Transforming Employees into the First Line of Defense

By Elías Cedillo Hernández
CEO & Founder of Grupo BeIT, BuróMC and Elit Infrastructure Services

Today, cybersecurity has moved beyond being an exclusive IT concern to become a strategic imperative that defines business continuity and corporate reputation. Latin America faces a complex storm: attacks on critical infrastructure, phishing campaigns, cyber-espionage, and an alarming volume of ransomware attempts exceeding 1.1 million in the region. Against this backdrop, a key question arises: are companies prepared to turn their employees into the first line of defense?

The reality is clear: the human gap remains cybersecurity’s Achilles’ heel. The Cybersecurity Skills Gap Report 2025 and Bitdefender’s global report reveal that 47% of companies in the region do not train employees in digital security, and this lack of skills translates into latent operational risks. The impact is evident: the average cost of a data breach in 2025 exceeds USD 4.9 million, and in most cases, the root cause lies in human error or compromised credentials.

Threats are relentless. One in five industrial systems in Latin America was attacked in the past year, while cyber-espionage campaigns aim to infiltrate corporate and government networks to compromise critical information. Sophos confirms in its State of Ransomware 2025 report that ransomware remains the most costly and disruptive threat, impacting operations and market confidence.

In this scenario, the human shield can shift from being a risk to becoming a strategic asset for protecting the organization’s digital resources. But this requires a cultural and tactical shift: continuous and contextualized training, realistic simulations, a reporting culture, integration with advanced technology, and measurement with accountability. Without these actions, the skills gap will continue to widen. The Cybersecurity Assessment Report 2025 warns that this gap increases the average time to contain an attack to 73 days, multiplying costs and exposure. Additionally, the Cybersecurity Skills Gap Report 2025 confirms that 66% of organizations lack sufficient staff to manage critical incidents.

The hidden cost goes beyond money. IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2025 reveals that, in addition to the USD 4.9 million average per incident, companies face loss of customer trust, regulatory penalties, and brand value erosion. Sophos adds an alarming statistic: in ransomware attacks, 94% of organizations that paid a ransom did not recover all their data.