When you open your computer in the morning, you don’t think about perimeters or firewalls. You think about accessing your email, internal systems, financial applications, and collaborative tools. Unbeknownst to you, it’s precisely this everyday gesture that has become the focus of today’s biggest digital threats..
Today, attackers’ preferred gateway is no longer the protected server, but the unsuspecting user with their vulnerable digital identity. In Brazil and Latin America, protecting access has become the new frontier of cybersecurity—a challenge that, when companies recognize it as a strategic priority, will completely change the course of the fight against digital attacks.
Compromised access credentials and phishing have become major intrusion vectors today. Recent studies indicate that at least 74% of security incidents involve human error or social engineering as the initial vector, with phishing being the most common method..
In other words, attackers often trick employees into revealing passwords or clicking on malicious links, paving the way for the breach. Furthermore, the abundance of leaked credentials online exacerbates this problem: in 2024, Bitsight recorded 2.9 billion unique compromised credentials, a jump from 2.2 billion in 2023. Furthermore, since April 2024, more than 19 billion credentials have been exposed globally..
This data explains why digital identities have become hackers’ gold—by gaining unauthorized access to legitimate accounts, they can easily bypass traditional defenses.
From Perimeter to Zero Trust: Identity-Centric Prevention
Faced with this problem, many companies in Brazil and Latin America are rethinking their defense strategies to place identity at the center of security..
Models and controls once considered advanced are now indispensable for preventing identity threats before they cause damage. Key preventative approaches include the Zero Trust approach, which significantly reduces the attack surface by limiting lateral movement of attackers who obtain credentials..
In addition, multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds additional layers of security to account access, virtually eliminating attacks that rely solely on stolen or compromised passwords through phishing – something reinforced by recent studies, which show that almost all compromised accounts did not use MFA.
At the same time, robust identity management policies, such as the principle of least privilege and continuous permission monitoring, drastically reduce the opportunities available to cybercriminals. Combined with advanced technologies like Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) and User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA), capable of detecting abnormal behavior in real time, these practices allow for anticipating threats and taking preventive action, preventing small flaws or initial deviations from evolving into serious attacks. Thus, organizations can act proactively against modern threats, consistently strengthening their digital defenses.
Regional risks and the urgency of proactive prevention
Adopting this preventive, identity-focused stance is not just a trend, but a strategic necessity. Both Brazil and Latin America face specific challenges: ransomware and espionage groups have targeted Brazil primarily, combining the efforts of local and international criminals in complex attacks..
Many of these attacks exploit gaps in identity security—whether it’s a misconfigured server, a password-protected VPN, or untrained users who fall prey to scams. Add to this the budgetary constraints and limited security personnel that affect many local businesses, and we have a scenario where prevention is far more effective than cure..
A serious breach can cost millions of dollars in financial damages, service disruptions, and loss of trust. On the other hand, investing in prevention brings efficiency and security gains: it reduces the occurrence of incidents (avoiding downtime), reduces the time spent on emergency responses and investigations, and protects the organization’s reputation..
In the public sector and SMEs, a preventative approach can free up resources previously spent “putting out fires” to be used for innovation and growth, while ensuring compliance with laws such as the LGPD and other data protection regulations.
Identity at the heart of strategy
Strategically, investing in identity threat prevention ensures business continuity and trust. Organizations that adopt strong authentication, Zero Trust policies, and continuous account monitoring create an environment less conducive to attack and more prepared for the future. It’s about anticipating adversaries, thwarting their preferred techniques, and thus preventing losses before they even occur..
In Brazil and Latin America, where cybercriminals are becoming increasingly creative, this preventive approach offers not only greater security but also greater operational efficiency – after all, it is much more effective to build solid defenses now than to deal with the consequences of an incident later..
Making digital identity protection a cornerstone of your security strategy isn’t just recommended; it’s what will differentiate resilient and successful organizations in the age of advanced cyberthreats.
by Felipe Guimarães, Chief Information Security Officer – CISO at Solo Iron
