Cartels using intelligence software to track rivals: report

VICE News reports that Mexican cartels are using software called Titan
One cartel source told VICE they've been using it for six years
Software's services are sold on the black market

Updated: Dec 20, 2023 / 08:16 PM CST

(NewsNation) — Mexican cartels are allegedly using intelligence and security software to find their rivals, according to a new report from VICE News.

The software is called Titan and several Mexican state governments also use it, a source told the publication. Another source, who VICE said was inside the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, said the organization has been using Titan for at least six years.

Titan allows users to geolocate people across the country, giving them “minute-to-minute” location logs and allowing them to obtain official identification documents, sources said.

People can access Titan through a Mexican official or by getting a login. The software’s services are advertised on the black market, VICE wrote, for about 10,000 pesos ($600 in American currency) to 180,000 pesos ($9,000).

Although the platform itself was developed in Mexico, a source told VICE people from Israel worked on the backend — though the outlet was unable to verify who is actually behind the technology that created Titan. However, it notes that international media has reported that Mexico’s government previously used Israel-made spyware “Pegasus” to spy on activists and journalists.

To read the full report, click here.