Colombia’s modest growth in its knowledge economy and recent efforts to bolster innovation, particularly in IP-intensive sectors such as chemicals and electronics, make it a potential target for economic cyber-espionage. However, the country’s limited investments in R&D, challenges in human-capital development and slow adoption of digital technologies across government and industry sectors make it a less likely target, placing it at a modest risk for such attacks.

To bolster its knowledge economy, the Colombian Government has recently taken several steps: the establishment of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation in 2020 and the introduction of the National Policy on Science, Technology and Innovation 2022–2031, through which the government aims to invest 1% of GDP in R&D, primarily in the bioeconomy. However, those efforts are undermined by endemic challenges for Colombia in meeting human-capital needs, uncompetitive knowledge industries and limited investments in research funding. In 2021, Colombia invested approximately 3.3 billion Colombian pesos in R&D, which amounted to 0.28% of GDP, of which the private sector contributed 1.9 billion pesos. That’s below the Latin American regional average of 0.35%.

Colombia’s international partnerships, particularly with the US, the EU and China, enhance its economic profile but also expose it to modest risks of cyber-enabled IP theft due to the potential targeting of sensitive trade and technological information. The involvement of foreign entities, especially in key sectors such as telecommunications and infrastructure, increases its vulnerability. Colombia maintains close relations with the US, which is its largest trading partner and source of foreign investment. Meanwhile, Colombia’s ties with China have also expanded; it’s now Colombia’s second-largest export partner and largest source of imports. Chinese investments in telecommunications, infrastructure and technology have increased, more than 100 Chinese companies are operating in Colombia, and numerous tenders for major infrastructure projects have been won by Chinese firms. Scientific cooperation with foreign universities and institutes—including those in the US, the EU and China—has largely concentrated on research in vital innovative sectors, including biotechnology, renewable energy, agriculture and creative industries.