Latin American Observatory Report Exposes Over 100 Digital Threats and Surveillance Cases
The In Focus 2: An Overview of Digital Threats in Latin America report by the nonprofit Derechos Digitales and the Latin American Observatory of Digital Threats (OLAD) documents more than 100 cases of digital surveillance and data breaches recorded across the region between June 2024 and May 2025.
Convergence of Technical Vulnerabilities and Governance Failures
The report demonstrates that digital threats in Latin America operate beyond isolated cybersecurity incidents. They reflect broader questions of political power, institutional accountability, and fundamental rights. The findings categorize threats into government surveillance, spyware, cyberpatrolling, internet shutdowns, biometric data exploitation, large-scale data breaches, election disinformation, and technology-facilitated gender-based violence. Some security breakdowns stem from exposed databases lacking authentication or the misuse of legitimate access controls. Others arise from deliberate surveillance and public policies restricting online spaces.
Remedies vary sharply by cause. Technical weaknesses require secure system design, stringent access controls, and rapid incident response. Abuses of surveillance powers demand rigorous legal safeguards, independent oversight, transparent procurement, and effective legal remedies for victims.
State Surveillance Expansion Across Venezuela, Argentina, and Ecuador
State-level monitoring has accelerated through new legal frameworks and operational directives lacking judicial oversight. In Venezuela, authorities have deployed spyware against journalists, activists, and citizens, alongside restricting access to messaging apps and social media platforms. In Argentina, the Ministry of Security enacted Resolution 428/2024 to permit systematic monitoring of open-source information, while Decree 383/2025 granted cyberpatrolling powers to the Federal Police without requiring judicial authorization. Furthermore, more than 665,000 medical records in Argentina were reportedly offered for sale.
In Ecuador, the Organic Intelligence Law 2025 authorizes surveillance and detention without mandatory court orders. Paraguay experienced a major breach involving electoral authorities that exposed personal information for nearly seven million citizens. In Cuba, the Social Communication Law tightens state control over digital content, while Nicaragua has implemented state-led domain blocking against independent media outlets.
The Normalization of Imported Spyware and Synthetic Disinformation
Ximena Cuzcano, digital-security specialist at Derechos Digitales, told EL PAÍS that these practices show striking similarities across both authoritarian and democratic regimes. Cuzcano warned that imported surveillance technologies, such as Israeli-origin spyware, are increasingly normalized and later legalised.
Beyond traditional spyware, the report underscores emerging threats from AI-enabled disinformation and synthetic sexual imagery. In Brazil, civil society organizations documented the deployment of sexually explicit deepfakes targeting female political candidates. These developments demonstrate how synthetic media and opaque dependencies on foreign software directly undermine electoral integrity and personal safety in public life.
