Europol has published its annual European Union Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment (EU-SOCTA) report. It highlights the destabilising and corrosive influence criminal networks are having on society and how, driven by the exploitation of new technologies, the threat they pose is evolving at an unprecedented pace.
The report discusses how serious and organised crime is being nurtured in the online domain and is being driven by the convergence of profit-driven criminal networks and hybrid threat actors with geopolitical motives. The cybercrime landscape is a key area where the line between profit-orientation and ideological motivation is increasingly blurred. The alliance between these groups allows nation states to support persistent and cumulative small-scale acts of destabilisation (“the woodpecker modus operandi”), using criminal networks for deniability and political or economic gain.
The impact of online platforms on the process of trafficking in human beings and migrant smuggling is also examined. These tools are allowing criminal networks to identify and recruit victims, reach a wider customer base, manage communications and payment (including using cryptocurrencies), and avoid any physical contact with victims or clients. It is also helping to drive the expansion of financial crime, including investment fraud, digital asset theft, online fencing, and laundering.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is fundamentally reshaping the serious and organised crime landscape by acting as a catalyst for crime and by improving criminal efficiency. Criminal networks are increasingly turning towards Generative AI, which has dramatically reduced barriers to entry for digital crimes. The report details how AI is now being used to craft messages in multiple languages, more accurately target victims, create malware, produce synthetic media (e.g., voice cloning and deep fakes), and generate child sexual abuse material (CSAM), significantly increasing the volume of CSAM available online. The automation capability of AI has also transformed the efficiency of criminal networks (e.g., automated phishing attacks) helping to extend their reach and reduce resource and technical skill requirements.
AI will also help leverage more sophisticated and scalable cyber-attacks through attack automation, social engineering, vulnerabilities identification, and by-passing security solutions. The report also details how data theft will become even more prominent as the utilisation of AI in these attacks increases.
The report highlights how the threat landscape will continue to evolve, with developments in quantum computing, 3D printing, the metaverse, 6G, unmanned systems, and brain-computer interfaces. It calls for greater cooperation between law enforcement authorities (including improved data sharing), an enhanced focus on asset recovery, development of consistent regulations, and advanced detection tools.
Technology companies find themselves at the intersection of these evolving threats—as developers of the tools and services that can help counter the activities of criminal networks, creating the platforms that are being misused for criminal activities, and as a target of serious and organised crime themselves. The need for suppliers to collaborate with law enforcement agencies to counter the growing threat is clear, but it is a nuanced discussion that must balance robust security measures with privacy protections. As criminal networks increasingly leverage AI and emerging technologies, technology companies face the dual responsibility of preventing the misuse of their products whilst preserving legitimate functionality and user trust.
Posted by Dale Peters at '10:05'
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