A notorious Mexican cartel hired a hacker to track and kill FBI witnesses!
A recent Government report has disclosed spine-chilling facts around the sensational El Chapo case. As per the report, the Sinaloa Mexican drug cartel hired a hacker back in 2018 with the primary motive of tracking the activities of a senior FBI official. The hacker was collecting sensitive information from the Mexican CCTVs. These details helped the notorious drug cartel to murder potential FBI informants.
The hacker was smart enough to pry into the “calls made and received” by the FBI person. He was also closely monitoring their geological data, which resulted in a massive data breach and hampered operational security while the FBI was trying to nab El Chapo/Guzman, the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel. He is currently serving a life sentence and has been convicted of different criminal activities, such as smuggling cocaine in the US for over 75 years.
What’s this report all about?
The 47-page report was published by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) last Thursday. According to the report, one of the cartel associates got in touch with an FBI case agent and informed them about the activities of the hacker. That individual shared further details around how the hacker was keeping a surveillance on the FBI official.
The report claims that the hacker was closely observing the people going in and coming out of the United States Embassy in Mexico City. His job was to identify “people of interest” for the drug cartel. That’s how he zeroed in on the FBI Assistant Legal Attaché, or ALAT.
The information provided by the hacker was being abused by the El Chapo drug cartel. They were using the details to either intimidate the potential witnesses or even kill them. The Trump administration designated the Sinaloa cartel as a terrorist organization earlier this year. It is indeed one of the most notorious and powerful gangs in Mexico.
El Chapo is still one of the largest producers of fentanyl and other illegal drugs. The group members are also involved in multiple other criminal offences such as kidnapping, murder, intimidating journalists, government officials, and civilians.
What’s shocking is that this huge revelation came to the forefront soon after the US government offered a massive monetary reward worth $10 million for capturing the two sons of El Chapo, namely Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar and Archivaldo Ivan Guzman Salazar. Sinaloa has two other sons named Ovidio Guzman Lopez and Joaquin Guzman Lopez. Both of them are also in US custody.
The report mentions no details on what impact the electronic surveillance had on the case against the leader of the cartel.
These fresh details around the Sinaloa drug cartel case are a staggering reminder of how modern technology can be misused to exploit and impact such high-stakes criminal investigations. The hacker single-handedly managed to hamper the efforts of the US law enforcement teams against the Mexican drug cartel.
The Trump administration has taken cognizance of this fact and is working strictly on minimizing the chances of technology abuse around such investigations of critical significance.
Multiple US authorities, such as the DEA, the FBI, and the US military, have joined hands and have been working in close collaboration to infiltrate the Jalisco New Generation, Sinaloa, and other big drug cartels across Mexico.
Next generation drug cartels in Mexico
The sons of El Chapo leader used to run a faction of the Sinaloa cartel known as Chapitos or Little Chapos. They are in no way less dangerous than their father and are known for their inhuman torture methods that include electrocution, corkscrews, and hot chiles. They have also allegedly fed some of the victims “dead or alive to tigers.”
What’s worse is that the cartel is now run by a group of tech-savvy criminals. The next generation is well-versed with modern technology, and some of them even have active involvement in cryptocurrency movements. With the help of state-of-the-art devices and sophisticated technology, these drug cartels are multi-billion-dollar global businesses. They use modern gadgets and surveillance techniques to monitor law enforcement activities.
Experts are raising alarms about the growing surveillance-related risks that threaten U.S. national security. They warn that the easy access to sensitive data by threat actors can jeopardize ongoing criminal cases and investigations.
According to experts, the latest advancements in commercial technology have made it easier than ever for less-sophisticated nations and criminal enterprises to identify and exploit vulnerabilities, including through phishing attacks. The FBI is actively working to address this crisis by strengthening countermeasures and enhancing phishing protection to prevent data breaches and safeguard critical information.
Modern technology, just like two sides of a coin, comes with its fair share of pros and cons. No doubt, it makes the FBI and other departments’ work incredibly easy and streamlined. But at the same time, when used by the adversaries, the same technology can prove to be a bane for the government and related authorities.