We are living in a technological revolution. Breakthroughs have transformed the fields of medicine, education and science. Information can be shared across the globe in seconds. A tap on a screen can connect us with new people, cultures and ideas.
But while these technological innovations have driven remarkable progress, they have also enabled transnational organized crime groups to operate at a scale and speed unthinkable just a couple of decades ago.
Human traffickers can now use artificial intelligence tools to scrape social media sites to pinpoint the most vulnerable recruits. In areas where they exert de facto control, drug traffickers can integrate facial recognition software into CCTV networks to detect undercover officers or unmarked police vehicles. Money launderers can purchase “privacy coins,” or cryptocurrencies which offer a higher level of anonymous blockchain transactions, to remain untraceable. Scam operations can produce deep-fake videos, images and audio to create highly convincing but fabricated impersonations to convince you to transfer your savings away. Firearms traffickers can print 3D versions of weapons at a fraction of the cost.
The examples may differ, but the pattern remains the same: in every type of crime, technology has made it easier than ever for criminals to reach more victims, move money more quickly and inflict more damage. It has also created openings for new types of crime to flourish, namely cyber-dependent crimes like malware, hacking, distributed denial of service attacks and more, to steal money, data or other valuable assets.
As noted by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in his remarks at the opening for signature of the UN Cybercrime Convention: “The damage [caused by cybercrime] is beyond financial: it erodes trust in our institutions, undermines the rule of law, and causes real-world harm.”
How can we respond against such a threat? How can governments, businesses, and individuals protect themselves against such effective, borderless and adaptable criminal business models?
A framework for collective action
Unilateral, under-resourced and uncoordinated action is not an option.
“In cyberspace, nobody is safe until everybody is safe,” continued Guterres. “One vulnerability anywhere can expose people and institutions everywhere.”
The new UN Cybercrime Convention, which opened for signature in October 2025, seeks to provide a framework for the collective global response needed. Many of the obstacles faced by law enforcement when confronting cybercrime are addressed by the Convention, chief among them the sharing of electronic evidence. With perpetrators in one country, victims in another and the electronic evidence stored somewhere else entirely, policing cybercrime can be costly and time-consuming. Moreover, even if an investigator in one country were able to obtain access to evidence in another country, and such evidence electronic data hadn’t been already destroyed or deleted, there would be no guarantee that the evidence would be admissible in court.
But with the new UN Cybercrime Convention, States will all define electronic evidence consistently and apply the same standards when collecting such evidence. This means that when one country collects electronic evidence on a cybercrime, such evidence will be admissible in any country in the world who has ratified the Convention.
States will also have access to a 24/7 network to help facilitate urgent requests for information or evidence. They can also use the network to request cooperation on investigations and prosecutions; the identification, freezing, seizure return, etc. of crime proceeds; mutual legal assistance; extradition and more.
As of 30 September 2026, 95 countries have signed the Convention, with three ratifications. The Convention needs 40 ratifications before it can enter into force and will require bold investments of political and financial resources to build capacity for implementation. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is already working with Member States to make ratification as simple as possible, while preparing tailored technical assistance on implementation.
Innovative responses
Legislation needs to be reinforced by forward-thinking and adaptable responses to be effective in the day-to-day fight against cybercrime. Fortunately, the same technology that makes criminals faster and more efficient can also be deployed by law enforcement to fight back.
UNODC is also using virtual reality modules to train border management officials to detect smuggled drugs. Officials don the virtual reality headsets and then are immersed in a port or a border checkpoint and must detect the drugs hidden in the containers or vehicles.
Enhanced financial intelligence is essential to counter the concealment, transfer or legitimization of illicit proceeds, which is why UNODC provides national authorities with advanced technical assistance, including on machine learning, crypto-assets, blockchain analysis and more to improve the detection and investigation of money laundering and terrorism financing.
Many transnational organized crimes, from migrant smuggling to the trafficking of drugs, firearms, wildlife and more, happen at sea. UNODC has partnered with Skylight, an online platform that uses artificial intelligence to detect suspicious vessel activity, to introduce the tool to over 40 countries. The technology has already helped countries identify instances of drug smuggling and fisheries crimes.
Artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies can also be used to find human traffickers, including by detecting takeovers of victims’ bank accounts, using predictive analysis, merging fragmented data to detect people using multiple identities, natural language processing on adverse media, and more.
These examples represent just a fraction of the sophisticated technological options Member States have to fight back against organized crime. UNODC will continue to work with law enforcement and judicial authorities to equip them with advanced equipment, trainings and digital forensic tools and software that will enable them to address cyber-enabled and cyber-dependent threats and help, in the words of Guterres, “ensure that the digital age delivers peace, security and prosperity for all.”