International Journal on Criminology Volume 7, Number 1, Winter 2019/2020 | Page 16

New Perspectives in the Fight against Cyberattacks
or strengthen partnerships with researchers and key internet actors, in particular
public actors. Moreover, the fight against cybercrime requires fast and continuous
innovation with the goal of developing technical solutions to constantly evolving
problems. This innovation should lead to closer ties between investigators and
researchers.
Second, it is also necessary to create an electronic registry system to store
and preserve pieces of digital evidence in order to reduce the physical management
of materials that are cumbersome, in terms not only of computer units and
storage but also of data volume. Moreover, it is now a given that developments in
artificial intelligence will have an impact on the criminal sphere. New forms of
crime will appear—for example, autonomous drones 23 that are armed or involved
in the logistics of trafficking. Artificial intelligence has already been hijacked, and
the threat of its misuse spreading across all networks is growing.
Faced with this threat, and taking into account more generally the exponential
growth of the amount of digital data produced, we must develop artificial-intelligence
capabilities and applications that focus on the processing of mass data
and the fight against all forms of crime, especially cybercrime. Indeed, I would argue
that, in the near future, only artificial intelligence will be able to solve forensic
issues related to the hijacking of artificial intelligence. 24 The development of these
capacities should be based on a strong partnership between the public, private, and
university sectors. In this respect, it is particularly important to extend the ability
to implement—within a strict framework and according to perfectly defined rules
of usage —cyberdefense measures when certain forms of cybercrime are able to
threaten national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and our critical infrastructure.
Conclusion
By definition, cybercrime is the form of crime that requires the greatest capacity
to adapt and evolve on the part of the authorities. A threat in terms
of its purposes, its means, and its substance, cybercrime is creating a danger
to France’s vital interests.
For several years, the fight against cybercrime has been the subject of special
attention, and resources have been developed to this end. It remains the case
that the evolution of this form of crime, which numerous terrorist organizations
have seized upon, requires heightened protection of networks and personal data,
as well as a speeding up of the development of capabilities and competences. This
fight should also be placed within the context of the rapid construction of a transnational
legal order related to information and communications technologies.
23 Lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS) are now the subject of intense work within the Conference
on Disarmament. See the statement made by the Permanent Representative of France on
November 15, 2017, https://cd-geneve.delegfrance.org.
24 See Thomas Cassuto, “Justice et intelligence artificielle,” L’ENA hors les murs (June 2018).
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