#924 – The Expat Files: Cybersecurity, Hacking, and Cultural Nuances in Latin America

Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.

[00:00] South of the border down Mexico way That's where I fell in love when the stars above came out to play and now I wonder Hello there all you ex-pat wannabes. I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to the expat files living in Latin America The show that tells you just what it's like to live work play and or retire down here in Latin America It's a mix of the good the bad the ugly and the great and it's all right here. So let's get started All right Let's talk a little bit about internet privacy safety and cell phone and smartphone security here in Latin America You think you've got problems up north with people in corporations like Google and fake book stealing your data The way they collect your debts overtly and clandestinely then sell them off to the highest bidder

[00:50] Even the government fact anyone and then you've got that ever-present fear of hackers Especially if you're doing banking online or crypto or personal or business stuff and really who doesn't do banking online So let's start the discussion with hackers Now when that term comes to mind who do you think of in other words? Who are the best hackers? Well, when you think hackers you certainly don't think of Italian hackers or Portuguese or French hackers or even Belgian Dutch or British hackers First thing you think when someone or some corporation gets hacked or you read about it is Chinese North Korean or Russian hackers Now when you think about it, it's kind of funny It seems all the best hackers or at least most prolific hackers in the world come from communist or formerly communist countries

[01:36] And I suppose that Cuba and Venezuela would be way up there on top too But they don't have the dough or the hardware certainly not like the Chinese who make the hardware and then give it sell it or trade It to the North Koreans. We know that happens There's proof and those Russian hackers Well, they can get any kind of hardware too because in Russia, you know It seems half for the products and consumables they use fell off a truck. Hey, I know I've been there man I'll tell you four generations of communism really did a number on Russia and all its satellites If you happen to know any Russians Bulgarians Latvians or people from whatever Eastern European country They'll tell you in order to survive They had to do things illegally deal with the black market and well just lie constantly in order to survive

[02:21] It's a culture that's used to breaking laws and rules. In fact, they're comfortable doing it I know I know you listeners out there also know that most Americans commit three felonies a day Just pick up the book three felonies a day and you'll see the difference is however Americans don't know they're committing those crimes It's just that our pus-sprained politicians just keep creating law after law after law And now there are tens of thousands of laws you can break on the books No American really knows which ones he's breaking but back to Russia and those Eastern European countries they've got black markets or I should say pirate markets in every neighborhood and the people there are used to it it goes way back to The commie days and that too is part of the reason why for some young Russians at least

[03:08] Hacking is sort of a job a career. Why not? It's a stay-home job that could make you tons of money So for example in the case of Russian hackers They just sit in their apartments and type away and conjure up ways to scam big players out of dough all of them It seems at least the ones not working for government are looking for a big score. They like to hit banks Corporations even governments, but not their own that could be hazardous to your health and as for me You know I can't help but feel a little guilty pleasure when I read about some Russian hacker that scam some thieving international bank like USBC Citibank Deutsche Bank now you might think I'm deranged but whatever big bank it happens to be I never really feel bad about it because to me it's like a thief stealing from a thief

[03:53] Oh and you can bet when you hear on the news that a bank's been hit and a certain amount of euros or dollars have been Stolen, they're not reporting the actual amounts that would be undermining that false rock of Gibraltar Security they're trying to project Though more and more smart consumers are taking their dough out of banks and buying things that have real worth like gold crypto and foreign real estate So anyway, you've got tens of thousands of crack Russian specialist hackers making a living stealing money from vulnerable institutions and individuals on the net though some hackers of course just like to wreak havoc and up to now They've been targeting mostly first-world people businesses and banks. However, some hackers have found a brand new niche They've discovered the lag time effect in Latin America as it pertains to cyber security

[04:42] So let's talk a little bit about hackers and who they're going after here in Latin America Then of course the next question is should gringos and expats be worried after all no matter where you are along on that plan Be eventually you'll open up a bank account or two in your chosen Latin American country You might even put some money in a CD or two That's something lots of gringos and expats end up doing they find they can get really high rates of return on US dollar CDs well over what they're paying in the States In fact, they just checked some rates today Some are paying four and five percent with US dollar CDs and double that even more if you take out a CD in A local funny money now, it's true You can find in almost every Latin country a nice solid bank or two that have been around 50 even 75 years

[05:28] And to me that's one of the best ways to qualify a bank in Latin America find out how long they've been around and why is That's so important because if you look at historical data You'll see that every single Latin American country has had some kind of financial economic or socio political blowout in the last 10 to 20 years and some countries like Argentina have predictable financial meltdowns regularly and that's When weak banks and financial institutions crash and burn and some countries like Ecuador and El Salvador End up ditching their own currency and using the US dollar because their own country imploded completely Not that the US dollar is gonna save anyone or anything in the long run, but in the short term It's been stable and it's the reserve currency of the world So a few countries in a panic move of crisis decided to tolerise. So what's all that got to do with hackers and hacking?

