Cybersecurity: Comparative Study of Data Protection Legislation in Ecuador and Chile

With the constant technological advancement facing humanity, various countries find themselves improving or adopting regulations to address the issue of cybersecurity and protect personal data. Chile and Ecuador have not been exempting from these responses and have adopted laws on personal data protection and cybercrime legislation. This study carried out a comparative analysis of Ecuador’s Organic Law on Personal Data Protection (LOPDP) and the Chilean legislation on the same subject, with special emphasis on cybersecurity and the issue of cybercrime. Both Ecuador and Chile have regulations that seek to protect sensitive information and sanction the behaviors of cybercriminals. Being aware of these regulations is fundamental to being compliant with any law or legal framework, but above all, it strengthens the countries’ measures for the prevention and response to cybercrime in their digital landscape. A comparative analysis of the two regulations will explain the conceptions, similarities, differences, and variables of improvement of the legal frameworks will be represented in the text. From there, recommendations have been produced to strengthen the relationship between security and compliance on the regulatory aspects of the Information Security Management System (ISMS). The comparative analysis emphasizes the importance of the implementation of the LOPDP in Ecuador, to meet international standards for the protection of citizen’s privacy. Implementing an ISMS, which aligns with the existing laws around personal data protection is integral to privacy protection, but also to regulatory compliance and being back by the law. The issue will then come down to how to implement it and being able to enforce it. Ensuring those responsible understand their obligations and what adjustments and changes they need to put in place to comply with the regulations is essential for effective data protection.