Developing world exploited by hackers for testing cyber attacks
The developing world is being exploited by hackers for trial cyber attacks. Developing economies offer fertile ground for hackers seeking to test their skills in environments where they can evade detection before using them on a government or business that has more advanced defences. A 2016 attack on Bangladesh's central bank is thought to have been a precursor to similar attacks in Ecuador and Vietnam. Cybersecurity researchers are now increasingly looking at countries such as India to find the newest and potentially most dangerous kind of cyber attack methods.

SAN FRANCISCO — The attack had the hallmarks of something researchers had dreaded for years: malicious software using artificial intelligence that could lead to a new digital arms race in which A.I.-driven defenses battled A.I.-driven offenses while humans watched from the sidelines.

But what was not as widely predicted was that one of the earliest instances of that sort of malware was found in India, not in a sophisticated British banking system or a government network in the United States.

Security researchers are increasingly looking in countries outside the West to discover the newest, most creative and potentially most dangerous types of cyberattacks being deployed.

As developing economies rush to go online, they provide a fertile testing ground for hackers trying their skills in an environment where they can evade detection before deploying them against a company or state that has more advanced defenses.