[06:18] Well hackers always prefer to target individuals banks and businesses that work with US dollars and euros In other words hackers aren't out to steal boulevards and pesos Which is why they pick banks that deal in euros and dollars and of course You'll want a dollar account in your Latin American bank or banks. So there is a risk your bank could be targeted by hackers Anyway, as mentioned one of the best ways I think to pick a bank is pick one that's been around for at least 30 to 50 years Because that means it's weathered some of the worst economic and financial storms a country can ever have Yet it didn't implode. It didn't go bankrupt. It's still around now I'm not saying there aren't some good banks that have only been around five or ten or fifteen years the bank might be fine But there's no history to go by so then suppose you're well into your plan B and you selected a bank

[07:08] You've got an account there you're looking to get a dollar CD because it's paying four or five percent interest and Nine or ten percent with a local funny money CD as far as I'm concerned even if the banks 50 years old I'd never invest in a CD whose maturity was a year or more out one or three months out maybe But no more than that the financial world is way too volatile and unpredictable a ticking time bomb But you knew that already So then what about hackers who are just now focusing on Latin America because they realize there's this thing called lag time And down here in Latin America The security systems for banks and governments are something like five to ten years behind the first world And you know what that means for a hacker even one that's not so nimble

[07:54] He could get in easily because the security systems are antiquated Pull a good scam and do some damage which brings us to this very interesting article. I just came across It's new and it's entitled Ecuador's cyber security is among the world's worst. So why doesn't anyone want to fix it? Hey, no one could make this stuff up. That's the actual title. Once again, Ecuador's cyber security is among the world's worst So why doesn't anyone want to fix it now? I'm gonna read parts of this to you in combat. Of course Can't help myself, you know Anyway, it's an eye-opener. So pay attention. It starts off by saying give Adam a div Hard to pronounce that two minutes and he can steal your cell phone number and call you from it

[08:40] Give Vadim five minutes and he can shut down the accounts of thousands of Cuenca Ecuador Internet and the utility customers and erased any evidence that they ever existed with a little more time Vadim can grant you permanent residency or a driver's license Where none existed before or eliminate the ones you already have that were issued by the Ecuadorian government Then it says he can also access any local bank account other than his own or the flight control system at the Quito International Airport then it explains that hacks like these are easy for the Russian trained cybersecurity and cryptography expert What's harder is convincing those responsible for protecting Ecuador's government and corporate online systems of the alarming?

[09:28] Vulnerabilities they have all right, then the Russian hacker says I'm trying to spread the warning I want people to understand the dangers they are in and care enough to fix them here Even for amateur hackers. He says Ecuador's cybersecurity is almost Non-existent. He says Ecuador's computer systems are open doors His claim is backed up by the global cybersecurity index which ranks Ecuador only behind Venezuela and Bolivia in the bottom 20 countries for the worst internet security in the world. Oh and how about this turns out this Russian guy has been demonstrating the ease of hacking Ecuadorian government and Corporate and personal data since he and his family moved to Cuenca Ecuador from Russia in 2017

[10:15] He says he has met with officials from Ecuador's Attorney General's office and the Interior Ministry, too He's conducted demonstrations for internet service providers banks and public utility offices, too He's even met with agents of the FBI and CIA But he says they seem uninterested and don't seem to care much unless it happens to you It's not an issue Then he says he's alerted various systems managers of ongoing Russian hacks of government databases and Ecuador bank databases, too He says these are happening right now and the people in charge are either unaware of them or covering them up So others don't find out about it Then it says on several occasions the Russian hackers warnings have proved prophetic Two weeks after he told Ecuador Attorney General office officials that email and social media accounts of top government officials

