The United Nations Wants to Stamp Out Cybercrime

Cybercrime is a lot like the weather lately: extreme and getting worse.

On Monday, the United Nations published a new report about an alarming spike in cybercrime last year, specifically from a growing number of syndicates in Southeast Asia. The report comes just as the international governing group pushes forward on a controversial new treaty to combat the cybercrime wave.

Trick-or-Treaty

New tech is enabling new types of crime. The rise of generative artificial intelligence, deepfake technology, and money laundering-enabling cryptocurrency systems has created “a powerful force multiplier for criminal activities,” the report says, with cybercrime syndicates in Southeast Asia costing victims as much as $37 billion in 2023.

It comes as no surprise then that the UN has been moving to create a new treaty that would establish global standards for combating cybercrime. Final draft text for the treaty was adopted late last month, with an official vote from the UN General Assembly due sometime before the end of the year. Despite criticism from both human rights groups and major tech firms, the treaty has widespread support from member nations — though one key player is beginning to express disapproval:

• Critics — including tech industry groups as well as human rights and civil liberties organizations such as Human Rights Watch and the Electronic Frontier Foundation — have said the treaty gives individual nations far too much power for digital surveillance of citizens, with thin language protecting their civil rights.
• The Biden White House is increasingly unsure if it will back the treaty over the same concerns, Politico reported. If the US votes no or abstains, the drafting process would effectively start from scratch — which some say could result in a treaty with even fewer protections for civil liberties.

In the Lab: Still, as Monday’s report makes clear, cybercrime is increasing, and only growing more sophisticated. “[Southeast Asia] is ground zero for the scamming industry in terms of innovation, in terms of the way that things develop,” a UN official told Voice of America. In other words: You ain’t seen nothing yet.