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Police and Investigative Activity
Reference:

Organization of crime investigation using modern technologies

Gritsaev Sergei Ivanovich

PhD in Law

Associate Professor, Department of Criminology, Kuban State Agrarian University named after I.T. Trubilin

350044, Russia, Krasnodar Territory, Krasnodar, Kalinina str., 13

grizaevserg@mail.ru
Other publications by this author
 

 
Stepanenko Sergei Grigor'evich

PhD in History

Senior Lecturer, Department of Sociology, Management and Human Resources, Kuban State Technological University

350072, Russia, Krasnodarskii krai, g. Krsnodar, ul. Moskovskaya, 2

stepik71@mail.ru
Shevel' Dmitrii Vladimirovich

Senior Lecturer, Department of Criminology, Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education "Kuban State Agrarian University named after I.T. Trubilin

350044, Russia, Krasnodarskii krai, g. Krasnodar, ul. Kalinina, 13

shevel626@gmail.com

DOI:

10.25136/2409-7810.2022.3.38479

EDN:

COXNEC

Received:

18-07-2022


Published:

25-07-2022


Abstract: The object of research of this scientific article is crimes committed on the Internet or using it, as well as the activities of law enforcement agencies to investigate and disclose them. The subject of the study is the regularities of the mechanism of crimes committed using the Internet and the regularities of the activities of law enforcement agencies to organize the investigation of those crimes. The purpose of the scientific article is to identify the capacities of digital technologies for the identification, search and identification of persons who have committed crimes on the Internet. At the same time, attention is paid to the creation of search records for "images of persons captured on photo and video files containing illegal content" in the Federal Criminal Information Bank and the use of advances in digital identification and other innovations in the field of IT technologies in the investigation of crimes. Modern processes of globalization and digitalization require the development and introduction of new opportunities in the identification, search and prosecution of persons who have committed illegal acts, including crimes, on the Internet or using it. The practical significance of the conducted research is to increase the effectiveness of the organization of the identification of persons who have committed crimes on the Internet. The methodology of the conducted research is determined by its purpose and objectives. It is based on a systematic approach to the study of the identification of the person who committed the crime using digital technologies. The research methodology used when writing a scientific article was implemented using the following methods: structural and substantive analysis of scientific papers devoted to the topic of this study; logical (when presenting all the material, formulating conclusions, suggestions and recommendations); comparative legal (when analyzing the norms of criminal procedure legislation, regulatory legal acts) and other research methods.


Keywords:

The Internet, organization of the investigation, criminal content, organizational and preparatory activities, information and communication technologies, identification, operational worker, investigative accounting, illegal content, reporting a crime

This article is automatically translated.

The development of information and communication technologies at the beginning of the XXI century is characterized by new illegal manifestations in the electronic and digital sphere or with its use. At the same time, there is a growing trend of criminalization of a number of acts in the emerging information society.

Today, illegal actions committed and/or posted on the Internet of a cross-border nature (including its Russian-speaking segment) are of great concern, which, in turn, poses a certain difficulty in identifying the perpetrators and conducting a preliminary investigation of criminal cases [1]. There is also an increase in the number of content containing false information (fakes) about the conduct of a special operation of the armed forces of the Russian Federation in Ukraine. And the violence committed by Ukrainian servicemen against civilians and prisoners of war is often accompanied by photos and videos that are uploaded in encrypted form to file-sharing sites, and links to them are given in closed chats and websites. Attention has been repeatedly drawn to the danger of social networks and the negative consequences of their use by minors [2]. This can include the restriction of contacts in real life, and a decrease in social skills, which lead to deformation of the construction of an individual picture of reality [3]. Modern information and communication technologies are characterized by a decentralized structure and cross-border nature, and the use of anonymizer programs, the Darknet network and others like them by attackers greatly complicates the identification of both the owner of the information and the persons who committed illegal acts.