[11:05] Were very easy to hack suddenly embarrassing personal cell phone photos of President Lenna Moreno were reposted on several internet sites Then just a month later He warned the same officials that personal information of all residents in the country was unprotected Then right after that the data of 17 million Ecuadorians was exposed to the world through an unsecured Server in my jammy then days later another mass breach of data occurred when a German server was hacked Containing the files and personal data of millions more Ecuadorians Of course, he said the government blamed it on a big criminal conspiracy. They blamed it on former president Rafael Correa Instead of taking personal responsibility for having terrible security

[11:51] They decided to blame it on others then he says if there was anything criminal about the breaches It was the government's criminal Irresponsibility for not protecting its own data So then what about this Russian hacker guy who's been living in Ecuador for the past three years to me? There's something even more crazy about the story Think of it a Russian guy and his family come to a foreign country where they don't speak the language They're only in the country three years and already disguised figured out dozens of cybersecurity back doors and weak links All right. Now, here's some background on this Russian guy It says he's more than willing to offer his expertise as the public service He makes it clear though that he's available for higher on Consultation basis only and he's not shy about touting his cryptography skills and online

[12:41] security creds For example, he says I have world-class cyber skills and I'm willing to work on certain projects because I need to work I need a job. In fact in the last year or so He's worked on cybersecurity projects for an Ecuadorian bank and a Cuenca Ecuador utility company So then the obvious question to ask is how'd this guy learn all that stuff? He says he was a member of the Russian red team an elite group working for the Russian government responsible for managing and protecting the country's cyber systems So then what prompted this guy to leave his job leave Russia and head to Ecuador He says his bosses in Russia were increasing their demands to interfere on the online networks and accounts of foreign governments Organizations and private individuals. In other words, he didn't like spying on people or stealing their debt

[13:30] Even though it was his official or unofficial job though He says almost all countries do it, but Russia has one of the most extensive operations for infiltrating and manipulating foreign systems. He says Not only that he admits subverting elections is just one of the things they do This was not the kind of work. I wanted to be involved in so I decided to leave he says and After leaving he regularly receives threats from anonymous sources most certainly from Russia In fact, he says just recently he received an email with an attached photo of a real severed human head But back to what he's doing in Ecuador He says basically what he's been saying is landing on deaf ears in almost all cases in which he's conducted on-site

[14:16] demonstrations in Ecuador Those in charge at first appeared to be genuinely alarmed about the vulnerabilities and wanted to make the fixes But soon they even lost interest or became more worried that citizens and customers would find out about their crappy security then typically they'd go into damage control mode and forget about fixing the problem and Instead just start covering things up Then it goes on to say according to his wife Eugenia who assists him in his contracts and meetings She says the experience with Ecuador's Attorney General's office is a case in point demonstrating the often baffling official reaction to the problem Then she says at the Cuenca government accounting office I was in contact with a manager who was very interested in knowing about the threats

[15:04] But later he stopped answering our emails and phone calls and refused to see us I don't know what happened She says but he probably had orders from someone above his level and was told to drop it or cut us off Then the Russian said it's not just the Ecuadorian government that seems reluctant to face their cyber security Vulnerabilities and threats turns out shortly after he moved to Cuenca. He noticed how easy it was to hack the internet provider Puntonet It was the worst security I'd ever seen he says they used the same modem login for all their accounts and systems and don't allow Account holders to have their own I showed them how to easily fix it and how easy it is to hack into their system Then he assumed the company would fix the problem, but they didn't instead the Russian says he received a letter from the top

[15:50] Puntonet official saying that there was in fact no problem with their security and that all its customers were fully protected It seems he says like they decided that I was the problem not their lack of basic password security But he said it gets worse Then he received another letter from Puntonet this one threatening legal action if he did not remove a report Stating what he found about the provider's vulnerability that he posted on his Facebook page He says obviously they don't want their customers to know they have absolutely no security and obviously they were embarrassed by what I showed them And didn't want anyone else to know To top it off He says when he met with an officer of one of Ecuador's largest banks a Puntonet

[16:36] Internet provider customer and showed him how easy it was to hack into their bank accounts The officer said he didn't have time right now to talk about it because he was about to leave on vacation But he promised to contact me when he returned he never did then he says then you gotta love this part while officials and managers of Ecuadorian government and businesses are Reluctant to enlist my help the bad guys beat a path to my door. He says they know me by reputation They find me on the darknet and want me to help hack bank accounts and government databases I can make a ton of money he says if I wanted to wear a black hat So in the end among those who sought the Russian services was a man named Paul Selegia a US fugitive who according to authorities

