A cartel affiliate notified an FBI agent about a hacker who infiltrated cameras and phones to track an FBI official’s meetings, the DOJ inspector general said.
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 general report released Friday.

“That individual said the cartel had hired a ‘hacker’ who offered a menu of services related to exploiting mobile phones and other electronic devices,” the report states. “According to the individual, the hacker had observed people going in and out of the United States Embassy in Mexico City and identified ‘people of interest’ for the cartel, including the FBI Assistant Legal Attache (ALA T), and then was able to use the ALA T’s mobile phone number to obtain calls made and received, as well as geolocation data, associated with the ALAT’s phone.