During the Mumbai siege four years ago, terrorists were shooting people with guns held in one hand while at the same time checking text messages on phones held in the other hand, according to Marc Goodman in a TED talk given in June. The terrorists had set up a command centre which was directing operations and monitoring television stations and social media, so that they could count the number of people killed and help terrorists locate further victims.
The openness brought about by new technology makes it easier for criminals to have a far more devastating impact on a much greater number of victims. Whereas in the past the number of people criminals could rob at one time was limited, in last year’s Playstation hack, the criminals managed to rob 100 million people at the same time. Robots and drones give criminals the technological ability to conduct their crimes by remote control. Guns and weapons can be created using 3D printers.
In the future we can anticipate new forms of bio-crimes, with criminals creating new bio-viruses, such as enhanced versions of ebola or anthrax, with the aim of creating new deadly pandemics. Our current systems of policing and border control are not suitable for dealing with these new kinds of threats. New types of crowdsourcing will be required so that all citizens can contribute to fighting future crime.