[17:22] Attempted to defraud mark second turd out of 50% ownership of fake book By the way, if you're interested, you can do a search and look that up easily on the internet he says the fugitive Paul Siglia introduced himself to the Russian as Silas Quinn and Wanted his help hacking into Cuenca's security camera system and setting up an arms trading operation on the darknet He says I got suspicious when this guy told me he wanted to sell guns to foreign organizations on the net I was wondering what the hell's going on and who is this guy now? Here's something right out of James Bond. The Russians says he then lifted Sigilia's fingerprint from a water glass and checked the databases They discovered his real identity and the fact that he was on the Interpol list of US fugitives

[18:09] In fact, it says as a result of his and his wife Eugenia's efforts Sigilia was arrested after a few months of foot dragging by the Ecuadorian and US authorities Then he says to give you an idea how chaotic and confuse the US authorities are when I talked to the US Embassy The FBI and the CIA they were more interested in who I was than the fact that I had information about one of their top Ten fugitives the Russians wife who's also Russian says I kept wondering myself why they didn't want to catch this bad guy Then he says to give you an idea how twisted diplomacy can be He says Moreno who at the time was president was angered that the US would not swap this guy for two Ecuadorian fugitives living in my jammy in any case

[18:55] The Russian says the Ecuadorian interior ministry cares more about saving face than protecting the interests of the country Now as far as the ease of breaking into Latin American country businesses banks governments and databases He can't say whether his personal case is the case of shooting the messenger or simply thinking that if you ignore it It'll go away, but he does tongue-lash these guys He says quote those responsible for Ecuador's networks are so unsophisticated and backwards. They don't even understand the dangers What's worse he says it's so hard for me to understand why they're not willing to use experts to fix the problem All right, me Johnny here. I can't hold my tongue any longer. I'll tell you why they don't want to fix it There's not a single extra time allotted for upkeep and maintenance because that's what it is maintenance

[19:44] Every single Latino government is broke and bankrupt I can tell you from experience and with people that I know Government checks are often late and sometimes they even bounce Of course, we all know too that the US government is broke and bankrupt But the checks at least up to now don't bounce the irony is however that if there was a bankruptcy scale The US would have crushed it a long time ago Whereas most all Latin American countries though bankrupt aren't even in the bankruptcy ballpark compared to the US yet Somehow the system chugs along go not for long, which is why so many forward thinkers are getting their plan B underway But as far as this Russian hacker guy He says in the end he believes that he has become a personal threat to Ecuadorian interests and the government

[20:30] Not because of his hacking skills, but because of his knowledge of the system vulnerabilities and his ability to easily embarrass Ecuador's top officials who seem more interested in keeping the information away from the public than finding solutions They don't look at it like a fiscal problem. He says they look at it like a public relations problem All right me Johnny here again. I have to say it once again reinforces the fact that here in Latin America It's all about the show. Why do you think so many unimportant uninteresting people have bodyguards and cars? They cannot afford because here in Latin America You are what you drive or what you have or where and it's the same in every socioeconomic level Why do you think these Latino guys with the crappiest junk mobiles on the road often have beautiful sexy wives and girlfriends in fact?

[21:19] Multiple beautiful sexy wives and girlfriends Well, that's because no Latina wants to ride the chicken bus and a guy with a motorcycle or a car even with torn ratty Upholstery and burnt-out headlights is seen as a knight in shining armor Funny how the truth can be so on PC, huh? Oh and speaking of lag time, you know here in Latin America Often I'll get into a discussion with a Latino who's been watching the US news coming from cable TV often translated They'll ask me questions that never would have come up years ago things about our society that seem Outrageous to them things. They just don't understand and sometimes I have the same canned answer and they don't understand that either I'll say the US is circling around the toilet bowl right now and that's one of the reasons I don't live there anymore

