The European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) expects a rise in the number of artificial intelligence-assisted cybercrimes, as revealed in its yearly analysis of the latest cyber threats in the EU.
In its “Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment (IOCTA) 2024,” report, the law enforcement agency noted how AI tools enable non-technical individuals to orchestrate sophisticated online crimes.
AI offers a lower entry point for bad actors
AI-generated deep fakes and false advertisements are widely used by bad actors worldwide to target potential victims. According to the IOCTA 2024 report, the emergence of such tools is actively lowering the entry barrier to cybercrimes.
As a result, the law enforcement agency saw the need to arm up with tools to counter technology abuse and protect the EU financial system. Catherine De Bolle, the executive director of Europol, said:
“Law enforcement agencies are expected to build a robust capacity to counter the growing threats stemming from cybercriminals leveraging AI, both in terms of human resources and technical skills.”
Future advancements in deepfake technology can have far-reaching impacts on victims beyond petty crimes. Europol anticipates the possibility of sexual extortion cases wherein bad actors can produce fake content to threaten victims and suggests:
“This trend would require law enforcement agencies to have more suitable and sophisticated tools to identify which (parts of) audio, image and video content are deepfakes.”
Concerns around cryptocurrencies
Europol’s IOCTA report also flagged certain aspects of the cryptocurrency ecosystem that could contribute to the rise in cybercrimes — primarily non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
While criminals have not yet found viable means to conduct large-scale fraud with NFTs, Bitcoin ETF adoption can work in their favor, Europol said. Scammers could abuse the rise of ETFs related to cryptocurrencies, as people who do not have extensive experience in cryptocurrency will become increasingly exposed to them.
“Companies issuing cryptocurrency ETFs will also have to hold large reserves in cryptocurrency, which might make them valuable targets for fraudsters.”
Europol recently seized crypto assets worth $46 million from cryptocurrency mixer ChipMixer for its alleged involvement in money laundering activities.
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT previously alleged on Nov. 25, 2022, that the hacker(s) of defunct cryptocurrency exchange FTX laundered 360 BTC ($5.9 million) using ChipMixer after a $372 million exploit.
Total assets seized include 1,909.4 BTC in 55 transactions, amounting to 44.2 million euros ($46 million).
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