(BS) The increasing internationalisation of cybercrime, drug and human trafficking, financial fraud and other threat scenarios can only be successfully countered by global law enforcement authorities through organisational, legal and technical cooperation at the highest level. Police chiefs, task forces, researchers and industry representatives from all over the world agreed on this when they discussed global threat scenarios and measures to prevent and combat crime at the third World Police Summit in Dubai.
Compared to the two previous years, the trade fair and conference were somewhat smaller and more regional. Nevertheless, the claim of wanting to play a decisive role in shaping the secure society of a high-tech future on a global scale was emphatically emphasised by the host, Dubai Police.
Cyber crime: from analysis to prediction
It is therefore no surprise that the topic of cybercrime was of paramount importance in the various conference sessions. In terms of monetary turnover, cybercrime is the fastest growing area worldwide, reported analyst Erik Modin from the Danish National Unit for Special Crime. Fraud, extortion, money laundering and the dark web markets are all part of this. To combat this, the global system for financial services must be attacked. Above all, this means observing and analysing data flows. This requires powerful research and analysis platforms, which are not only available on the market for this context. Big data is a challenge everywhere, but also an opportunity.
It is not far from complex research capabilities to forecasting: the advantages of ‘proactive’ or ‘predictive policing’ in the prevention of crime are currently being praised, especially in Asian countries such as Malaysia or Hong Kong. In Germany, there are considerable concerns about this for privacy and data protection reasons, but in the course of the increasing use of powerful research and analysis tools, this discussion will have to be reopened. Deliberately flying blind is not an option in the fight against crime.
Mobile phone alarm
The Hong Kong police recorded a record number of online fraud cases last year: someone became a victim of fraud every 13 minutes. Fraudsters siphoned off around 3.2 million US dollars every day. The police can only tackle this together with businesses and the public, explains Lam Cheuk Ho, Chief Superintendent of the Hong Kong Police. The Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau (CSTCB) in Hong Kong therefore launched the ‘Scameter+’ app in 2022 and has already upgraded it. The app automatically warns users when they come into contact with suspicious phone numbers or websites. Conversely, users can report suspicious contacts themselves via the app.
Drones: Unlimited usage scenarios
Drones are an indispensable tool for police work around the world: they are used for observation, recording measurements, intervening in dangerous situations and for rescue operations, etc. With the spread of 5G wireless technology, their performance has increased even further, including in terms of range and controllability. However, criminals are also utilising the possibilities of drone technologies. Here too, the utilisation scenarios are diverse: for example, drones loaded with explosives can become deadly weapons. In the vicinity of airports, they jeopardise air traffic. Brent Cotton from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reports that autonomous swarms of drones are being used for smuggling in border regions. Of course, criminals use drones for espionage and to spy on security forces. Cotton’s message is clear: ‘Drones are not toys’.
The security forces, on the other hand, face the problem of not being able to distinguish between ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys’ when fighting drones.
International drone regulation called for
Regulation of drone ownership and traffic is therefore becoming a major issue both nationally and internationally. This does not only concern data protection and the protection of privacy and personality, which are quickly becoming the subject of debate when using camera-equipped aircraft. Rather, authorisation regulations, safety standards and traffic regulations are urgently needed for the general use of drones in general air traffic. This also applies to the use of drones by BOS.
The scale of the problem is considerable: according to David Smith from the Virginia Department of State Police, there are currently around 100 million unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) flying in the USA alone.
Like his colleagues in the USA, Smith is in favour of standardised global regulation of drone use. The USA has already introduced a mandatory Remote ID, a type of drone licence plate that makes the individual drone identifiable at all times, even during flight. In Europe, this only exists in a few countries. Smith can already see the next problem on the horizon: while 5G-controlled drones can still be tracked by the security authorities, the foreseeable use of satellite communication will further complicate traceability in the future.
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