Europol is concerned about the increasing use of AI tools by cybercriminals, the European policing agency said in the 10th edition of the Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA), an in-depth assessment of the key developments, changes and emerging threats in cybercrime over the last year, released on Monday. Europol stressed the ‘right knowledge, tools and legislation’ are needed to tackle the various threats.

The number of fraud cases caused by cybercrime continues to increase, noted Europol in the new report. The often young perpetrators mainly target small and medium-sized companies, but also teenagers, and their methods are becoming more sophisticated. Technical possibilities are reducing the barriers for criminals and making it harder for law enforcement authorities to keep up. ?

Europol in particular warned of the possibilities provided by artificial intelligence. Deep fakes – real-looking fakes of image and sound – are used a lot. For example, voices are copied to make “shock calls” to re
latives or friends to blackmail money or bank data, the study shows. AI is also used to distort videos or images showing the sexual abuse of children.

To effectively tackle the biggest threats, Europol said investigative agencies need the right knowledge, tools and legislation. ‘As criminals adapt, law enforcement agencies and policymakers must also innovate to stay ahead and exploit new and developing technologies,’ it added.

The report highlights relevant trends in crime areas such cyber-attacks and online and payment fraud schemes. It also provides an outlook of what can be expected in the near future, especially regarding new technologies, payment systems, AI, cryptocurrencies and illicit content online.

Source: Emirates News Agency