ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE-ENABLED CYBERCRIME: CURRENT THREATS, LEGAL IMPLICATIONS, AND FUTURE REGULATORY PRIORITIES
Keywords:
Artificial intelligence, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Digital evidence, Legal regulation
Abstract
Artificial intelligence has created new opportunities for cybercriminals by increasing the speed, scale, personalization, and adaptability of malicious activity. This review examines the major forms of artificial intelligence-enabled cybercrime and evaluates their legal, evidentiary, jurisdictional, regulatory, and human rights implications. Evidence from legal, criminological, cybersecurity, and technological literature was synthesised to identify current threats and governance gaps. The review covers AI-assisted phishing, automated social engineering, deepfakes, synthetic impersonation, adaptive malware, ransomware, biometric misuse, privacy violations, dark web markets, cryptocurrency laundering, and AI-supported criminal services. It also analyses challenges involving criminal attribution, civil and corporate liability, digital evidence authentication, forensic reliability, cross-border investigations, and international cooperation. Current legal frameworks remain fragmented and often struggle to address distributed responsibility, autonomous system behaviour, rapidly changing attack methods, and inconsistent enforcement capacity. Effective governance requires coordinated application of criminal law, cybersecurity regulation, data protection, platform accountability, and procedural safeguards. Developers, deployers, users, and service providers should be subject to proportionate obligations based on control, foreseeability, and risk. Future priorities include secure-by-design development, synthetic media provenance, validated forensic tools, specialist law-enforcement training, rapid evidence-preservation mechanisms, victim remedies, and harmonized international standards. A preventive, adaptive, and rights-respecting regulatory approach is essential to reduce AI-enabled cybercrime while preserving innovation, privacy, equality, freedom of expression, and due process.
References
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35.Njuguna, L. W. (2024). AI-Assisted Digital Forensics for National Security Investigations. International Journal of Technology, Management and Humanities, 10(01), 125-146.
36.Oluoha, O. M., Odeshina, A., Reis, O., Okpeke, F., Attipoe, V., & Orieno, O. H. (2022). Artificial intelligence integration in regulatory compliance: A strategic model for cybersecurity enhancement. Journal of Frontiers in Multidisciplinary Research, 3(1), 35-46.
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38.Peters, A., & Jordan, A. (2019). Countering the cyber enforcement gap: Strengthening global capacity on cybercrime. J. Nat'l Sec. L. & Pol'y, 10, 487.
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2.Ahmad, R., Saleem, S., & Hussain, S. (2025). Ethical and Legal Challenges of Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Human Right. Journal of Law, Society and Policy Review, 2(01), 10-25.
3.Ali, M. J. (2024). Cybercrime and cybersecurity: A critical analysis of legal frameworks and enforcement mechanisms. BHARATI INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT Учредители: Gungun Publishing House, 2(8), 137-154.
4.Amoo, O. O., Atadoga, A., Abrahams, T. O., Farayola, O. A., Osasona, F., & Ayinla, B. S. (2024). The legal landscape of cybercrime: A review of contemporary issues in the criminal justice system. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 21(2), 205-217.
5.Andraško, J., Mesarčík, M., & Hamuľák, O. (2021). The regulatory intersections between artificial intelligence, data protection and cyber security: challenges and opportunities for the EU legal framework. AI & society, 36(2), 623-636.
6.Arnell, P., & Faturoti, B. (2023). The prosecution of cybercrime–why transnational and extraterritorial jurisdiction should be resisted. International Review of Law, Computers & Technology, 37(1), 29-51.
7.Atrey, I. (2023). Cybercrime and its Legal Implications: Analysing the challenges and Legal frameworks surrounding Cybercrime, including issues related to Jurisdiction, Privacy, and Digital Evidence. International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews, 10(3).
8.Blauth, T. F., Gstrein, O. J., & Zwitter, A. (2022). Artificial intelligence crime: An overview of malicious use and abuse of AI. Ieee Access, 10, 77110-77122.
9.Busacca, A., & Monaca, M. A. (2023). Deepfake: Creation, purpose, risks. In Innovations and economic and social changes due to artificial intelligence: the state of the art (pp. 55-68). Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.
10.Cassidy, A. A. T. J., Fuad, A., & Shofy, M. U. A. A. (2024). Emerging trends and challenges in digital crime: A study of cyber criminal tactics and countermeasures. TechComp Innovations: Journal of Computer Science and Technology, 1(1), 38-45.
