Issues of countering crimes committed using IT technologies

Aliev Timur Firudinovich ORCID: 0000-0002-0645-931X Junior Police Lieutenant, Faculty of Law Enforcement, East Siberian Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia 664017, Russia, Irkutsk region, Irkutsk, Lermontova, 110 timuraliev.2018@mail.ru

Digitalization of the population covers many spheres of life, allowing to solve certain tasks more effectively. Information and telecommunication technologies (hereinafter referred to as ITT; IT technologies) are inextricably linked with scientific and technological progress, and in the age of digital technologies it is problematic to imagine a person who does not use a smartphone, laptop or other gadget. There is no doubt about the convenience and practicality of digital technologies, for example, in solving everyday issues using messengers or search engines.

On the other hand, the progression of IT technologies, in addition to its undeniable advantages, has a downside: the commission of fraud, extortion, hacking, drug trafficking, the spread of virus programs and other illegal actions using information technology is becoming more common ^{[1, pp. 221-224]}. It is a well-known fact: "the state of crime is a kind of reflection, an indicator of the processes taking place in society" ^{[2, p. 99]}.

The development of information technologies, in particular, has affected new ways of committing cybercrimes. Thus, the computer network has become a new effective tool for doing business and a new powerful channel for the spread of criminal acts. In this regard, it seems necessary to work out the most optimal and effective forms of their counteraction ^{[3, p. 222; 4, p. 16]}. Indeed, in the age of digital technologies, the problem of cybercrime is of acute urgency, and countering it has both theoretical and practical significance.

In this study, the author uses the works of domestic scientists A. A. Balashova, A. A. Baranov, O. P. Gribunov, K. N. Evdokimov, A. A. Ostapenko, S. V. Parkhomenko, N. A. Poltoratsky, Yu. L. Solovieva, S. V. Timofeeva, E. I. Tretyakov, S. I. Usacheva, and others, many of whom are recognized scientists in the field of countering cybercrime. The works of the above researchers, we believe, correspond to the research topic, have a sign of sufficiency, contribute to the disclosure of various aspects of the stated topic. The author of the article shows various points of view on this topic and further gives his own position on the problem under study.

When considering the problem of cybercrime, it must be said that cybercrime originates from the last century. As O. P. Gribunov and A. A. Baranov note, with each appearance of new systems, programs capable of hacking and receiving data from various devices were developed. In the future, computer crimes began to manifest themselves in the form of damage to computer systems: the arrival of such a concept as "piracy" into the information environment and the creation of unofficial software products, which entailed the possibility of unauthorized access to computer data. As a result, the adoption of various kinds of official documents became obvious. For example, in November 2001, in Budapest (Hungary), the Council of Europe signed the Convention on Crime in the Field of Computer Information ETS No. 185 ^[5], which reflected the general principles of international cooperation and the main directions aimed at protecting society from crime in the field of computer information ^{[6, p. 56]}. These data are confirmation that cybercrime is constantly developing in the variability of its commission and, unfortunately, this happens with the advent of new computer innovations.

Studying the current state of crimes in the IT sphere, we note that over the past decade there has been a jump in so-called cybercrimes, the counteraction of which in modern realities is a priority. As the representative of the forensic center of the Investigative Committee T. Y. Salikhov points out, from 2014 to 2022, an almost fifty-fold increase in IT crimes was recorded (10 thousand against 510 thousand). Also, according to the above-named, attackers use artificial intelligence to create phishing sites or generate text that in the original version looks like the material of a certain organization ^[7].

Continuing to cite statistical indicators, we note that in March of this year, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin at an expanded meeting of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (hereinafter — the Ministry of Internal Affairs Russia) reported that the cybercrime rate was a quarter of the total number of criminal cases. According to the head of the Russian state, the fight against this type of crime is one of the priorities of the activities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.

It is worth adding that the head of the ITT Crimes Investigation Department of the central office of the Investigative Committee of Russia, K. P. Komarda, said that the level of this category of crimes has increased 20 times over the past seven years, also noting that law enforcement officers should take into account all the specificity of these crimes, interact with specialists in this field ^[8].

