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Argentina
Argentina’s knowledge sector, particularly in IT and agriculture, is thriving and holds the potential for rapid growth. However, structural issues are affecting Argentina’s capacity to defend the economy from cyber-enabled IP theft.
Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires (40689219792) - 2018 CC 2.0 Deensel
Key Facts
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R&D Investments
Patent Applications
Cybersecurity Agency
Argentina’s knowledge economy has ample growth opportunities but is undermined by longstanding and structural macro-economic turmoil. The government has laid out a comprehensive framework—including ‘Argentina Digital 2030’ and ‘Argentina Productiva 2030’—to support the growth of the knowledge economy. To support the growth of the knowledge economy, the Ministry for the Economy established the Knowledge Economy Secretariat in 2022. Indeed, the country has demonstrated some clear developments in innovation.
In 2019, IP-intensive industries contributed 41.9% to Argentina’s GDP, most of which had been in the manufacturing, retail and services sectors. Of those, patent-intensive industries contributed 13.5% to GDP; the most patent-intensive industries are R&D, electronics manufacturing and agricultural manufacturing.
Despite those developments, Argentina’s knowledge economy faces serious structural challenges as a result of macro-economic turmoil. Inflation, currency disparities, high employee turnover, restrictions of key imports and legal uncertainties undermine the growth of its knowledge economy. That has led to the flight of human capital and talent and the under-resourcing of research institutes and is discouraging potential foreign investments. As noted by the president of Argencon (the Argentinean trade association), ‘in the knowledge economy we are far from being a good student.’
Argentina's international scientific and economic cooperation further increases the risk of cyber-enabled IP theft. Pragmatic and driven by development, Argentina’s international cooperation is informed by a need to attract foreign investment and technological expertise. While beneficial for growth, this openness to international partnerships also naturally exposes Argentina to cyber threats as valuable intellectual property and sensitive economic data become targets for espionage by state actors seeking to gain competitive advantages. Argentina pursues a foreign policy of equidistance from all major powers.
The country’s economic challenges have resulted in more pragmatism, including the use of economic and scientific cooperation from all sources to bolster its nascent knowledge economy. The Argentinean government has attempted to direct investments in manufacturing, energy, ICT, and agriculture.
Cyber-enabled IP theft isn’t recognised as a distinct threat in Argentina’s cybersecurity outlook. Nonetheless, the practice is forbidden and criminalised, including under section 159 of the Penal Code (criminalisation of trade secret theft) and under Law 26,388 (2008) on computer crimes. Cyber-enabled crimes have become a major concern for the government, as many individuals and organisations are falling victim to them. In 2019, Argentina introduced the Federal Plan for the Prevention of Technological Crimes. Additionally, the Ministry of Security established specialised agencies such as the Cybercrime Investigations Directorate and the High-Tech Cybercrime Investigations Centre and procured support from multinational private cybersecurity firms.
In 2023, the Federal Agency of Cybersecurity was also established under the State Intelligence Service, with functions that overlap with other agencies above. Government departments with responsibilities over cybersecurity regularly engage with IP-intensive sectors, such as those active in biotechnology, manufacturing and energy. However, there’s a lack of industry-specific cybersecurity legislation and a lack of industry-specific CERTs.
The effective enforcement and implementation of cybersecurity legislation have been a challenge. Consecutive federal administrations failed to follow a consistent course on cybersecurity. For instance, President Macri placed the Ministry of Modernization in charge of cybersecurity policy, whereas most recently Presidents Fernandez and Milei placed this responsibility under the Cabinet of Ministers. These shifts in mandates have been further exacerbated by a siloed approach to cybersecurity governance within government, a sharp political divide and insufficient and inadequate infrastructure in the public sector. That prevents Argentina from being able to analyse and potentially attribute malicious cyber campaigns.
Long-term economic instability in the country has contributed to social acceptance of counterfeit goods, piracy and theft which has caused a weak culture of IP protection. That has led to Argentina being included on the US Trade Representative’s Priority Watch List.
Argentina’s limited capacity is reflected in its diplomatic posture. Argentina is participating in several bilateral, regional and multilateral cyber dialogues, including the UN open-ended working group on security of, and in the use of, ICTs, Organization of American States (OAS) forums on cyber, and the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism. However, its engagement lacks a comprehensive or integrated cyberdiplomacy strategy, which makes stances on specific negotiation items susceptible to external influences. For instance, despite endorsing the UN framework of responsible state behaviour, Argentina has expressed objections to the due diligence obligation, likely because of its presumed lack of detection and response capabilities.
Reported cases of economic cyber-espionage
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