The Wiretap: A Mexican Cartel Hacker Spied On The FBI And Its Informants
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(Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)
Back in 2018, the FBI learned of a hack that may have cost some informants their lives.
A Justice Department report released last week reveals that while the FBI was working on the infamous “El Chapo” drug trafficking case, a tipster told the agency that its assistant legal attache in Mexico had been monitored by a hacker. Though the method of attack wasn’t revealed, an investigation found the hacker had obtained call and location data from the attache’s phone and surveillance video Mexico City's camera system. “According to the case agent, the cartel used that information to intimidate and, in some instances, kill potential sources or cooperating witnesses,” the report read.
As disturbing as it is, the report isn’t all that surprising. Mexico’s narcotics gangs have long been tech savvy. They are known to use cryptocurrencies for money laundering and. their hacking capabilities are well known. In 2023, Vice News © Forbes
