ITSE · Instituto Técnico Superior Especializado
English Communication V · Oral Presentation

Two Breaches,
Two Responses

Almacenes Titán vs. Bladex · Panama, 2026

Presented byCarlos Arauz
ProfessorJennifer Williams
GroupD-CS-5-1
0

ContextPanama is under attack

The headlines are about the State.
The private sector is next.

5

major cyber incidents admitted by the government in 2026 (by May)

Revista E&N, May 2026 ↗
up to 500%

increase in cyberattacks reported in Panama

La Estrella de Panamá ↗
$125M

in fraud attempts or suspected fraud detected in 2025

La Prensa Panamá ↗
$20M

of that fraud was actually completed

La Prensa Panamá ↗
CSS, MEF, Contraloría… but companies are targets too.

How the story unfolds

SEP 2025MEFOne spear-phishing email. INC Ransom claims ~1.5 TB.
APR 11, 2026Almacenes TitánUnauthorized access to the customer database is detected.
APR 15, 2026Almacenes TitánPublic notice: what leaked and what customers should do.
APR 26, 2026BladexLockBit 5.0 lists the bank. No public confirmation.
1

The Incident · TitánA retail chain that told the truth

From: Almacenes Titán · April 15, 2026

Unauthorized access to our customer database

Detected on April 11, 2026. The following information may be compromised:

Full namenombreEXPOSED
ID numbercédulaEXPOSED
EmailcorreoEXPOSED
Mobile phonecelularEXPOSED

Specialists were hired for a forensic analysis and security was reinforced.

“le sugerimos estar atento a cualquier solicitud de crédito, contrato o servicio”
Translation: watch for any credit, contract or service request you did not authorize. Almacenes Titán’s notice, quoted by La Prensa Panamá ↗
WHAT THEY DID

Hired forensic specialists and reinforced their security technology.

WHAT THEY ADVISED

Watch for phishing, never share passwords, and contact ANTAI, Panama’s data protection authority.

Inbox is a recreation based on the public statement, not the original email.

They told their customers. That is case one.
1

The Incident · BladexA bank named by a ransomware gang

leak-site listing · recreation
groupLockBit 5.0
victimBladex
sectorFinancial services · Panama
claimed2026-04-26
data“sensitive information” (unspecified)
modeldouble extortion: steal → encrypt → threaten to publish
13DAYS
23HRS
59MIN
59SEC
UNCONFIRMED BY BLADEX
“risking sensitive data exposure unless demands are satisfied”
Threat-intelligence report by DeXpose, April 2026 ↗
Fact check

The tracker described Bladex as a U.S. bank. Is that right?

Recreation for class. The countdown is illustrative; no real deadline was confirmed.

No statement. No notice. Just a name on a leak site.

What surprised me the most

ALMACENES TITÁN

One company told its customers.

Four days after detection: a notice, the exposed fields, and what to do next.

BLADEX

The other stayed silent.

A much bigger institution. No public word on what was taken.

2

The ImpactWhat can a criminal do with your data?

Turn each piece of leaked data on or off and watch which attacks become possible.

POSSIBLE

Identity theft

Loans, credit and contracts opened in your name.

needs: name + ID
POSSIBLE

Targeted phishing

Emails that already know who you are.

needs: name + email
POSSIBLE

Smishing and fake calls

Texts and calls pretending to be your bank or store.

needs: phone
POSSIBLE

Account takeover attempts

Password resets and verification-code tricks.

needs: email + phone
4 of 4 attacks possible
Titán’s leak had all four. Public trust is the fifth victim.
3

The Root CauseWeak software or human error?

case MEF · sep 2025

      

      

        
Titán never said how the attackers got in. The best documented case in Panama shows the usual door: one person and one email.

        

          

            
Weak softwareunpatched VPNs, old systems

            
Human errorphishing, weak passwords

          

          

        

        

          
“none of MEF’s central systems or platforms have been compromised”

          The ministry’s official line, while INC Ransom claimed more than 1.5 TB.
          Reported by SC Media ↗ · entry by spear-phishing per FireCompass ↗
        

      

    

    
My answer: human error opens the door. Weak software keeps it open.

    
One click is all it takes.

  







  

    
4
Professional WarningWhat I would tell any company or agency

    
Tap each defense to apply it and watch the exposure level drop.

    

      
      
      
      
    

    
Exposure level:HIGH0 of 4 defenses applied · illustrative

    
Silence is not a strategy.

  







  

    
Sources

    
Where every fact comes from