Interpol‘s โขCybercrime โChief on How AI is Drivingโค Borderless Crime
Dr. Jetton, INTERPOL’s cybercrime chief, highlights notable challenges facing international efforts to combat cybercrime, particularly the accelerating role of Artificial Intelligence (AI). A key obstacle, โshe notes, is the limited resources available to โขmany nations. “A lot of it is theโ tools and the training, just having insufficientโ funds toโฃ actually drive up their investigative know-how or expertise,” Dr. Jetton explained.
beyond national โlimitations,the speed of international โคinformation โคsharing presentsโค a critical hurdle. Whileโ Mutual Legal Assistance โฃTreaties (MLATs) exist, theโ time requiredโ to โprocessโข requests for information is often too slowโ for effective cybercrime response. “We know in cybercrime, we need instantaneousโ help,” she stated, advocating for countries toโ utilize โINTERPOL’sโข 24/7 network. While INTERPOL cannot compel action,it facilitatesโ connections between nations โand relevant private sectorโข entities to expedite communication โand collaboration.
Current trends in cybercrime, according to Dr. Jetton, are being significantlyโฃ shapedโ by โฃAI.โฃ She observes a marked increaseโข in the efficiency โand scale ofโ phishing scams due โto โthe accessibilityโฃ of AI-powered tools. โข”They’re usingโ this phishing as a platformโฆtools that youโค didn’t have โขto have a really sophisticated technical level of abilities, and youโ can have these tools that โคallow you to then go out and โcommit fraud โat scale.”
Furthermore, Dr. Jetton points โtoโข a dangerous convergenceโ of different criminal โactivities, describing โฃcybercrime as “poly-criminal.”โค She cited examples from Southeast Asia, where organized crime groups areโค leveraging cybercrime – through fraudulentโข job postings and recruitment – as a โขcomponent of larger operations โขinvolving human trafficking.โข “you have these โorganized crimeโ groups that are using cybercrimeโฆand then forcing the people to commit the โฃcybercrimeโค while they’re there,” she explained. This interconnectednessโ means โcyber elements are increasingly present inโฃ crimes ranging from drug โคand gun trafficking to human exploitation.
Recent discussions with industry leaders revealed a divergence inโ perspectives regardingโ AI’s impact. Dr. jetton found herself as a dissentingโ voice, expressing concern thatโค criminals are adopting โคAI technologies at a faster rate than law enforcement can develop countermeasures. “I see it as somewhat โฃof a negative โขknowing that we’re going to have to catch up like with AI-produced malware,” she said. While acknowledging the potential โbenefits of AI for law enforcement, โขshe anticipates a futureโ where responding toโ AI-driven โthreats โฃwill be a significant challenge. This contrasts โwith the more optimistic views of her fellow panelists, who focused on the positive applications of AI within the private sector.
