The report outlines how encryption, proxies and AI are accelerating crime online. Key findings include the industrialisation of online fraud, increased monetisation of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), and the misuse of AI tools such as large language models to automate criminal activities. Europol also highlighted persistent challenges linked to end-to-end encryption, jurisdictional barriers, and resilient dark web ecosystems.
Notable Europol operations in 2025 targeted ransomware facilitators, cryptocurrency mixing services, and SIM-based fraud networks. Emerging threats include AI-generated CSAM and hybrid actors such as the criminal group NoName057(16).
LIBE Members focused their questions on child protection, financial fraud, cooperation with private platforms, AI use in law enforcement, and illegal online firearms trafficking. Europol stressed the need to strengthen AI capabilities, expand cross-border cooperation, enhance lawful data access, and refine concepts such as DNS abuse and organised crime.
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