US Intelligence: AI Progress Potentially Increases Cybercrime And Money Laundering

Rob Joyce, director of cybersecurity at the US National Security Agency (NSA) (photo: x @NSA_CSDirector)

JAKARTA - Leading US security and intelligence officials said on Tuesday January 9 that advances in artificial intelligence could facilitate hacking, fraud and money laundering by reducing the technical knowledge needed to commit the crime.

Rob Joyce, director of Cybersecurity at the National Security Agency (NSA), said at an International Conference on Cybersecurity at Fordham University in Manhattan that underprivileged people are now using artificial intelligence to guide hacking operations they previously couldn't do alone.

"This will make those who use artificial intelligence more effective and more dangerous," Joyce said. He also, added that on the contrary, advances in artificial intelligence helped US authorities discover malicious activity.

"The FBI has observed an increase in cyber intrusion as artificial intelligence lowers technical barriers to implementing it," said James Smith, assistant director in charge of the FBI's field office in New York, at the conference.

Two leading federal prosecutors say artificial intelligence could also lead to some financial crimes.

Damian Williams, United States Attorney General in Manhattan, said artificial intelligence could help people who could not speak English generate convincingly sounded messages to try to trick potential victims into giving money.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney General in Brooklyn, said images and videos of "deepfakes" generated by artificial intelligence could be used to outwit bank systems designed to verify their customer identities to prevent money laundering.

"Over time, it could allow criminals and terrorists to open accounts on a large scale, damaging the control systems we have developed over the decades," Peace said.