[22:07] It's a pretty general answer, but it fits so many confusing questions that are positive to me For example, just the other day I was helping a gringo out who was looking for a used car He doesn't speak Spanish and I know a bit about cars. I've taken a few part my day plus I'm an engineer, right? So anyway, we're looking at this car talking to the college kid that's selling it Nino Rico You know what that means child of the rich or more precisely entitled child to the rich I mean really why would a 19 year old Latino boy be selling a 2016 Honda fit in Excellent condition, of course, he's looking to trade on up typical Nino Rico the guys never had a job in his life and of course my me a daddy bought it for him But it's no longer sexy enough and he's graduating pretty soon. So he has to have a nicer more upscale ride

[22:55] I asked him what he was gonna get he said a mini Cooper Of course, I felt like slapping him, but that wouldn't help then again You can't go to jail for what you're thinking at least not yet during the small talk when we were looking the car over He said can I ask you something? You guys are Americans I just saw something on the news that said you're not allowed to say the word Retarded now, of course all this went down in Spanish and in Spanish. The word is retro sado Retro sado now, believe me in the Spanish language are all kinds of words for being stupid Retarded backward mentally deficient slow to pick up on things, etc Etc, and they use all those words freely and interchangeably Especially when they're referring to politicians one of their favorite put down words being idiota idiot idiota

[23:40] And then there's the classic Tonto, you know, like the Lone Ranger and Tonto Well, that means stupid in Spanish, but you probably knew that already Tonto no gringos and expats who don't know their Spanish all that well will often say Tonto There's Tonto with an O and Tonta with an a two completely different words with an O It means stupid with an a it means a lot for example Tantas politicos means many politicians Tontos politicos means stupid politicians Tantos don't us politicos means many stupid politicians got that well, even if you don't I said to the kid asking about the word retarded Listen, it's just too complicated spelling out what's happening in the US right now That's just one example and suffice it to say the US is in the process of gagging free speech amongst other things as it makes

[24:31] The final few spins around the toilet bowl and with that remark I had his attention then I said for some of us older gringos and expats who grew up in a completely different America It's just not a place we choose to live in anymore. Then I said to him Why do you think there are so many intelligent educated gringos and expats? Moving down to your country permanently Meanwhile for you guys your greatest dream is to get your green card and go up north Why do you think that is and when you say that you find it's a conversation killer Then come the glazed eyeballs in the I gotta get back to my Instagram look So anyway as for lag time with the Spanish language and words You're not supposed to use because it'll hurt the sensibilities of certain people

[25:16] Well, there's always been words vulgar words that you're not supposed to use in mixed company or around your mom and the ladies And older adults, but I can tell you for a fact There aren't no lists in Spanish of newly prohibited words that just might hurt the sensibilities of Latino snowflakes In fact, there are no Latino snowflakes. The word snowflake down here does not have a dual meaning But then again, we're talking about lag time That means in a couple of years some or even most of that stuff will rear its ridiculous head down here, too But certain Latinos who watch cable TV news coming from the states They have just recently started hearing about snowflakes that aren't made out of ice Naturally, they're confused by that and who do you think they're gonna lean on for an explanation?

[26:03] Well, probably the next gringo or expat they run into at a party disco or in line at the bank The question is if it's you how are you gonna answer that? How much detail do you want to go into a short? Answer is just gonna leave more confused So bottom line all you guys gals out there working on your plan B If you expect to live in Latin America at least part-time Take my word for it when you run into a younger Latino a college kid Especially when you're off the gringo tourist trail if he's got to have a brain or an inquisitive mind You just might be hit with some oddball questions that came out of that kids listening or watching Us cable TV a lot of times will be about stuff we take for granted Even if we think it's totally ridiculous We have the history in the background of what led up to it and Latinos don't

[26:51] Just imagine for a second going back in time and trying to explain to a teenager back Let's say in the 1970s the 2020 definition of a snowflake in 25 words or less Good luck with that. He'll never believe it. All right. I can see by my Mickey Mouse watch. Yeah, right We're getting towards the end of the show So before we go, I want to remind you once again that I've completely updated for 2020 beyond my Latin American health care report Health care is what every expat want to be should be thinking about. That's why I put together this report and why you really need it Just go to www dot the expat files calm and click on the Latin American health care report You've been listening to the expat files living in Latin America If you need some help with your own plan B

[27:38] We can schedule a one-on-one phone or Skype consult Just send me an email the expat files at gmail.com And if you want to get on the waiting list for my next week-long expat Insiders seminar in Central America where you're guaranteed to get a two to five year head start on your plan B Send me an email the expat files at gmail.com