Interpol Warns AI Is Expanding Scale Of Cybercrime
At a Glance
- INTERPOL says AI is strengthening existing cybercrime methods, including fraud and deception.
- INTERPOL’s Bjorn R. Watney says AI is increasing the speed and scale of established criminal techniques.
- He highlighted agentic AI as a growing concern because systems can take actions on behalf of users.
- Watney urged companies to identify their most critical assets and tailor cybersecurity defenses to the threats they face.
Artificial intelligence is making cybercrime more scalable by strengthening established methods such as fraud and deception, according to INTERPOL’s global chief information security officer, Bjorn R. Watney.
Speaking to CNBC on the sidelines of Singapore’s technology events, Watney said AI represents an evolution of existing criminal techniques rather than a fundamental revolution in cybercrime.
Key Statements
“It’s an evolution, not a revolution.”
— Bjorn R. Watney, INTERPOL
“AI is increasing the speed and scale” of existing criminal techniques.
— Bjorn R. Watney, INTERPOL
“When it comes to technology, the level of trust is extremely high.”
— Bjorn R. Watney, INTERPOL
AI Scales Existing Fraud
Watney said criminals can use AI to target multiple victims simultaneously, while advances in translation and digital identities can make fraudulent interactions increasingly difficult to distinguish from legitimate ones.
Rather than creating entirely new forms of cybercrime, he said AI is primarily making existing techniques faster and more scalable.
Agentic AI Raises New Risks
Watney expressed particular concern about agentic AI, in which systems can take actions on behalf of users.
He warned that mistakes made by systems capable of taking real-world actions could have consequences beyond simply providing incorrect information, potentially causing physical harm.
He pointed to the increasing use of AI in vehicles and autonomous systems as one area requiring particular attention.
High Levels Of User Trust
Watney also highlighted what he described as high levels of public trust in technology.
He contrasted this with financial services, where people commonly use safeguards such as PINs and remain alert to risks including card theft.
With new technologies, he said users can be quicker to accept prompts and grant access without applying the same level of caution.
Protecting The ‘Crown Jewels’
For businesses, Watney said cybersecurity strategies should begin by identifying their most critical assets what he called their “crown jewels.”
Companies should then determine which actors might seek to steal or disrupt those assets and use threat intelligence to understand their tactics and techniques.
He said organizations do not necessarily need to defend against every conceivable threat, but should tailor their defenses according to the threats most relevant to them.
FYI
The warning comes as AI systems move from generating information toward performing tasks and taking actions on users’ behalf. That shift expands the cybersecurity question from whether AI can produce convincing fraudulent content to whether AI-enabled systems can independently execute harmful actions. For businesses, the approach outlined by INTERPOL focuses on prioritizing critical assets and identifying specific threat actors rather than attempting to defend against every possible cyber threat.
Dive Deeper: Handpicked Stories for You
Follow Channel8 for continuous updates:
AI Leaders Urge UN to Establish Global Safeguards
1 hour ago