Tech Roundup: A new (old) tool against cybercrime

Photo: Teacher Photo/Shutterstock

Welcome to our Tech Roundup, where we bring you the biggest stories in technology and innovation in Brazil and Latin America. This week: Brazilians are using old tools to protect themselves from cybercrime.

More Brazilians seeking notaries to provide evidence against cybercrime

The number of notarial acts is breaking records and becoming an important source of revenue for notary offices in Brazil. In 2023, there were 121,671, an increase of 12 percent from the previous year.

Although it is not possible to examine all of these acts by subject, notaries say the growth is due to more Brazilians seeking to record incidents related to cybercrimes.

State of play. Registering a situation with the notary can be the first step in a cybercrime investigation. “Notaries are impartial agents who describe and record everything they see,” explains Eduardo Calais, vice president of the Federal Council of Notaries.

Cloned social media profiles and websites, offensive comments on the internet, fake news, and scams on instant messaging applications are some of the most common situations described in notarial acts, says Mr. Calais. In them, notaries detail information such as the...

Fabiane Ziolla Menezes

Former editor-in-chief of LABS (Latin America Business Stories), Fabiane has more than 15 years of experience reporting on business, finance, innovation, and cities in Brazil. The latter recently took her back to the classroom and made her a Master in Urban Management from PUCPR. At TBR, she keeps an eye on economic policy, game-changing businesses, and people driving innovation in Latin America.