Nevertheless, the more the attacker is confident in his anonymity and impunity, the more material he provides for the investigation of evidence of his criminal activity. Currently, there are no effective technical solutions that would allow to find the owners of sites and distributors of criminal content, as well as persons committing crimes on the network, but it should be noted that such work is being carried out [4]. Significant efforts are being made in this direction by both the state and society, in particular, the created and successfully operating website "League of Safe Internet", where any individual can report dangerous content. On February 1, 2021, Federal Law No. 530-FZ of December 30, 2020 "On Amendments to the Federal Law "On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection" entered into force, which obliges social networks to independently identify and block prohibited content. The refusal of website owners, including social networks and video hosting sites, to delete illegal information is subject to penalties (Federal Law No. 511-FZ of 30.12.2020 "On Amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation").

However, the "neutralization" of dangerous content is only an obstacle in its distribution. The next and main task should be the investigation of the crime and the search for persons involved in its commission. Such programs should be able to work in the field of mass consumer content. As for the Deep Web, Dark Web, they are ineffective here, since file sharing is mainly used, and photo and video materials are archived, protected with a password. A secure network with its onion routing system attracts a lot of users today and is considered a stronghold of anonymity, which allows us to talk about an actually formed and actively functioning ecosystem that promotes the spread of fakes, the sale of drugs, weapons, databases and other illegal information.

Federal Law No. 276-FZ of 29.07.2017 "On Amendments to the Federal Law "On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection" only partially formed restrictions on the use of anonymizers that allow hiding data about the user, his location and data about his software and hardware. But, as practice shows, the problem of distributing prohibited content on the Darknet network has not yet been solved, since it allows hiding information about sites and users using the Tor network [5]. It seems to us that such a network is malicious (destructive) in fact, which allows us to talk about a new concept – "potentially criminogenic information technology", which poses a direct threat to the security of both society and the state, and other persons. Although "foreign partners" declare that they "promote human rights and freedoms – create and distribute technologies to ensure anonymity and privacy with open source, support their unlimited availability, promote their scientific and popular understanding," in fact, this means the destruction of moral and moral foundations, mental health, and sometimes life first of all, the younger generation.

According to the experts of the Safe Internet League, about 43 million Russians are members of destructive social media communities (cyberbullying, suicide propaganda, drug sales, extremist and terrorist communities, groups about serial killers and maniacs, shock content, trash streams), of which about 8 million are children [6].

The steps taken to counteract the spread of illegal content, the identification of persons involved in such crimes, as well as the identification of victims, currently do not sufficiently contribute to neutralizing the current criminogenic situation. The identification, investigation and exposure of those responsible for their commission is one of the most important functions of law enforcement agencies.

To solve these problems, it is necessary to make efforts to improve legislation and introduce modern information and telecommunication technologies, as well as to develop new methods of investigating these crimes. Intensive development of innovation activity generates new technical solutions that have novelty and a number of specific features. The material for the study of such crimes can be the Federal Criminal Information Bank, which is proposed to be supplemented with search records "images of persons captured on photo and video files containing illegal content", which will be replenished in the process of identifying illegal content in information and telecommunications networks.

The automated facial recognition system used in modern Russia is essentially an artificial intelligence capable of independently learning, collecting and analyzing large amounts of data using ultra-precise neural networks that do not require expensive equipment and are easily integrated into existing processes. Currently, there is a large growth in the Russian market of software and hardware for biometric identification, one of the directions of which is the facial recognition system [7]. The leaders of this direction are the companies NtechLab, the MDG Group of Companies, Vocord, JSC "PAPILON", etc. These technologies are already being used in major Russian cities.

For example, NtechLab has created a FindFace Security product that allows analyzing the video stream based on face recognition, i.e. the technology detects faces in the video stream in real time, checks with monitoring lists and sends notifications when matches are detected [8].

The Papilon facial image identification system, operating in real time, can recognize people in a stream in a fraction of a second with a minimum error not exceeding 1% [9].

