Cybercrime and International Risk: How it will affect us all if we do nothing

Global internet scams are more and more prevalent in the world, especially after the digitalisation of everything. With AI being used to interview candidates for new roles in businesses for example, one can assume that AI is also being used for other means. The UNODC mentions that especially the Tor darknet is used for illicit activities, such as drugs, fake passports, fake currency, amongst others. The importance of combatting cybercrime lies in the fact that cybercrime leads to a direct threat to regional stability in Asia as well as in the rest of the world, according to the USIP.

In addition, the UNODC’s January 2024 report on the Southeast Asian region states that the role of the gambling industry is not to be underestimates, claiming it is the primary vehicle for laundering money gained through organised crime. According to them, physical casino infrastructures operate as a legal, fiscal, and regulatory shield for the scammers. As these casino’s allow for the mingling of funds from different sources, basically whitewashing money. Moreover, these cybercrime groups tend to invest in cutting-edge financial technologies that are not (yet) well understood by law enforcement. USIP has found that laundered funds move into real estate around the globe, including the UK, the EU, Canada and the US. 

Dominant markers of the cybercrime industry

1. The primary criminal masterminds are, mostly but not exclusively, China originating.
2. Government involvement plays a role. Often these gambling industries are owned by rich government officials, the governments work together with the criminals, or it is in private land, so government officials either let it run or cannot do much about it.

Jacob Sims

According to Jacob Sims, the UNODC is missing that there is political and state involvement in these crimes, leading it to a hard problem to tackle. He mentions that there is overwhelming evidence pointing towards state-affiliated elites being in the dead centre of the criminal networks, suggesting that the state institutions are part of the criminal enterprises. He uses the example of Cambodia, stating that it is a country where crime can flourish. The government going so far as stating that there is no online scamming industry in the country, and actively repressing civil society actors who counter the claims from the state. It does not help that 40 percent of the combined GDP of three of the Southeast Asian countries comes from these cybercrimes. Leading to a situation where the state is probably heavily complicit in the crimes committed, which is what the USIP is also claiming. USIP states that the ruling elites in Myanmar and Cambodia, amongst other countries in the region, are profiting of the scammers, and therefore directly link the state to cybercrime. 

How to stop this?

1. Coordinated interventions designed to constrain the profitability of the criminal activity
2. Isolate and delegitimise the entities and institutions committing crime – that includes the states that have participated in criminal interests
3. Ensure that there is consistent quantitative and qualitative data on the region, as currently there is little evidence countering darknet-enable cybercrime. 
4. Cryptocurrencies are the main payment. Ensuring that they get regulated would be a start.

How to protect people against scams?

1. Awareness building
2. Limiting opportunities for fully criminalised state apparatus to legitimise themselves.
3. Fix the major gaps in the Western financial institutions that make laundering money very easy.

Jacob Sims

To hear more about what Jacob has to say about cybercrime, listen here!