Over the past decade, the cybersecurity conversation in Latin America has moved from “how much should we invest?” to “how do we protect critical systems and data, strengthen resilience, and respond to an increasingly sophisticated threat landscape?”

The findings of RSM’s Latin American Cybersecurity Survey 2026 reflect this shift. In the next year, 69% of organisations expect to increase their budget for cybersecurity, signalling its position as a strategic business priority.

Yet the survey also highlights how greater investment does not automatically translate into cybersecurity maturity. The difference between an organisation that increases its budget and one that strengthens its resilience lies in how investment is governed.

Who is responsible for cybersecurity strategy and spending?

One of the survey’s most revealing findings is that only 30% of organisations have a CISO, or an equivalent role, responsible for leading cybersecurity strategy — and just 16% say this role controls the budget.

Budget ownership often sits with the CTO (41%) or CEO (41%), which can create competing priorities. Technology leaders, for instance, may focus on operational continuity, while business leaders focus on commercial performance. Each perspective is valid, and there is no single leadership model that will suit every organisation, but accountability for cybersecurity investment should sit with someone who can take a business-wide view of risk.

Without that accountability, individual investments will likely address separate concerns without contributing to a broader cybersecurity strategy. Over time, this can leave organisations with a range of capabilities that do not work together in a coordinated way.

Assigning clear accountability helps ensure those capabilities are directed toward common outcomes such as reducing business risk, protecting continuity, and strengthening resilience.

How governance turns technology into resilience

Alongside clear accountability, middle-market businesses also need a governance framework for deciding which risks matter most, where investment should be directed, and how progress should be measured.

Governance connects business priorities with technical decisions, helping organisations determine which controls should be strengthened first and how cybersecurity investment supports wider objectives.  

It also creates a basis for measuring whether those investments are having the intended effect. Rather than assessing success by the number of tools deployed or projects completed, organisations can evaluate whether their cybersecurity capabilities are reducing exposure and strengthening stakeholder confidence.

In this way, governance helps turn cybersecurity investment from a collection of individual initiatives into a coordinated approach to managing business risk.

AI and cloud adoption expose governance gaps in practice

Businesses’ security stance on AI and cloud technologies illustrates how the governance gap can affect digital innovation.

For example, 40% of organisations host more than half of their IT environment in the cloud, but only 8% use Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) tools to continuously monitor configuration and security.  

While there are alternative cloud security controls, the low adoption of CSPM suggests that many businesses could lack consistent, automated visibility into increasingly complex cloud environments. That can lead to disruption and costly remediation, slowing broader cloud transformation.

Regarding AI, 28% of companies acknowledge that they have yet to implement formal AI governance practices despite rapid adoption across business processes. This creates risks around data privacy, regulatory compliance, and model accuracy, making it more difficult to move from experimentation to trusted, enterprise-wide adoption.

When building new technological capabilities, businesses should prioritise establishing the decision-making, oversight, and accountability structures required to use them securely.

What’s next for cybersecurity in Latin America

Investment and innovation are all gaining momentum, but turning spend into sustainable cybersecurity capabilities will be the next step for middle-market businesses in Latin America.  

Cybersecurity maturity isn’t bought but built through consistent decision-making, as well as measuring success by the organisation’s ability to anticipate risk and maintain operational continuity.

To address this challenge, businesses can commission a cybersecurity maturity assessment that provides actionable findings and a clear basis for prioritising next steps. From there, they can:

  1. Establish a baseline by evaluating current cybersecurity capabilities, governance, controls, and risk exposure.
  2. Prioritise the most critical gaps based on their potential impact on business continuity and compliance.
  3. Develop a sequenced action plan with clear ownership and timelines.
  4. Align spending with business risk so that investment is directed toward the areas where it can have the greatest impact.
  5. Measure progress and reassess regularly to ensure cybersecurity capabilities continue to evolve alongside the organisation’s risk profile and technology environment.

This creates a cycle of continuous improvement, helping businesses strengthen resilience while making cybersecurity spend more coordinated and strategic.

The Latin American Cybersecurity Survey 2026 shows that securing investment is no longer the challenge. Instead, assigning clear accountability and building robust governance practices will determine an organisation’s ability to manage cyber risk and strengthen resilience.  

Businesses that align leadership, budget, strategy, and risk management will be better placed to adopt new technologies with confidence, enabling innovation and turning cybersecurity into a source of competitive advantage. 

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