Imagine, a criminal has to murder someone. He no longer needs bombs or sharpshooters. He can remotely hack the smart device (IoT) of that person’s home, make the car’s brakes fail, or attack by sending a cheap drone. 3D printing has done even more wonders; Criminals are ‘printing’ deadly rifles at the bases themselves, due to which smuggling of weapons and the fear of their getting caught is ending. This story may seem like a science-fiction film, but it is the bitter reality of the future. For decades, the strength of terrorist and criminal gangs was measured by the land they controlled – like the Taliban or Mexican cartels. All this is going to change in the next two decades. Now crime needs neither land nor many fighters; He just needs ‘data’ and ‘technology’. Wanda Brown, an expert on international security and conflict at the Brookings Institution’s Strobe Talbot Center, says, ‘Earlier, miles of land were required to grow opium or cocaine, but now synthetic drugs are made in small basements. Criminals do not need to go anywhere to collect money. They are earning trillions of dollars sitting at home through AI-scams, ransomware and cryptocurrency. The center of ‘power’ has no longer become a geographical map but a digital server. Wanda says, ‘Earlier, thousands of soldiers were needed to capture a city. But now through drone swarms and automated cyber attacks, a handful of people can take an entire city hostage by cutting off electricity and water. Crime is no longer labor intensive but ‘technology’ based. Experts believe that the biggest battle in the coming time will be over data. The gang which can break into the government system and steal data or tamper with it will win. The biggest culprit will be those with the most ‘data access’. The challenge for the police and security agencies is that the surveillance technology they use to catch these criminals should not violate the privacy and human rights of the citizens. Criminals can break into homes with a team of hackers Diana Garcia, Senior Research Assistant at Strobe Talbot Center, says, ‘The face of crime and terrorism is now moving away from ‘bloody land’ towards ‘clean data centers’. It is a race between technology and security, where the one who knows how to control the data and keep it safe will win. The future criminal can reach your bedroom with a team of ‘hackers’, and this is the biggest challenge of today’s times.
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