New proof of country’s digital insecurity as regional administration is crippled by cyber-attack September 26, 2019 Juan Andrés Comment On 6th September, the digital infrastructure of a regional administration of Chile was seriously disrupted by a major cyber-attack. Ransomware attack on Temuco’s government headquartersArmas Chilenas The Government of the Region of Araucanía (Gobierno Regional de La Araucanía) in Temuco, Chile, suffered a ransomware attack on June 11, 2025,which affected some of the institution’s IT systems and services.
Little is known about the ransomware group behind it, but the attack specifically focused on the agency’s Microsoft tools and VMware ESXi servers. Files, in turn, were encrypted with a “. crypt” extension, a characteristic often found with variants of the Thanos ransomware, although other types might be at play. According to the report, the net was one of the systems taken over by the attackers, following which a ransom note was left behind, while they warned that data pilfered would be sold on the dark web if ransom was not received, within three days of leaving the note.
The Chilean incident is not unique to the country, which is seeing more sophisticated cyber challenges. The nation’s National Cybersecurity Agency (ANCI), which was created on January 1, 2025, under a new cybersecurity law framework, is now leading the effort to handle this breach. ANCI, together with the National Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT), is “undertaking actions to minimize impact and help with the restoration of services“, reemphasizing how “all organizations should ensure that systems that are connected to the internet are patched properly, configure the network properly, and remain vigilant”.
The regional government’s attack underscores the difficulties that governments continue to have when it comes to defending their digital property. Earlier this year in January 2025, Chile’s customs agency was involved in an incident like this one, where the same foreign hacker assaulted the Chilean Army with the Rhysida ransomware group. These developments highlight an increasing number of ransomware groups targeting public sector entities for financial gain.
Chile has been working to improve its cybersecurity defenses, and the new cybersecurity law identifies key infrastructure sectors and enforces security requirements. Still, quick as these developments were, events this week show that ongoing investment in resource, skilled people and flexible security measures will be needed to defend critical public services from disruption.
