Issue Criminals gaining tools, data and anonymity to exploit weakly regulated sectors

Summary

Over the longer term, the report expects criminals to gain easier access to tools, data and anonymity, allowing them to exploit poorly regulated sectors and widen cyber crime opportunities. The cyber crime economy is already becoming more sophisticated, and ransomware is among the greatest risks to government, business and critical infrastructure. The range of attackers is widening and many are based overseas, which complicates law enforcement. The report argues that lower barriers to offensive tools give organised crime groups new capabilities, and that emerging cyber methods open new routes to financial crime, linking this risk to fraud and illicit finance. Conversely, reducing successful ransomware attacks could weaken the financial base of organised crime groups.