US EditionSinaloa Cartel Used Phone Data and Surveillance Cameras to Find FBI Informants, DOJ Says
- In 2018, a hacker affiliated with the Sinaloa cartel obtained phone records and used Mexico City's surveillance cameras to track and kill FBI informants.
- This breach took place after Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, the leader of the cartel, was transferred to U.S. custody in 2017, and it followed a tip regarding the cartel's employment of a hacker.
- The hacker gained access to the phone of the assistant legal attaché stationed at the U.S. diplomatic mission in Mexico’s capital and exploited local surveillance cameras to monitor the official’s contacts and movements.
- The Justice Department report stated recent technological advances have enabled criminal groups to exploit global surveillance vulnerabilities, threatening confidential informants.
- Following the incident, the FBI developed a strategic plan recommending enhanced counter-surveillance efforts and more personnel training to address such vulnerabilities.
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CyberScoop
Malware Analysis, News and IndicatorsHacker helped kill FBI sources, witnesses in El Chapo case, according to watchdog report
A hacker working on behalf of the Sinaloa drug cartel infiltrated cameras and phones to track an FBI official in Mexico investigating the drug lord El Chapo, then used data from that surveillance to kill and intimidate potential sources and witnesses the agent was meeting with, a Justice Department watchdog report revealed. An FBI case agent learned about the hacker from someone affiliated with the cartel in 2018, according to the inspector gene…
Mexican drug cartel used hacker to track FBI official, then killed potential informants, U.S. government audit says
A Mexican drug cartel hired a hacker to surveil the movements of a senior FBI official in Mexico City in 2018 or earlier, gathering information from the city’s camera system that allowed the cartel to kill potential FBI informants, the Justice Department inspector general said in a new report.
A hacker from the Sinaloa Cartel accessed the phone number of an FBI agent at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico, and obtained data on informants
Mexican drug cartel used hacker to track FBI official, then killed potential FBI informants, government audit says
The stunning new details offer a rare look at how technology can be exploited in the high-stakes battle between US law enforcement and the violent Mexican cartels that control illicit drug trade.
Sinaloa cartel used phone data and surveillance cameras to find FBI informants, DOJ says
A hacker working for the Sinaloa drug cartel was able to obtain an FBI official's phone records and use Mexico City's surveillance cameras to help track and kill the agency's informants in 2018, the U.S. Justice Department said in a report issued on Thursday.
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