Sinaloa Cartel

Profile narrative

The Sinaloa Cartel, also known as Cártel de Sinaloa, is a criminal organization based in Mexico. It operates primarily as a drug trafficking syndicate and has been identified in open‑source reporting as using cyber tactics against law enforcement assets. The group’s aliases appear in multiple sources referring to the same entity.

According to a 2016 report, the cartel has targeted unmanned aerial vehicles used by the US Customs and Border Protection along the US‑Mexico border. The attackers employ GPS spoofing techniques, transmitting false satellite data to the drones’ receivers in order to divert them from their patrol routes. This method forces the UAVs to follow erroneous coordinates, causing them to leave the monitored area repeatedly until they run out of fuel or the smugglers complete their crossing. The tactic relies on a portable GPS jammer/spoofing device rather than malware or traditional intrusion tools.

The reported operation represents a notable campaign in which the cartel successfully disrupted border surveillance to enable clandestine movement of contraband. No state sponsorship or affiliation with a government entity has been publicly attributed to these actions; the activity is described as a criminal enterprise driven by the cartel’s own interests. The use of GPS spoofing illustrates a specific tooling style focused on manipulating navigation signals to achieve operational objectives.

Incidents

Attributed incidents are available to members.

Sources

Sources available to members: 1 source.