Portugal and Brazil report sharp rise in ransomware and operational cyber attacks

In May 2026, Portugal recorded 2,407 cyber‑attack attempts per week, well above the global average of 2,055. Ransomware incidents surged 48 % year‑on‑year, reaching 698 attacks – the highest annual growth recorded this year. Service‑sector firms were most affected, followed by retail and industry. North America accounted for almost half of ransomware activity, with the United States identified in 43 % of publicly known cases. The groups Qilin (14 % of attacks), The Gentlemen (10 %) and DragonForce together were responsible for about 39 % of reported ransomware incidents. Check Point Research also warned that uncontrolled use of generative AI tools is creating new exposure, with one in 25 corporate prompts posing a high risk of leaking sensitive data.

Brazil, meanwhile, saw an average of 3,348 weekly attack attempts per organization in 2025, exceeding the global level. Experts emphasized that attackers now target system availability, aiming to halt operations such as customer service, logistics, payments and internal communications. A recent hack on BTG Pactual’s Pix platform caused a temporary suspension and an estimated R$ 100 million impact despite no data breach. Specialists highlighted the need for rapid detection, isolation and maintenance of essential services, recommending continuous monitoring, network segmentation, redundant connectivity, multi‑factor authentication and integrated SD‑WAN security to reduce downtime.