Based on such technologies, it becomes possible to search in real time for persons captured in photo and video files containing illegal content.

In such cases, one of the effective methods of investigation and disclosure of crimes committed on the web may be an automated identification system based on images or videos of a person from among illegal content based on automatic identification (confirmation) of identity in real time, in combination with "surfing" social networks and other content, as well as created or already used databases.

The mechanism for further actions to organize the investigation of these crimes is seen by us in the following procedures. If the system has identified (confirmed) a person from illegal content, then on this basis it is advisable to automatically file a criminal complaint. This provision is not provided for by law and will require appropriate changes. Thus, at the moment, another algorithm of action is possible: an authorized person (operator) can send the material to the territorial operational unit of the internal affairs body, where a specific operative will make a report on the detection of signs of a crime. In accordance with articles 140 and 143 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, the above is the basis for conducting investigative, verification, organizational and preparatory, procedural and other actions carried out when checking a report on a committed or impending crime before making a decision to initiate a criminal case, as well as operational investigative measures.

Thus, the creation of search records of "images of persons captured on photo and video files containing illegal content" in the Federal Criminal Information Bank, as well as the use of modern digital facial recognition technologies, can significantly increase the effectiveness of detecting, disclosing and investigating crimes committed on the Internet. The use of achievements in the field of digital identification and other innovations in the field of IT technologies in the investigation of crimes can increase the effectiveness of identifying the perpetrators of these crimes.

References
1. Pomazanov V.V., Gritsaev S.I. Information crimes in the context of globalization // Modern social processes in the context of globalization: Sat. materials of the III International Scientific and Practical Conference.-Krasnodar: FGBOU VO "KubGTU", 2021.-P. 455-459.
2. Stepanenko S.G. Digitization of education as a stage in the global globalization of the economy // Electronic network polythematic journal "Scientific works of KubSTU-2020.-No. 2.-P. 103–106.
3. Stepanenko S.G., Pomazanov V.V. Digitization of education as a process of globalization of the economy // Electronic network polythematic journal "Scientific works of KubGTU-2020.-No. 3 (26).-S. 829-839.
4. Sidorova K.S. Methods for establishing an IP address and information about it during the investigation of criminal cases // Bulletin of the Siberian Institute of Business and Information Technologies.-2018.-No. 2 (26). – S. 88–92.
5. John Smith TOR: a Dark Net Journey on How to Be Anonymous Online (TOR, Dark Net, DarkNet, Deep web, cyber security Book 1). – 2017. – 50 p.
6. The law on self-control of social networks came into force: Roskomnadzor is required to form a register of social networks [Electronic resource]. – Access mode: http://ligainternet.ru/news/news-detail.php?ID=14922
7. Kostomarov, K.V. (2019). Possibilities of using neural networks in the investigation of crimes. J. Sib. Fed. Univ. Humanit. soc. Sci., 12(11), 2023–2030.
8. Recognition of faces and silhouettes of people... NtechLab [Electronic resource]. – Access mode: https://ntechlab.ru
9. Military "face recognition" "Papillon" [Electronic resource]. – Access mode: zen.yandex.ru/media/serty/voennyi-raspoznavatel-lic-papilon-5bd5b11f1d6b0a00ab5b5513

Peer Review

Peer reviewers' evaluations remain confidential and are not disclosed to the public. Only external reviews, authorized for publication by the article's author(s), are made public. Typically, these final reviews are conducted after the manuscript's revision. Adhering to our double-blind review policy, the reviewer's identity is kept confidential.
The list of publisher reviewers can be found here.

