The Hague, Netherlands — The European Union’s law enforcement agency issued a warning on Tuesday, highlighting how artificial intelligence is accelerating organized crime within the 27-member bloc. This surge is undermining societal foundations as AI becomes intertwined with state-backed efforts to destabilize. Europol’s recent report on organized crime, updated every four years using data from EU police departments, aims to influence future law enforcement strategies in Europe.
Cybercrime is rapidly transforming into a digital arms race, targeting governments, businesses, and individuals. “AI-driven attacks are becoming more precise and devastating,” stated Europol’s Executive Director Catherine De Bolle. She further remarked on the dual motivations behind some attacks—profit and destabilization—since they are increasingly state-aligned and ideologically driven.
The EU Serious and Organized Crime Threat Assessment 2025 outlines offenses ranging from drug trafficking and human smuggling to money laundering, cyber attacks, and online fraud. These activities erode societal structures and the rule of law by generating illicit profits, spreading violence, and promoting corruption.
AI has significantly increased the availability of child sexual abuse material online, complicating efforts to analyze imagery and identify perpetrators, the report noted. It highlighted how criminals employ highly realistic synthetic media to deceive, impersonate, and extort, with AI-powered voice cloning and live video deepfakes heightening the threat, and enabling new forms of fraud, extortion, and identity theft.
States seeking geopolitical advantages are also leveraging criminals as contractors, the report indicated, referencing cyber-attacks targeting vital infrastructure and public institutions, particularly from Russia and countries within its sphere of influence. “Hybrid and traditional cybercrime actors will increasingly be intertwined,” the report said, with state-backed entities cloaking themselves as cybercriminals to disguise their true origins and motives.
The Polish Interior Ministry’s Undersecretary of State, Maciej Duszczyk, cited a recent AI-enhanced cyberattack on a hospital as the latest example affecting his nation. “Unfortunately, this hospital had to halt its operations for hours due to a severe cyber-attack,” he stated.
AI and other emerging technologies are increasingly serving as catalysts for crime, enhancing the speed, reach, and complexity of criminal activities, according to the report. As the European Commission prepares to unveil a new internal security strategy, De Bolle urged European nations to promptly address these threats. “We must embed security into everything we do,” emphasized European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner, while noting plans to allocate additional funds over the coming years to double Europol’s workforce.
