Sinaloa cartel hacked security cameras to track and kill FBI informants, US 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, according to a new US justice department report.
The incident was disclosed in a justice department inspector general's audit of the FBI's efforts to mitigate the effects of 'ubiquitous technical surveillance', a term used to describe the global proliferation of cameras and the thriving trade in vast stores of communications, travel, and location data.
The report said that the hacker worked for the Sinaloa drug cartel, run by Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán, who was extradited to the United States in 2017.
The report said the hacker identified an FBI assistant legal attaché at the US embassy in Mexico City and was able to use the attaché's phone number 'to obtain calls made and received, as well as geolocation data'. The report said the hacker also 'used Mexico City's camera system to follow the [FBI official] through the city and identify people the [official] met with'.
The report said 'the cartel used that information to intimidate and, in some instances, kill potential sources or cooperating witnesses'.
The report did not identify the alleged hacker, attaché or victims.
The US embassy in Mexico referred questions to the state and justice departments, who did not immediately return messages seeking comment. The FBI and a lawyer for Guzmán did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
The collection of granular location data from people's phones by a wide variety of commercial and official actors, combined with ever-growing coverage of surveillance cameras, has posed a thorny problem for intelligence and law enforcement officials, many of whom rely on confidential informants.
The report said that recent technological advances 'have made it easier than ever for less-sophisticated nations and criminal enterprises to identify and exploit vulnerabilities' in the global surveillance economy.
It said the FBI had a strategic plan in the works for mitigating those vulnerabilities and made several recommendations, including more training for bureau personnel.
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The Guardian
8 hours ago
- The Guardian
Sinaloa cartel hacked security cameras to track and kill FBI informants, US 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, according to a new US justice department report. The incident was disclosed in a justice department inspector general's audit of the FBI's efforts to mitigate the effects of 'ubiquitous technical surveillance', a term used to describe the global proliferation of cameras and the thriving trade in vast stores of communications, travel, and location data. The report said that the hacker worked for the Sinaloa drug cartel, run by Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán, who was extradited to the United States in 2017. The report said the hacker identified an FBI assistant legal attaché at the US embassy in Mexico City and was able to use the attaché's phone number 'to obtain calls made and received, as well as geolocation data'. The report said the hacker also 'used Mexico City's camera system to follow the [FBI official] through the city and identify people the [official] met with'. The report said 'the cartel used that information to intimidate and, in some instances, kill potential sources or cooperating witnesses'. The report did not identify the alleged hacker, attaché or victims. The US embassy in Mexico referred questions to the state and justice departments, who did not immediately return messages seeking comment. The FBI and a lawyer for Guzmán did not immediately return messages seeking comment. The collection of granular location data from people's phones by a wide variety of commercial and official actors, combined with ever-growing coverage of surveillance cameras, has posed a thorny problem for intelligence and law enforcement officials, many of whom rely on confidential informants. The report said that recent technological advances 'have made it easier than ever for less-sophisticated nations and criminal enterprises to identify and exploit vulnerabilities' in the global surveillance economy. It said the FBI had a strategic plan in the works for mitigating those vulnerabilities and made several recommendations, including more training for bureau personnel.
Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Daily Mail
DNA taken from Travis Decker search area fails to match suspected killer as teams scour Washington mountains
Not a single piece of DNA collected during the manhunt for Travis Decker has been a match to the suspected killer, Washington authorities have admitted. Decker, 33, is accused of suffocating his three daughters - Paityn, nine, Evelyn, eight, and Olivia, five - at a remote campsite in the Cascades mountains in Washington state on May 30 before vanishing. Tactical teams have scoured the mountains near the city of Leavenworth for weeks, but the searches have found no evidence of Decker in the area, according to an update Friday from Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison. 'We do have some items that have come back from the scene, that have come back to match the DNA that we have for what we believe to be Travis's DNA,' he said, per KIRO7. 'But no other DNA that's come back to show anyone else was on scene. Nothing in the mountains.' It comes days after the Kittitas County Sherriff's Office (KCSO), which is also involved in the search alongside the FBI, raised the possibility that Decker may be dead. 'At this time, there is no certain evidence that Decker remains alive or in this area,' the sheriff's office announced earlier this week. Officials said that they have modified part of their search into a recovery effort, but warned the public that if Decker is alive, he remains extremely dangerous and may have access to firearms. In a statement from Kittitas County Sheriff Clay Myers this week, he said investigators have tracked dozens of tips and have received multiple reports of possible sightings of Decker. However, he said there remains no definitive evidence that the suspected family-slayer is alive. 'Deputies have maintained extra patrols in the areas in and around the Teanaway Valley, Blewett Pass, Liberty, and Lauderdale,' the statement read. 'Kittitas County Regional Tactical Response Team members have spent days and nights in remote terrain, working with K9 resources and experienced trackers to identify and follow any credible lead to Decker's location. '(Decker) could be deceased. He could have taken his own life. He could have succumbed to injuries. We recognize that's a possibility.' Sheriff Morrison added that despite the possibility that Decker is already dead, law enforcement will not stop their search until they either find a body or he is brought to justice. 'I respect Sheriff Myers, his agency, they certainly have taken on a huge lift over this last week,' he said. 'His people have come alongside us, so appreciative of their efforts and their resources they put into it. Either way, we haven't found him alive or dead, and the search still continues.' With an extensive combat background, authorities and locals are concerned about Decker still being on the loose. He joined the Army in 2013. He served in Afghanistan before transferring to the Washington National Guard in 2021, Karina Shagren, communications director for the Washington Military Department, confirmed to the Daily Mail. He was a full-time member of the Guard until 2023 or 2024, when he switched to part-time. Decker stopped attending mandatory monthly drills a little over a year ago, and the Guard was in the process of a disciplinary discharge. He likely has advanced combat training and was an airborne paratrooper who earned the elite rank of 'Ranger,' indicating he would have excellent wilderness and survival skills, Fox 13 Seattle reported, citing social media posts. Decker is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and kidnapping, but has been missing since May 30, when he failed to return the three little girls back to their mother, Whitney, after a visit. Whitney, who is divorced from the veteran, told police that he had picked the girls up around 5pm but had not returned them by 8pm, and his phone went straight to voicemail, court documents said. Detectives said she 'expressed concern because Decker reportedly has never done this before and … is currently experiencing some mental health issues.' She also told law enforcement officials that Decker was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and believes he did not take medication for the condition, according to court documents. On June 2, a search party led to the chilling discovery of the sisters' dead bodies near the Chelan County campsite along with Decker's truck. Deputies found the girls' bodies about 75 to 100 yards from Decker's truck. An autopsy revealed the girls died from suffocation and police reported their wrists were zip-tied when they were found, court documents said. Police collected 'a large amount of evidence' from the truck, including male blood and non-human blood. The alleged-killer's dog was found nearby as well and taken to an animal humane society, Fox 8 reported. The discovery of the children's corpses kicked off the massive search for Decker. State and federal authorities believe they may have spotted him hiking in a mountainous area. On June 10, a helicopter crew s aw someone running off a trail near Colchuck Lake. Police speculate it was Decker. The lake is roughly 12 miles from the campground the girls were left near.
Sky News
13 hours ago
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Sean 'Diddy' Combs's 'private sex life' turned into 'crime scene', defence says in closing argument
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