Expanding AI Defense for Latin American SMEs

Q: How would you describe Brier & Thorn's position in the Latin American cybersecurity market?
A: Brier & Thorn is strategically positioned to serve Latin America’s underserved middle market. While traditional offerings predominantly target large enterprises, we disrupt this by democratizing access to critical services for SMEs, while we also cater to medium and large companies. Our market analysis indicates a significant unmet need among SMEs, which are equally susceptible to cyberthreats once connected to the internet. This approach allows us to address a large segment that has been historically overlooked by providers, which often concentrate solely on the enterprise-level cybersecurity culture.

Q: What differentiates Brier & Thorn from other Managed Detection and Response (MDR) providers in Mexico and the region?
A: Our core differentiation lies in our comprehensive, 360° holistic approach to cybersecurity. We operate as a full-spectrum service provider, extending beyond typical defensive strategies to encompass offensive capabilities and compliance. This allows us to deliver tailored solutions, from comprehensive audits to Security Operations Centers (SOCs), ensuring we can function as a true extension of our clients' teams and addressing their specific needs.

Q: How are you collaborating with other players in the sector to serve the Mexican SME market?
A: Commercial alliances are fundamental in our strategy for expanding cybersecurity awareness and ensuring access to vital threat intelligence, particularly for the Mexican SME market. For example, our collaboration with Fortinet allows us to leverage its extensive Latin American footprint and large cybersecurity intelligence database. Partnerships of this kind enable us to contextualize macro-level cybersecurity challenges faced by large enterprises, translating them into actionable intelligence and guidance for SMEs and medium-sized businesses.

Q: How has the evolution of digital threats influenced Brier & Thorn's value proposition and market positioning?
A: The evolution of digital threats, particularly since 2020, has fundamentally shaped our value proposition. The widespread adoption of remote work dissolved traditional network perimeters, shifting our architectural focus exponentially toward endpoint protection. Simultaneously, the rapid advancements in AI have transformed both offensive and defensive landscapes. We proactively leverage AI, including Large Language Models (LLMs), recognizing that combating automated attacks manually is unsustainable. 

Q: Which of your managed solutions and services are in highest demand from Mexican companies, and what challenges are they helping businesses to overcome?
A: Our most demanded service in Mexico is digital risk monitoring to track companies’ external digital footprints. This addresses the post-pandemic reality of non-existent traditional perimeters, where companies require visibility into their external digital exposure and associated risk levels. We achieve this by scanning the Deep and Dark Web, alongside the surface internet, to identify exposures like compromised employee credentials or exfiltrated information, facilitating actionable mitigation plans such as password resets. 

Executive shielding, which protects high-profile individuals from attacks exploiting their public exposure, is also in demand. This reflects the growing intersection of digital and physical security risks in the region.

Q: What are the main objectives behind Brier & Thorn’s recent campaign to address digital footprints and executive shielding?
A: Our "Cybersecure Summer” campaign is designed to elevate market awareness and provide accessible packages for SMEs and enterprises, allowing them to identify their digital footprint and risk levels. The campaign also expands our offerings to include more in-depth executive shielding and supply chain risk monitoring, enabling organizations to digitally monitor vendors and extend protection beyond their immediate networks.

Q: How does your Security Operations Center integrate with existing enterprise technology infrastructure?
A: Our SOC integrates with existing enterprise technology infrastructure, operating as a product-agnostic extension of our clients' teams. The initial thirty days of engagement are critical for comprehensively understanding the client's environment, encompassing not just their systems but also their business operations and most valuable assets. For example, we differentiate alert criticality based on the sensitivity of the targeted asset, ensuring that responses are precise and effective. Our highly conversational client engagement model facilitates this granular understanding, avoiding generic questionnaires in favor of interactive sessions.

Q: How does Brier & Thorn internally guarantee the security and integrity of client data?
A: We guarantee security by adhering to rigorous security postures. We are ISO 27001 certified and maintain Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance, including completing the Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ D). This year, we are also pursuing SOC 2 attestation. Our commitment extends beyond internal protocols; we actively engage third-party auditors and conduct continuous penetration tests to ensure our controls remain robust. 

Q: How is and how will the adoption of AI impact the efficiency of managed security services?
A: AI is democratizing attack capabilities and exponentially increasing the automation of threats. What once required extensive technical expertise is now accessible to a wider array of malicious actors through AI agents. This necessitates an "AI-versus-AI" defense strategy, as human-only defenders cannot process information at the requisite speeds to counter AI-powered attacks. Therefore, the efficiency of managed security services will hinge on the adoption of tools that effectively integrate AI for mature pattern recognition and threat intelligence.

Q: Beyond AI, what other factors will shape the cyberthreat landscape in Latin America in 2026?
A: Geopolitical volatility will significantly shape Latin America's cyberthreat landscape in 2026. We have already observed this with incidents like the massive data exposure in El Salvador, which was directly linked to geopolitical tensions and aimed at disrupting political regimes rather than financial gain. We anticipate a surge in such geopolitically motivated attacks due to escalating global tensions, suggesting greater vulnerability for industrial control systems and energy infrastructure, as seen in recent incidents targeting critical infrastructure to disrupt cities or states.

Q: What role do regulators play in enhancing the cybersecurity landscape?
A: Regulators consistently lag behind the evolving threat landscape. While there has been progress in adapting to the changing environment, significant gaps remain. Mexico, for example, still lacks a comprehensive cybersecurity law despite ongoing proposals and discussions dating back to the Peña Nieto administration. In this context, it is imperative that businesses recognize that compliance merely codifies the consequences of inaction. True protection requires preemptive and proactive adoption of robust cybersecurity strategies, as the risks are immediate and pervasive, irrespective of regulatory timelines.

Q: What would be the best strategy for developing and implementing an efficient cybersecurity law in Mexico?
A: The most efficient approach to the development and implementation of a cybersecurity law in Mexico requires direct, significant involvement from qualified technical professionals and industry experts. Past legislative iterations have often lacked this technical grounding, leading to proposals that are misaligned with practical necessities. Organizations like México Ciberseguro, a cybersecurity council comprising multiple companies, offer invaluable real-world experience and expertise. Furthermore, given the intersection of cybersecurity laws with freedom of expression, precise definitions and carefully considered enforcement mechanisms are essential to prevent overreach or misuse, particularly when defining national risk.

Q: How would you describe the capabilities of Mexican cybersecurity talent, and how will it influence Brier & Thorn's regional growth strategy?
A: Mexican talent is the cornerstone of the national cybersecurity landscape and will significantly influence our regional growth strategy. Mexico has a wealth of highly skilled university graduates and professionals, who undergo continuous training. Our strategy focuses on cultivating this talent, not only by recruiting cybersecurity analysts but also by fostering the development of new strategies in software development and AI.

Q: What are Brier & Thorn's main expansion and development objectives for late 2025 and early 2026 within the Mexican and regional markets?
A: We will continue to develop AI-powered response strategies and collaborate with technology providers to combat evolving threats, adhering to the principle of "fighting fire with fire." We recently partnered with Digicel Business, initiating our entry into the El Salvador market. We further plan to expand into other Caribbean and Latin American markets. A core passion driving this expansion is democratizing access to cybersecurity, recognizing it as a business imperative for any organization with an internet presence. 

A significant challenge in this expansion is cultural, as the understanding of digitalization and cybersecurity is less ingrained in Latin America. To address this, we are undertaking initiatives like "Verano Ciberseguro" (Cybersecure Summer) and collaborating with partners to provide accessible information through various channels, demystifying complex cybersecurity terminology.