Narayan AmmachchiLatin America is facing the highest incidence of cyberattacks globally, as ransomware groups increasingly exploit enterprises integrating generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) into their operations, according to a study by Israeli cybersecurity firm Check Point Software Technologies.
In December 2025, organizations worldwide recorded an average of 2,027 cyberattacks per week. This marked a 1% increase from the previous month and a 9% rise compared with the same period a year earlier, Check Point said in a blog post.
Latin America stood out sharply. The region endured an average of 3,065 cyberattacks per organization each week — an annual increase of 26% — the highest among all regions analyzed.
Globally, the weekly attack average remained at 2,027 incidents per organization, reflecting the accelerating threat environment as companies rapidly adopt new digital technologies. Cybercriminals are drawn to early adopters, who often expose security gaps while integrating advanced tools such as GenAI.
Attackers have focused particularly on the education and government sectors, which serve large populations and typically rely on legacy systems with limited cybersecurity resources. Educational institutions in the region faced an average of 4,349 attacks per week, a 12% year-over-year increase. Government organizations ranked second, recording 2,666 weekly attacks per organization, up 2% annually. Associations and non-profits followed closely, with 2,509 attacks per week—a steep 56% rise year-on-year.
Among ransomware groups, Qilin emerged as the most active operator in December, accounting for 18% of all publicly reported attacks. LockBit5 ranked second with 12%, following a surge in victim disclosures late in the month. Akira, responsible for 7% of attacks, continued to target Windows, Linux and ESXi environments, the report noted.
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