worrying. according to SMEs are in the eye of the storm, because “six out of ten were victims of at least one cyber attack in the past year.”“.
The expert explained that the weakness of small and medium-sized companies is exacerbated because many of them “They do not have a culture of defending computer assets“Moreover”It is part of the supply chains of large companies, where just one link is affected, putting the entire chain at risk.“.
In the first half of 2025, Argentina recorded more than 1.6 billion cyber attacks, a number according to statistics. It will continue to grow as artificial intelligence advances“.
When asked about the most common crimes, he explained: “The first is ransomware, which is a virus that encrypts information and demands a financial ransom; The second is phishing, those deceptive links that arrive via email; The third is to steal credentials, allowing the attack to expand to multiple platforms“.
summary: “The top three attacks today are ransomware, phishing, and credential theft“.
The cultural challenge and the need for a national law
The specialist warned that the problem is not only due to a lack of resources. “Sometimes it’s not so much a budgetary pain as a cultural pain“He said. He explained that in most companies”A data protection mindset as strong as it grows technology does not yet exist.“.
It was strong:We’re growing in the cloud, in SaaS, and in AI, but we’re not growing as much in cybersecurity.“That is why I insist on the importance ofThe model culture of every company, government and country“.
Currently, only the financial sector has mandatory standards. “The only regulated sector is banking and finance, under Central Bank regulations; The rest is what we call best effort: everyone does the best they canHe explained.
For the specialist, the country needs to move forward with clear regulation: “Argentina needs a more stringent law, as is already the case in Chile or Brazil, where compliance with cybersecurity standards is required for all sectors“.
In this sense, he also considered that the problem goes beyond technology: “Cybersecurity is not a technical issue, it is a cultural issue“, he pointed out. He confirmed: “It affects all of us, because we are all becoming digital, from companies to media“.
finally, He called for a change in perception of the issue:Cybersecurity must be put on the discussion table. It still seems like a technical thing, but in reality it is something transcendent for the future of all countries and Argentina“.
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