“Bad Bot Report”, penalties for deepfake materials and AI cybercrimes

Under UK Ministry of Justice legislation, the creation of sexually explicit deepfake material is now considered a criminal offence, regardless of whether it is shared or not. The individuals who create such deepfakes without the explicit consent of the other person will be included in the criminal register and punished with an unlimited fine. If the deepfake is shared widely, then its author could face imprisonment. Unfortunately, there has been a rise in the number of American families and children falling victim to fraud, which is being carried out using photos and videos created using artificial intelligence. Additionally, the number of materials on the internet that depict child sexual abuse is increasing with perpetrators mostly using social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

According to Cifas criminals are using AI-based technology, deepfakes, social media and social engineering tactics to attack consumers and steal their data. In 2023, identity theft was the most common type of fraud, accounting for almost two-thirds of incidents. Cifas members were able to prevent fraud losses worth GBP 1.8 billion. Meanwhile, a report by Imperva (“Bad Bot Report”) last year revealed that bots are increasingly taking over social media. Bots generated 49.6% of all internet traffic in the world, and in Ireland, up to 71% of internet activity was automated. This growth is due, in part, to the adoption of generative AI and large language models.