“Socalj” for Borderland Beat
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| Guacamaya Hacking Group artwork. |
A Mexican Army officer has reportedly been arrested in connection with a cyberattack in which a huge trove (6 terabytes) of emails and documents was downloaded from the IT system of the Ministry of National Defense (Sedena).
The Military Justice Code stipulates a minimum jail sentence of one year for a breach of military duties, although a sentence of just four months imprisonment can be handed down if the breach was the result of “clumsiness or carelessness.”
The maximum jail sentence for the crime is 60 years. López Obrador has closely aligned with the military during his presidency and has defended the Defense Ministry against allegations of misconduct.
Guacamaya Leaks
The Military Justice Prosecutor’s Office began an investigation “to detect possible omissions” by Sedena IT personnel months ago even though López Obrador ruled out a probe last October. Sedena has tightened IT security to protect against future cyberattacks and strengthened checks of IT and cybersecurity employees as a safeguard against leaks of sensitive information.
National Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval said in February that Mexico’s national security wasn’t compromised despite the theft of 6 terabytes of confidential information.
López Obrador also played down the seriousness of the hack, saying late last year that he didn’t expect any negative consequences from it.
The president has recently been questioned about leaked Sedena documents that appear to confirm that the Defense Ministry has spied on citizens during the term of his government. López Obrador denies that is the case, saying earlier this month that the Army does intelligence work but doesn’t spy on anyone.
Last week he said he suspected that the Guacamaya hacking group – which has also stolen information from the Chilean, Colombian, and Peruvian governments – is made up of “international agencies linked to the conservative group headed by [businessman and government critic] Claudio X. González.”
Guacamaya Leaked Stories