Guacamaya Leaks: Hacked documents reveal that the military sold weapons to criminals in Mexico – News

More than six terabytes of information from the last ten years was revealed in a recent hacker attack on the computers of the Mexican Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena). The case known as the Guacamaya Leaks shows the vulnerability of governments and the importance of measures to prevent cyberattacks from threatening the country’s security.

More than six terabytes of information from the last ten years was revealed in a recent hacker attack on the computers of the Mexican Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena). The case known as the Guacamaya Leaks shows the vulnerability of governments and the importance of measures to prevent cyberattacks from threatening the country’s security.

Larissa Werneck, RFI correspondent in Mexico

An international hacking group calling itself Guacamaya claimed responsibility for leaking more than six terabytes of information from Sedena, extracted from more than two million emails that included attached files, such as photos, official documents, PDF presentations, among other information that, until then were confidential.

Information on the health of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador was obtained by the hackers, as well as details of the state budget, investigative reports and corruption involving military agents and drug-trafficking groups.

According to the hacker’s public statement posted online, the group’s goal is to expose corruption in Latin American governments, especially in the police and military. free us from state terrorism,” said the document, which was also addressed to the governments of Peru, Chile, El Salvador and Colombia. The hackers also claim that the files can only be sent to journalists and organizations “due to the sensitivity of the data.”

The page where the documents are available is public, but only allows downloading about twenty files. The entire data stolen from the military system was sent only to vehicles believed to be in opposition to the government.

The President’s health and the purchase of weapons for military use by criminals

A report published by the organization Mexicanos Contra La Corrupción y la Impunidad reveals that in May 2019, a soldier sold eight grenades, at a unit price of 26,000 pesos, to a criminal organization in the State of Mexico, one of 31 they produce to the federation. Also, according to the report, wiretapping conducted by the military revealed that a meeting would be held in January 2019 between the municipal authorities of the same state and the leaders of organized crime in the region, to purchase garbage trucks.

but a newspaper Universalone of the largest in the country, announced that according to documents leaked by the Guacamaya group, military investigations show that from December 2018 to February 2020, 20,000 lozenges of the drug Fentanyl went to the US through an airport in the state of Sinaloa.

Portal Latinus, which first reported on the hacking of Sedena’s system, revealed that a number of official documents indicated that the president had health problems, such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension and hyperthyroidism. Furthermore, at the beginning of the year, the Mexican president allegedly suffered a heart attack, previously unknown to the population. Health problems were publicly acknowledged by Obrador at a press conference.

Cyber ​​security and public safety

The invasion of the system of the Mexican Secretariat of National Defense and the leak of official information comes at a time of important debate about the participation of the military in public security until 2029, through the National Guard. The government’s proposal was approved in the Federal Senate, but it still needs to be approved by the House of Representatives in order to enter into force.

According to Carlos Estrada, professor of national cybersecurity at the National Institute of Public Administration, the hacking is considered an act of cyberwar targeting the Mexican state because, among other factors, it involves personal information, such as the names and contacts of military personnel working in the areas of fighting organized crime.

“This is an international standard that was regulated five years ago by the Tallinn NATO Center for Cyber ​​Defense Manual. Until five years ago, a cyber attack was considered a cyber war only when it produced physical consequences, such as, for example, an attack on a telecommunications system or No , today the simple intent to cause harm, even without physical consequences, is already considered a case of cyberwarfare. And, unfortunately, it is only a matter of time before this data is in the hands of the largest drug trafficking cartels. in the world. countries, such as Jalisco and Sinaloa,” says the expert.

The professor also says there are 73 cyber groups around the world attacking Latin American government systems. “Government servers in our region, such as Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia, have been attacked over the past ten years. That’s why we need to take action to mitigate the damage, starting with assessing the level of cyber security of our infrastructure.”

Also according to him, the first step is a simple measure: the use of original software from specialized companies.

“Our region makes a lot of use of piracy, even in the public spheres of government. This makes an invasion much easier. There are data that show that in Latin America 65% of computers have some kind of virus. updating versions of e-mail and information programs. The invasion of the Guacamaya group took place on systems that were outdated as of 2019,” Carlos Estrada points out.

Global Cyber ​​Security Index

Cyber ​​security is a global concern. Since 2015, the International Telecommunication Union of the United Nations (TIU) has organized the Global Cyber ​​Security Index to measure the commitment of member countries of the organization to prevent cyber attacks. In addition to discussing important topics such as privacy, unauthorized access and online security, TIU supports countries in developing strategies to help governments and businesses better prepare against cyber risks.

Data from the latest index, published in 2020, shows that Mexico is in 52nd place on the list of 193 countries. Brazil is in eighteenth place. The first place is from the United States.