Venezuela Market Entry: An Unwelcome Digital Inheritance?
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marzo 18, 2026
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As U.S. and European companies consider opportunities to return to the Venezuelan energy sector, among other sectors now potentially in play in the country, they would do well to remember that returning to a neglected, underinvested, and hostile market like Venezuela’s is not without security threats on multiple fronts.
Chief among these are cyber threats, particularly in light of the U.S. operation that disrupted Venezuela’s power grid, which highlighted its vulnerability. Entry into the Venezuelan market may be a propitious opportunity that, from a cyber perspective, may involve an unwelcome digital inheritance. New entrants to the energy market will not just acquire existing oil wells, pumps, and pipelines; they would, in many cases, need to plug their corporate networks into a digital environment that has been operated and/or monitored by America's and Europe’s top adversaries for more than a decade.
In early February, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (“CISA”) updated its BRICKSTORM malware analysis,1 which details a nation-state backdoor specifically targeting disaster recovery and backup systems. While CISA’s technical advisories on the BRICKSTORM malware remain diplomatically neutral, the timing serves as a warning for any executive eyeing the Venezuelan return. Nation state-linked backdoors target the exact types of disaster recovery systems U.S. firms will rely on as they integrate state-held Venezuelan assets. In other words, as these firms integrate assets previously in Venezuela’s possession, existing infrastructures designed to ensure business continuity potentially become kill switches, providing threat actors the ability to cripple operations immediately and remotely.
CISA also cited2 an illustrative incident in which a malicious cyber actor(s) targeted and compromised operational technology and industrial control systems in Poland’s Energy Sector. The attack was attributed to nation-state sponsored actors and further demonstrates how these actors might target critical infrastructure elsewhere. Companies would do well to heed then-Acting CISA Director Madhu Gottumukkala’s warning, issued in the days following the U.S. operation to arrest Nicholas Maduro, that the events in Venezuela raised the threat level for critical infrastructure and that U.S. critical infrastructure, at home or abroad, faces persistent and increasingly sophisticated cyber risks from hostile nation-state actors.3
How FTI Consulting Can Help
FTI Consulting brings extensive experience and a proven track-record in delivering security threat assessments across Latin America. Leveraging the expertise of our consultants and analysts, public record research, and discreet field inquiries through trusted local networks, we provide nuanced and actionable assessments. These account for geographic realities, industry-specific risks, and local dynamics surrounding assets of interest. As companies navigate traditional market reentry challenges, the intersection of complex cyber risks and national security threats must also be considered to avoid costly outcomes.
FTI Consulting’s professionals, former government officials, and industry experts have deep expertise in safeguarding companies across a multitude of scenarios, helping ensure digital vulnerabilities are secured and incident response protocols are tried and tested. Our integrated and comprehensive approach leverages tailored risk assessments that identify unique geopolitical exposures, along with resilience planning and operational due diligence to evaluate the genuine operational condition of existing infrastructures. This strategic framework provides companies the ability to pursue growth opportunities in Venezuela, while our experts carefully manage the gamut of digital, reputational and strategic risks of market entry in Venezuela.
Footnotes:
1: Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, BRICKSTORM Backdoor (Feb. 11, 2026).
2: Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, Poland Energy Sector Cyber Incident Highlights OT and ICS Security Gaps (Feb. 10, 2026).
3: ISMG, “Cyber Retaliation Risks Rise After US-Venezuela Operation,” (Jan 7, 2026).
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Publicado
marzo 18, 2026
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