Deepfakes, government hacks, cloned voices: Ohio's new AI crime wave
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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Artificial intelligence is quickly rewriting the playbook for crime, and lawmakers and law enforcement are racing to keep up.
Why it matters: This new class of AI-supercharged crime is putting lives and financial systems at risk, as evidenced by multiple Central Ohio incidents in recent years.
How it works: Criminals are using deepfake scams — utilizing AI to create fake audio, video or images — along with AI-written ransomware, mass identity hijacks and critical-infrastructure hacks.
Zoom in: A July 2024 cyberattack on the City of Columbus majorly disrupted city services and compromised the sensitive data of hundreds of thousands of people.
- The city still hasn't released a report explaining how the breach occurred. Spokesperson Jennifer Fening tells Axios it "will do so at an appropriate time."
- The City of Cleveland was hit with ransomware a month earlier, and will now train its employees on "AI strategy."
- Washington Court House had an attack in May.
It's not just local governments. The Better Business Bureau of Central Ohio warns of scam calls that use AI-cloned voices of family members to entice victims into sending money.
- The tools are also used in lottery scams.
- Next week, a Central Ohio man accused of using AI to manipulate family photos into sexual images of minors — another growing concern — is expected to plead guilty.
The big picture: Deepfake fraud attempts surged 3,000% in 2023, per DeepStrike, a cybersecurity group.
- U.S. losses from fraud that relies on generative AI are projected to reach $40 billion by 2027, according to the Deloitte Center for Financial Services.
What we're watching: Ohio lawmakers have proposed bills to criminalize the use of deepfakes.
- House Bill 185, introduced in March, would prohibit the use of anyone's likeness without prior written consent.
What they're saying: "In recent years, the prevalence of 'deepfake' technology has been made widely available to the public," Attorney General Dave Yost wrote in a letter supporting the bill.
- "With this growth in availability comes the opportunity for bad actors to exploit artificial intelligence's capabilities to deceive and defraud the public."
Yes, but: Ohio has yet to enact specific legislation related to deepfakes.
- Ohio is also one of five states that did not include AI or computer-edited images in its child sexual abuse material and pornography statutes as of August, according to the child advocacy organization Enough Abuse.