11.Çela, E. Analysis of the Impact of Digital Transformation of the Legal Field on Data Cybersecurity.
12.Choudhry, M. D., Sundarrajan, M., Jeevanandham, S., & Saravanan, V. (2024). Security and privacy issues in AI-based biometric systems. In AI Based Advancements in Biometrics and its Applications (pp. 85-100). CRC Press.
13.Darma, M., Gisymar, N. A., Purwadi, A., Zubaedah, P. A., & Judijanto, L. (2025). Legal Implications of Deepfake Technology Misuse in Digital Content on Social Media. Science of Law, 3, 98-103.
14.Dharm, J., Girme, A., & Gharde, U. (2024). Artificial intelligence: Challenges in criminal and civil liability. International Journal of Law, 10(2), 52-57.
15.Dremliuga, R., & Prisekina, N. (2020). The concept of culpability in criminal law and AI systems. J. Pol. & L., 13, 256.
16.El-Kady, R. (2025). Unveiling the Illegal Uses of Cryptocurrencies in Dark Web and Advanced AI and Machine Learning Techniques in Cryptocurrency Forensics. In Concept, Theories, and Management of Cryptocurrencies (pp. 363-394). IGI Global Scientific Publishing.
17.Ezeji, C. L. (2024). Cyber policy for monitoring and regulating cyberspace and cyber security measures for combating technologically enhanced crime in South Africa. International Journal of Business Ecosystem & Strategy (2687-2293), 6(5), 96-109.
18.Falade, P. V. (2023). Decoding the threat landscape: ChatGPT, FraudGPT, and WormGPT in social engineering attacks. arXiv preprint arXiv:2310.05595.
19.Fekolli, S., Çela, E., Erdolatov, C., Biyashev, B., & Ismailova, G. (2025). Analysis of the Impact of Digital Transformation of the Legal Field on Data Cybersecurity. Law, State & Telecommunications Review/Revista de Direito, Estado e Telecomunicações, 17(2).
20.Folorunsho, F., & Boamah, B. F. (2025). Deepfake technology and its impact: ethical considerations, societal disruptions, and security threats in ai-generated media. International journal of information technology and management information systems, 16(1), 1060-1080.
21.Gaber, M. G., Ahmed, M., & Janicke, H. (2024). Malware detection with artificial intelligence: A systematic literature review. ACM Computing Surveys, 56(6), 1-33.
22.George, A. S., & George, A. H. (2023). Deepfakes: the evolution of hyper realistic media manipulation. Partners Universal Innovative Research Publication, 1(2), 58-74.
23.Goud, V. C., & Sharma, A. K. (2025). Analyzing DarkWeb Using AI and Cloud. In Establishing AI-Specific Cloud Computing Infrastructure (pp. 259-268). IGI Global Scientific Publishing.
24.Haley, P. (2025). The impact of biometric surveillance on reducing violent crime: Strategies for apprehending criminals while protecting the innocent. Sensors, 25(10), 3160.
25.Han, P. (2025). AI-powered digital arbitration framework leveraging smart contracts and electronic evidence authentication. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 37327.
26.Hayward, K. J., & Maas, M. M. (2021). Artificial intelligence and crime: A primer for criminologists. Crime, Media, Culture, 17(2), 209-233.
27.Hoffmann-Riem, W. (2019). Artificial intelligence as a challenge for law and regulation. In Regulating artificial intelligence (pp. 1-29). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
28.Jeong, D. (2020). Artificial intelligence security threat, crime, and forensics: Taxonomy and open issues. IEEE Access, 8, 184560-184574.
29.Khatiwala, J. P., Addai, D. K. N., & Xu, W. (2025, July). Evaluating the Reliability of Digital Forensic Evidence Discovered by Large Language Model: A Case Study. In 2025 IEEE 49th Annual Computers, Software, and Applications Conference (COMPSAC) (pp. 1067-1076). IEEE.
30.Kröger, J. L., Miceli, M., & Müller, F. (2021). How data can be used against people: A classification of personal data misuses. Available at SSRN 3887097.
31.Lagioia, F., & Sartor, G. (2020). Ai systems under criminal law: a legal analysis and a regulatory perspective. Philosophy & Technology, 33(3), 433-465.
