police

Law enforcement operation takes down 22,000 malicious IP addresses worldwide

Biz & IT, cybercrime, Interpol, police, Security / Tim Belzer / November 7, 2024

An international coalition of police agencies has taken a major whack at criminals accused of running a host of online scams, including phishing, the stealing of account credentials and other sensitive data, and the spreading of ransomware, Interpol said recently.

The operation, which ran from the beginning of April through the end of August, resulted in the arrest of 41 people and the takedown of 1,037 servers and other infrastructure running on 22,000 IP addresses. Synergia II, as the operation was named, was the work of multiple law enforcement agencies across the world, as well as three cybersecurity organizations.

A global response

“The global nature of cybercrime requires a global response which is evident by the support member countries provided to Operation Synergia II,” Neal Jetton, director of the Cybercrime Directorate at INTERPOL, said. “Together, we’ve not only dismantled malicious infrastructure but also prevented hundreds of thousands of potential victims from falling prey to cybercrime. INTERPOL is proud to bring together a diverse team of member countries to fight this ever-evolving threat and make our world a safer place.”

Among the highlights of Operation Synergia II were:

Hong Kong (China): Police supported the operation by taking offline more than 1,037 servers linked to malicious services.

Mongolia: Investigations included 21 house searches, the seizure of a server and the identification of 93 individuals with links to illegal cyber activities.

Macau (China): Police took 291 servers offline.

Madagascar: Authorities identified 11 individuals with links to malicious servers and seized 11 electronic devices for further investigation.

Estonia: Police seized more than 80GB of server data, and authorities are now working with INTERPOL to conduct further analysis of data linked to phishing and banking malware.

The three private cybersecurity organizations that were part of Operation Synergia II were Group-IB, Kaspersky, and Team Cymru. All three used the telemetry intelligence in their possession to identify malicious servers and made it available to participating law enforcement agencies. The law enforcement agencies conducted investigations that resulted in house searches, the disruption of malicious cyber activities, the lawful seizures of servers and other electronic devices, and arrests.

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Deepfake lovers swindle victims out of $46M in Hong Kong AI scam

AI, AI crimes, AI fraud, AI scams, Biz & IT, deepfake, Deepfakes, Faceswap, faceswapping, Hong Kong, image synthesis, machine learning, police, romance scam / Tim Belzer / October 16, 2024

The police operation resulted in the seizure of computers, mobile phones, and about $25,756 in suspected proceeds and luxury watches from the syndicate’s headquarters. Police said that victims originated from multiple countries, including Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan, India, and Singapore.

A widening real-time deepfake problem

Realtime deepfakes have become a growing problem over the past year. In August, we covered a free app called Deep-Live-Cam that can do real-time face-swaps for video chat use, and in February, the Hong Kong office of British engineering firm Arup lost $25 million in an AI-powered scam in which the perpetrators used deepfakes of senior management during a video conference call to trick an employee into transferring money.

News of the scam also comes amid recent warnings from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, notes The Record in a report about the recent scam ring. The agency released a report last week highlighting tech advancements among organized crime syndicates in Asia, specifically mentioning the increasing use of deepfake technology in fraud.

The UN agency identified more than 10 deepfake software providers selling their services on Telegram to criminal groups in Southeast Asia, showing the growing accessibility of this technology for illegal purposes.

Some companies are attempting to find automated solutions to the issues presented by AI-powered crime, including Reality Defender, which creates software that attempts to detect deepfakes in real time. Some deepfake detection techniques may work at the moment, but as the fakes improve in realism and sophistication, we may be looking at an escalating arms race between those who seek to fool others and those who want to prevent deception.

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Robot dogs armed with AI-aimed rifles undergo US Marines Special Ops evaluation

AI, autonomous weapons, Biz & IT, Boston Robotics, Ghost Robotics, machine learning, Marines, MARSOC, Military, Onyx Industries, police, Robots, Tech, US Marines, US Military, Weapons, weapons systems / Paul Patrick / May 9, 2024

The future of warfare —

Quadrupeds being reviewed have automatic targeting systems but require human oversight to fire.

Benj Edwards – May 8, 2024 7: 59 pm UTC

Enlarge / A still image of a robotic quadruped armed with a remote weapons system, captured from a video provided by Onyx Industries.

The United States Marine Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) is currently evaluating a new generation of robotic “dogs” developed by Ghost Robotics, with the potential to be equipped with gun systems from defense tech company Onyx Industries, reports The War Zone.

While MARSOC is testing Ghost Robotics’ quadrupedal unmanned ground vehicles (called “Q-UGVs” for short) for various applications, including reconnaissance and surveillance, it’s the possibility of arming them with weapons for remote engagement that may draw the most attention. But it’s not unprecedented: The US Marine Corps has also tested robotic dogs armed with rocket launchers in the past.

MARSOC is currently in possession of two armed Q-UGVs undergoing testing, as confirmed by Onyx Industries staff, and their gun systems are based on Onyx’s SENTRY remote weapon system (RWS), which features an AI-enabled digital imaging system and can automatically detect and track people, drones, or vehicles, reporting potential targets to a remote human operator that could be located anywhere in the world. The system maintains a human-in-the-loop control for fire decisions, and it cannot decide to fire autonomously.

On LinkedIn, Onyx Industries shared a video of a similar system in action.

In a statement to The War Zone, MARSOC states that weaponized payloads are just one of many use cases being evaluated. MARSOC also clarifies that comments made by Onyx Industries to The War Zone regarding the capabilities and deployment of these armed robot dogs “should not be construed as a capability or a singular interest in one of many use cases during an evaluation.” The command further stresses that it is aware of and adheres to all Department of Defense policies concerning autonomous weapons.