So, in order to conduct research on computer equipment and information, it is necessary to attract competent specialists whose knowledge can help, for example, find ways to decrypt information hidden on electronic media. An important form of application of special knowledge is participation in investigative actions, for example, when a suspect is detained red-handed, an inspection with working equipment can be carried out. The data seized on an electronic data carrier is subjected to direct examination by a specialist ^{[9, p. 885; 10, p. 13; 11, p. 67; 12, p. 216]}. Based on this, it should be noted that the seizure, research and fixation of computer information require the involvement of competent specialists, since the seized information can be a source of evidence.

High technologies in modern realities are an integral part of the life of society. Taking into account all the specifics of crimes in the field of ITT, it is important for police officers to "be one step ahead" of cybercriminals, improve their abilities and knowledge in solving and investigating this category of crimes. As it was noted, cybercrime is growing every year, and this is an acute problem for Russian police officers. ^{[13, p. 79]}.

Thus, when considering the issue of countering this category of crime, it is necessary to say about the importance of training and technical equipment of law enforcement officers. It should be emphasized that over the past few years, the State has been taking measures to intensify the fight against cybercrime. So, in 2020, units for combating cybercrime began to be formed in the structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. The Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, Police General V. A. Kolokoltsev stated that, "given the scale of the spread of cybercrimes, the variety of schemes and methods of their commission, the absence of a single disclosure algorithm, it is impossible to achieve a radical improvement, since new units must be provided not only with personnel, but also with modern technologies" ^[14].

Due to the fact that new ways of committing cybercrimes are emerging, police officers must develop new methods of combating them, because the old ones are becoming ineffective. As a result, it is necessary to work on the talion principle, i.e. to fight cybercrimes absolutely "mirror" — using information technology.

So, the development of artificial intelligence is not standing still, which, in addition to its application in human life (for example, the chat bot ChatGPT, which has recently been widely discussed by society), can also help in combating crime. It should be understood that artificial intelligence is a neural network capable of working and performing human—like actions in accordance with an algorithm given to it. It's no secret that police officers have quite a lot of work not only in terms of drafting procedural documents, but also in carrying out individual actions (for example, operational search activities or investigative actions). As a result of the above, artificial intelligence can help law enforcement officers in their activities, and in particular in the fight against cybercrime. The advantage of artificial intelligence is the ability to select the necessary information from the initial large array of information.

For example, the police of London's New Scotland Yard use artificial intelligence in crime investigations, where large amounts of data need to be processed in a short period of time. Previously, the team could spend whole months studying them, but now, without exaggeration, it takes a few hours. The degree of tension is quite high, because the police have to find the necessary evidence in a limited time, which is allotted for the detention of the suspect. During one of the investigations, a team of New Scotland Yard employees needed to view about 70 thousand messages in the messenger. It could have taken three months of constant work of a laboratory of 150 people. And if we take into account that investigators are working on several cases at the same time, then the search time could increase significantly ^[15].

Let's consider how information technologies are used to counter cybercrime based on foreign experience. Thus, in the criminal process of the United States, the use of the latest developments is very active, which allow optimizing procedural actions leading to a successful investigation of crimes in the area studied by the author of the article. For example, a face recognition system is actively used, which is undoubtedly practical and convenient in terms of identifying a person and reducing time for law enforcement agencies.

In the UK, genomic databases based on STR-DNA polymorphism (STR — Short Tandem Repeats) are used. Technical capabilities help to identify a person by his biological materials ^{[16, p.162]}.

In Canada, the filing and online registration of procedural documents is actively used, and with the help of the web interface, participants in the proceedings can get acquainted in detail with the materials of the criminal case ^{[17, p.25]}.

It should be emphasized that it is important to develop and apply new technologies in the investigation of crimes, which will have an effective impact both on countering them and in the future on their prevention (prevention). We believe it is necessary to mention that the use of these technologies will reduce the time for conducting operational search and investigative measures, which will allow for other procedural actions. In particular, when working with a large amount of information, it is advisable to use artificial intelligence, which performs the so-called sampling on a certain algorithmization, i.e. searches for the necessary information. For example, if an investigator needs to analyze a large amount of information (read about 100 thousand messages on the seized computer of a suspect and find information of a criminal nature), then a considerable amount of time will be spent on this. In this case, artificial intelligence can become a significant help for the investigator in finding the necessary information. Persons who commit IT crimes may have accomplices, so the analysis of all messages can provide the necessary information for the investigation of a criminal case.

