Latest battleground for Brazil opponents: cyberwarfare

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Feb 26, 2014

[WORLD CUP 2014 COUNTDOWN] Those opposed to FIFA and Brazilian organizers of the 2014 World Cup are taking their battle to a new level: cyberspace. Hackers are threatening to launch cyberwarfare, jamming web sites and stealing data, all possible in a country very vulnerable technologically to hackers.

At risk: FIFA, its corporate sponsors and Brazilian national and state governments.

Cyber warfare is nothing new in Brazil. Hackers took down the websites of Brazilian banks such as Banco do Brasil, Itau Unibanco and Bradesco in 2012.

"It's not a question of whether the Cup will be targeted, but when," William Beer, a cybersecurity expert with the firm Alvarez & Marsal, told Reuters. "So resilience and response become extremely important."

Brazil's army is prepared to respond.

"It would be reckless for any nation to say it's 100 percent prepared for a threat," said General Jose Carlos dos Santos, the head of the cyber command for Brazil's army. "But Brazil is prepared to respond to the most likely cyber threats."