Tropical Blend: Cyber & Politics Ramp Up Across Latin America

State-linked APT groups, particularly China-aligned actors such as FamousSparrow and NegativeGlimmer, have increased cyber-espionage operations against government entities across Latin America and the Caribbean, motivated by geopolitical and economic interests (notably oil and ports). ESET and other analysts observed these groups using common intrusion methods—unpatched internet-facing servers (Microsoft SQL/Exchange), spear-phishing, MFA bypasses and post-MFA token theft—rather than frequent zero-day use, with recommendations emphasizing rapid patching and stronger phishing-resistant identity controls.