When talking about artificial intelligence, we note that it can also be used for facial recognition — based on its biometric data; voice analysis — its tone, the presence of defects, etc. (especially relevant for online scammers, when, for example, operational staff can receive the results of an operational search event "Wiretapping" and with the help of artificial intelligence to analyze its compliance with the detained criminal); construction of investigative versions and, accordingly, investigative actions on them; analysis of human behavior (for example, during interrogation). Note that artificial intelligence can also be used as an interpreter during interrogation for a person who does not speak the state language.

The specifics of the investigation of cybercrimes lies in the fact that when conducting certain investigative or procedural actions, it is necessary to obtain a court decision. For example, in accordance with Article 186.1 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, the investigator receives permission from the court to obtain information about cellular communications. In this regard, it is necessary to say about the mobility of cybercriminals, i.e. their ability to commit illegal actions in one place and immediately after their implementation to change their location. With regard to this, it can be noted that the criminal has the opportunity to hide from law enforcement officers and thereby evade responsibility. In this case, it would be advisable to consider obtaining a court decision more quickly, which in general will have an effective effect on the investigation of cybercrimes ^{[18, pp. 78-79]}.

We consider it reasonable to focus on the category of "user" of the Internet space. This may be any person who has an appropriate access to the Internet information and telecommunications network. It will be beneficial for an attacker if a "new" user, i.e. a short time using a gadget or gullible by himself, thereby easily amenable to manipulation. People of any age can become victims of cybercriminals. This may be a teenager who has recently started using a smartphone, or an elderly person who, having received an "interesting offer" from an attacker, may succumb to his criminal manipulations. It is also appropriate to recall the same bank fraud, when an attacker calls and introduces himself as a bank employee, after which he tries to carry out fraudulent actions.

Indisputable, as the author sees it, is the point of view of S. V. Parkhomenko and K. N. Evdokimova that "prevention of computer crimes is one of the main activities of law enforcement agencies to ensure the information security of Russian society" ^{[19, p. 266]}. As a result, the rule "forewarned means armed" works.

Taking into account the above, it is definitely important to carry out preventive measures, and the initiators of such measures may be not only police officers, but also representatives of cellular companies or cyber friends (persons assisting law enforcement officers). Undoubtedly, with the development of information technologies, cybercriminals are able to think through new methods of committing illegal actions, but from the point of view of their prevention, premature awareness of the population will be an important key to countering this category of crimes.

Thus, based on the analysis of the current state of cybercrime, it can be argued that it is necessary to improve methods of countering it, taking into account scientific and technological progress, in parallel with which attackers are constantly developing new criminal schemes. As it was noted, it is necessary to "be one step ahead" of cybercriminals, and this is achievable as a priority by developing the necessary knowledge and skills of law enforcement officers to counter crimes committed using IT technologies. Taking into account the dynamic development and use of information technologies in many spheres of life, we believe that their use in the activities of police officers is very appropriate, such as, for example, the use of artificial intelligence of police officers of London New Scotland Yard. Also, for the purpose of prevention, it seems rational to raise awareness of the population on the safe use of digital technologies, notifying about the "typical" machinations of cybercriminals.

The emergence of new computer programs, methods, methods and tools in the field of detection and investigation of crimes is of great practical importance for more successful counteraction to crimes in the field of information technology. Now law enforcement officers can more quickly identify traces of crimes, simulate images of criminals, collect evidence, etc. In the future, the introduction of new information technologies will help reduce the number of IT crimes committed, as well as increase the percentage of their detection. Thus, the author of the article reported on the practical possibility of using artificial intelligence in the disclosure and investigation of IT crimes.

In the age of information technology, there is also an improvement in the methods and types of committing crimes, and in particular in the field of information technology, therefore, one of the main tasks of successful law enforcement agencies in terms of detecting and investigating crimes is the need to introduce and successfully use IT technologies in the fight against criminal acts.

Thus, of course, it is necessary to further create and implement information technologies in the daily activities of law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation.

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