AI 'reshaping' organised crime, warns Europol

Europol Executive Director Catherine De Bolle described the report as a "wake-up call" for law enforcement, telling top officers from around Europe that "the future of European security is in our hands".

"This is a fight of the rule of law, for our communities, for our businesses, and for the future of our children. We will not let organised crime dictate the rules of the game," she said.

In its report laying out the threats posed by organised crime, the European police organisation said criminals had seized on the opportunities offered by AI as a "catalyst" to accelerate their activities.

"Rapid technological advancements -- especially in artificial intelligence (AI) -- are reshaping how crime is organised, executed, and concealed," Europol said in a detailed 80-page "threat assessment" report.

"These shifts are making organised crime more dangerous, posing an unprecedented challenge to security across the EU and its member states," the police added.

The use of AI and other technologies are helping criminals across the whole of their portfolio -- from drug and human trafficking, to cybercrime and identity theft.

Generative AI enables criminal gangs to hit their targets more globally across multiple languages and even generate child sexual abuse images, the police report warned.

"Explicit pictures of adults can be manipulated to make the individual look younger or applications can 'nudify' non-explicit images," the report said.

"The very qualities that make AI revolutionary -- accessibility, versatility, and sophistication –- have made it an attractive tool for criminals," noted Europol.
'AI-controlled criminals'
Technology is also making it harder for authorities to recover ill-gotten gains.

Confiscation of proceeds from crime has stagnated at around two percent, the police said, with the challenge "further exacerbated by the increasing criminal exploitation of digital assets".

Criminal groups are using cryptocurrency to launder money and move funds around, making it hard to track and eventually confiscate.

"The criminal exploitation of cryptocurrency as a payment method now has moved beyond the scope of cybercrime, and is encountered increasingly in more traditional crime areas such as drug trafficking or migrant smuggling."

As technology improves, the boost to criminal activity is only likely to increase, according to Europol, noting the rapid developments in quantum computing, the metaverse, 6G, unmanned systems and brain-computer interfaces.

"The high levels of anonymity, speed, and sophistication currently demonstrated by criminal networks will only likely increase over the coming years," cautioned the report.

Quantum computing in particular will enable criminals to crack current encryption technology with ease.

Finally, the police raised the dystopian prospect of criminal gangs run entirely by AI.

"The emergence of fully autonomous AI could pave the way for entirely AI-controlled criminal networks, marking a new era in organised crime," said the report.