32.Lovell, J. J. (2023). Legal Aspects of Artificial Intelligence Personhood: Exploring the Possibility of Granting Legal Personhood to Advanced Ai Systems and the Implications for Liability, Rights and Responsibilities. Rights and Responsibilities.(May 10, 2023).
33.Mushtaq, S., & Shah, M. (2025). Threats to the digital ecosystem: Can information security management frameworks, guided by criminological literature, effectively prevent cybercrime and protect public data?. Computers, 14(6), 219.
34.Navani, S., & Cirella, G. T. (2024). Cybercrimes in the cryptocurrency domain: Identifying types, understanding motives and techniques, and exploring future directions for technology and regulation. Journal of Geography, Politics and Society, 14(2), 1-22.
35.Njuguna, L. W. (2024). AI-Assisted Digital Forensics for National Security Investigations. International Journal of Technology, Management and Humanities, 10(01), 125-146.
36.Oluoha, O. M., Odeshina, A., Reis, O., Okpeke, F., Attipoe, V., & Orieno, O. H. (2022). Artificial intelligence integration in regulatory compliance: A strategic model for cybersecurity enhancement. Journal of Frontiers in Multidisciplinary Research, 3(1), 35-46.
37.Perloff-Giles, A. (2018). Transnational cyber offenses: Overcoming jurisdictional challenges. Yale J. Int'l L., 43, 191.
38.Peters, A., & Jordan, A. (2019). Countering the cyber enforcement gap: Strengthening global capacity on cybercrime. J. Nat'l Sec. L. & Pol'y, 10, 487.
39.Raja, J., Le, J., & Nguyen, C. (2025). Phishing attacks in the age of generative artificial intelligence: A systematic review of human factors. AI, 6(8), 174.
40.Roberg-Perez, S. (2016). The future is now: Biometric information and data privacy. Antitrust, 31, 60.
41.Saba'F, T., Alnawafleh, N. M., Alodainat, N. S., & Al-Dmour, N. A. (2025, May). AI in Cybersecurity: a Taxonomy of Security Threats, Crime Dynamics. In 2025 3rd International Conference on Business Analytics for Technology and Security (ICBATS) (pp. 1-6). IEEE.
42.Saeed, S., Altamimi, S. A., Alkayyal, N. A., Alshehri, E., & Alabbad, D. A. (2023). Digital transformation and cybersecurity challenges for businesses resilience: Issues and recommendations. Sensors, 23(15), 6666.
43.Schmitt, M., & Flechais, I. (2024). Digital deception: Generative artificial intelligence in social engineering and phishing. Artificial Intelligence Review, 57(12), 324.
44.Schram, G. (2021). The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Cyber Operations: An Analysis of AI and Its Application to Malware-Based Cyberattacks and Proactive Cybersecurity (Master's thesis, Utica College).
45.Thanh, C. T., & Zelinka, I. (2019). A survey on artificial intelligence in malware as next-generation threats. In Mendel (Vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 27-34).
46.Tyagi, A. K., & Addula, S. R. (2024). Artificial intelligence for malware analysis: A systematic study. Artificial Intelligence‐Enabled Digital Twin for Smart Manufacturing, 359-390.
47.Velasco, C. (2022, May). Cybercrime and Artificial Intelligence. An overview of the work of international organizations on criminal justice and the international applicable instruments. In ERA Forum (Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 109-126). Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
48.Volodymyr, Z., Valery, B., Borys, K., Volodymyr, S., Oleksiy, O., & Yehor, P. T. (2025). Artificial intelligence and cybercrime: New challenges and prospects for legal regulation. Contemporary Issues in Artificial Intelligence, 1.
49.Yu, J., Yu, Y., Wang, X., Lin, Y., Yang, M., Qiao, Y., & Wang, F. Y. (2024). The shadow of fraud: The emerging danger of ai-powered social engineering and its possible cure. arXiv preprint arXiv:2407.15912.
Published
2026-02-26
How to Cite
DR. MAYANK MATHUR. (2026). ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE-ENABLED CYBERCRIME: CURRENT THREATS, LEGAL IMPLICATIONS, AND FUTURE REGULATORY PRIORITIES. IJRDO Journal of Law and Cyber Crime, 6(1), 07-19. Retrieved from https://ijlccjournal.com/article/view/6761
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Articles