The rise of robotic unmanned ground vehicles

Enlarge / An unauthorized video of a gun bolted onto a $3,000 Unitree robodog spread quickly on social media in July 2022 and prompted a response from several robotics companies.

Alexander Atamanov

The evaluation of armed robotic dogs reflects a growing interest in small robotic unmanned ground vehicles for military use. While unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been remotely delivering lethal force under human command for at least two decades, the rise of inexpensive robotic quadrupeds—some available for as little as $1,600—has led to a new round of experimentation with strapping weapons to their backs.

In July 2022, a video of a rifle bolted to the back of a Unitree robodog went viral on social media, eventually leading Boston Robotics and other robot vendors to issue a pledge that October to not weaponize their robots (with notable exceptions for military uses). In April, we covered a Unitree Go2 robot dog, with a flame thrower strapped on its back, on sale to the general public.

The prospect of deploying armed robotic dogs, even with human oversight, raises significant questions about the future of warfare and the potential risks and ethical implications of increasingly autonomous weapons systems. There’s also the potential for backlash if similar remote weapons systems eventually end up used domestically by police. Such a concern would not be unfounded: In November 2022, we covered a decision by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to allow the San Francisco Police Department to use lethal robots against suspects.

There’s also concern that the systems will become more autonomous over time. As The War Zone’s Howard Altman and Oliver Parken describe in their article, “While further details on MARSOC’s use of the gun-armed robot dogs remain limited, the fielding of this type of capability is likely inevitable at this point. As AI-enabled drone autonomy becomes increasingly weaponized, just how long a human will stay in the loop, even for kinetic acts, is increasingly debatable, regardless of assurances from some in the military and industry.”

While the technology is still in the early stages of testing and evaluation, Q-UGVs do have the potential to provide reconnaissance and security capabilities that reduce risks to human personnel in hazardous environments. But as armed robotic systems continue to evolve, it will be crucial to address ethical concerns and ensure that their use aligns with established policies and international law.

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How Virtual Reality Is Revolutionizing Police Training

Application, Education & Training, featured, law enforcement, police, training, virtual reality / Rejus Almole / August 11, 2023

Law enforcement officers face various complex and challenging situations where they must respond to high-risk incidents involving armed perpetrators. Unfortunately, police officers in the US only receive less than six months of police training—which is where virtual reality comes in.

Using VR helps augment the need for more in-depth training in a safe and immersive training environment. It also helps further hone their skills, allowing them to effectively manage a more comprehensive array of situations, including highly stressful and unpredictable scenarios.

In this article, we’ll explore virtual reality’s role in police training, its benefits, and some real-life applications.

Why VR Is an Effective Training Tool

VR has many police training applications, allowing officers to improve their interactions with their communities and help them develop the necessary reactions in a more controlled environment. It provides law enforcement officers with immersive experiences close to real-life situations, which can help improve their learning and performance compared to more traditional training methods. With virtual reality police training, users can interact with a simulated environment that reacts accordingly, making them feel like they’re really there.

As a police training tool, VR can be used to enhance existing aspects of training, according to a study by Laura Giessing of Heidelberg University. It has the potential to help officers become better equipped to face critical incidents on duty by acquiring skills and tactics that can be readily applied when facing high-stress situations.

Benefits of VR in Police Training

Aside from helping law enforcement officers further develop skills such as communication, de-escalation, or intervention, it can also help them build empathy. Developing empathy allows officers to become more effective on duty by better understanding what a particular subject is going through.

Using VR as a police training tool has several key benefits, including:

Officer Safety

Police officers face complex and potentially dangerous scenarios in their line of work. Using VR for police training allows them to immerse in those scenarios without the risk of physical harm.

Access to Realistic Simulations

Virtual reality can simulate realistic scenarios that elicit the same reactions as their real-world counterparts. These simulations give officers the opportunity to continuously expose themselves to the simulations and gain as much experience as possible before facing similar situations in the field.

Customizable Scenarios

The great thing about using virtual reality in police training is that it’s a scalable and customizable solution. This means that training academies or organizations can create custom scenarios that align with changing needs and industry best practices.

Enhanced Decision-Making Capabilities

By exposing officers to realistic simulations, they can hone their critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills. VR training can also be modified to simulate increasingly high-stress or high-risk situations, helping officers learn how to effectively handle and de-escalate such scenarios at a more manageable pace.

Focus on Evaluation and Debriefing

VR can also help officers learn how to best evaluate a scenario and execute more in-depth debriefing sessions. That’s because users can replay different scenarios, allowing them to analyze each segment in more detail.

Real-World Examples of Police VR Training

Many police departments and organizations in the US and abroad already use VR for police training. These include:

Sacramento Police Department

This department uses immersive video simulators to recreate real-world scenarios, providing its officers with cultural competency and implicit bias training. Officers are also educated about proper decision-making and peer intervention.

Los Alamos Police Department

In 2021, the Los Alamos Police Department started applying VR technology to train its officers in more effective de-escalation tactics.

Mexico City

Mexico City established the first virtual reality training center for officers in Latin America. One of the goals of the training center is to help officers enhance their reflexes in high-risk or stressful emergency scenarios to improve their performance.

Gwent Police

Gwent Police officers benefit from a VR training program that teaches them how to respond to and make better decisions in stressful situations. The program has 10 scenarios based on real-life problems that police officers frequently encounter.

Dutch Police

The Dutch Police developed a VR simulation game that trains officers to complete different scenarios. This VR training also provides bias training for Dutch Police officers, helping them become more knowledgeable and better prevent ethnic profiling.

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