MEXICO CITY, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Mexico accounted for just

over half of all cyber threats reported in Latin America in the

first half of 2024, cybersecurity firm Fortinet ( FTNT ) said in

a study.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

As Mexico undergoes a nearshoring boom, in which companies

shift production closer to their primary markets, cybercriminals

have been targeting sectors such as logistics and automotive and

electronics manufacturing to maximize the impact and benefits of

their attacks.

Hackers are increasingly targeting specific market segments

to obtain larger ransoms, and are also using artificial

intelligence to boost efficiency, executives said at the study's

presentation.

BY THE NUMBERS

Mexico suffered 31 billion cybercrime attempts during the

first half of 2024, or 55% of those in Latin America, the report

showed.

Sunnyvale, California-based Fortinet ( FTNT ) estimated a global

shortage of 4 million AI professionals, including 1.3 million in

Latin America and the Caribbean, and around 500,000 in Mexico.

KEY QUOTES

Mexico is facing more attacks than Brazil due to its

proximity and commercial ties with the United States, Fortinet's ( FTNT )

Mexico chief Jorge Miranda said in the presentation.

Processing companies associated with nearshoring are being

directly targeted by ransomware attacks for much larger ransoms,

he noted.

While first-half figures in Mexico may seem like a slowdown

from its 94 billion attacks in all of 2023, Miranda stressed

that the cybercrime rate remains very high.

WHAT'S NEXT

Fortinet ( FTNT ) said it hopes Mexico will enact a cybersecurity law

to shore up against attacks within the next year or two.

President Claudia Sheinbaum pledged last week to create a

cybersecurity and artificial intelligence center during her

term, but did not mention a law.