Malicious Uses and Abuses of Artificial Intelligence | Europol
In the dynamic world of technology and computer
science, AI continues to offer a wide range
of possible applications for enterprises and
individuals. Unfortunately, the promise of more
efficient automation and autonomy is inseparable
from the different schemes that malicious actors
are capable of.
Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are
software (and possibly also hardware)
systems designed by humans that, given a
complex goal, act in the physical or digital
dimension by perceiving their environment
through data acquisition, interpreting the
collected structured or unstructured data,
reasoning on the knowledge, or processing
the information, derived from this data
and deciding the best action(s) to take to
achieve the given goal. AI systems can
either use symbolic rules or learn a numeric
model, and they can also adapt their
behavior by analyzing how the environment
is affected by their previous actions.6
(The British spelling "analysing" is used in the
reference for this definition.)
For instance, criminals can use AI to facilitate and
improve their attacks by maximizing opportunities
for profit in a shorter time, exploiting new victims,
and creating more innovative criminal business
models while reducing the chances of being
caught. Additionally, as AI-as-a-Service becomes
more widespread, it will lower the barrier to entry
by reducing the skills and technical expertise
needed to employ AI.
into their modi operandi, thus creating not only constant shifts in the criminal landscape worldwide,
but also creating significant challenges for law enforcement and cybersecurity in general.7
The Crimeas-a-Service (CaaS) business model, which allows non-technologically savvy criminals to procure
technical tools and services in the digital underground that allow them to extend their attack capacity
and sophistication,8
further increases the potential for new technologies such as AI to be abused by
criminals and become a driver of crime.9, 10, 11
Building knowledge about the potential use of AI by criminals will improve the ability of the cybersecurity
industry in general and law enforcement agencies in particular to anticipate possible malicious and
criminal activities, as well as to prevent, respond to, or mitigate the effects of such attacks in a proactive
manner. An understanding of the capabilities,
science, AI continues to offer a wide range
of possible applications for enterprises and
individuals. Unfortunately, the promise of more
efficient automation and autonomy is inseparable
from the different schemes that malicious actors
are capable of.
Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are
software (and possibly also hardware)
systems designed by humans that, given a
complex goal, act in the physical or digital
dimension by perceiving their environment
through data acquisition, interpreting the
collected structured or unstructured data,
reasoning on the knowledge, or processing
the information, derived from this data
and deciding the best action(s) to take to
achieve the given goal. AI systems can
either use symbolic rules or learn a numeric
model, and they can also adapt their
behavior by analyzing how the environment
is affected by their previous actions.6
(The British spelling "analysing" is used in the
reference for this definition.)
For instance, criminals can use AI to facilitate and
improve their attacks by maximizing opportunities
for profit in a shorter time, exploiting new victims,
and creating more innovative criminal business
models while reducing the chances of being
caught. Additionally, as AI-as-a-Service becomes
more widespread, it will lower the barrier to entry
by reducing the skills and technical expertise
needed to employ AI.
into their modi operandi, thus creating not only constant shifts in the criminal landscape worldwide,
but also creating significant challenges for law enforcement and cybersecurity in general.7
The Crimeas-a-Service (CaaS) business model, which allows non-technologically savvy criminals to procure
technical tools and services in the digital underground that allow them to extend their attack capacity
and sophistication,8
further increases the potential for new technologies such as AI to be abused by
criminals and become a driver of crime.9, 10, 11
Building knowledge about the potential use of AI by criminals will improve the ability of the cybersecurity
industry in general and law enforcement agencies in particular to anticipate possible malicious and
criminal activities, as well as to prevent, respond to, or mitigate the effects of such attacks in a proactive
manner. An understanding of the capabilities,