A REVIEW of an article on the topic "Organization of crime investigation using modern technologies". The subject of the study. The article proposed for review is devoted to the organization of "... investigation of crimes using modern technologies." The author has chosen a special subject of research: the proposed issues are investigated from the point of view of police and administrative law, while the author notes that "... the more an attacker is confident in his anonymity and impunity, the more material he provides for the study of evidence of his criminal activity." Legislation relevant to the purpose of the study is being studied. A relatively small amount of modern scientific literature on the stated problems is also studied and summarized, analysis and discussion with the opposing authors are present. At the same time, the author notes, based on the research of opponents, that "Currently there are no effective technical solutions that would allow us to find site owners and distributors of criminal content, as well as persons committing crimes on the network, but it should be noted that such work is being carried out [4]." Research methodology. The purpose of the study is determined by the title and content of the work "... it is necessary to make efforts to improve legislation and introduce modern information and telecommunication technologies, as well as to develop new methods of investigating these crimes. The intensive development of innovative activities generates new technical solutions that have novelty and a number of specific features." It can be designated as the consideration and resolution of certain problematic aspects related to the above-mentioned issues and the use of certain experience. Based on the set goals and objectives, the author has chosen a certain methodological basis for the study. In particular, the author uses a set of general scientific, special legal methods of cognition. In particular, the methods of analysis and synthesis made it possible to generalize various approaches to the proposed topic and influenced the author's conclusions. The most important role was played by special legal methods. In particular, the author used a formal legal method, which allowed for the analysis and interpretation of the norms of current legislation. In particular, the following conclusions are drawn: "In Federal Law No. 276-FZ of July 29, 2017 ... restrictions concerning the use of anonymizers that allow hiding data about the user, his location and data about his software and hardware ..." and others are only partially formed. Thus, the methodology chosen by the author is adequate to the purpose of the article, allows you to study some aspects of the topic. The relevance of the stated issues is beyond doubt. This topic is one of the most important in Russia and in the world, from a legal point of view, the work proposed by the author can be considered relevant, namely, he notes that "The steps taken to counteract the spread of illegal content, the identification of persons involved in such crimes, as well as the identification of victims, to date, do not sufficiently contribute to the neutralization of the current situation criminogenic situation. Identifying, investigating and exposing those responsible for their commission is one of the most important functions of law enforcement agencies." Thus, scientific research in the proposed field is only to be welcomed. Scientific novelty. The scientific novelty of the proposed article is questionable. It is not expressed in the specific scientific conclusions of the author. Among them, for example, is the following: "... the creation of a search record of "images of persons captured on photo and video files containing illegal content" in the Federal Criminal Information Bank, as well as the use of modern digital facial recognition technologies can significantly increase the effectiveness of detecting, disclosing and investigating crimes committed on the Internet." As can be seen, these and other "theoretical" conclusions cannot be used in further scientific research. Thus, the materials of the article as presented may not be of interest to the scientific community, but they are interesting for practitioners. Style, structure, content. The subject of the article corresponds to the specialization of the journal "Police and Investigative activities", as it is devoted to the organization of "... investigation of crimes using modern technologies". The article contains an analysis of the opponents' scientific works, so the author notes that a question close to this topic has already been raised and the author uses their materials, discusses with opponents. The content of the article corresponds to the title, since the author considered the stated problems and achieved the goal of his research. The quality of the presentation of the study and its results should be recognized as improved. The subject, objectives, methodology, and results of legal research directly follow from the text of the article, but there is no scientific novelty. The design of the work generally meets the requirements for this kind of work. No significant violations of these requirements were found, except for some spelling descriptions and bibliography (few). Bibliography. The amount of literature presented and used should not be appreciated very highly. You can also find literature on this issue both from the opponents listed in the article and other scientists dealing with these issues, especially since, for example, the Academy of Management of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia holds international scientific and practical conferences and publishes collections of articles on this topic. The works of the above authors correspond to the research topic, have a sign of sufficiency (relatively), and contribute to the disclosure of certain aspects of the topic. Appeal to opponents. The author conducted a serious analysis of the current state of the problem under study, but in certain directions and without using the full range of scientific research on the issues stated in the article. The author describes different points of view on the problem, argues for a more correct position in his opinion based on the work of some opponents (a limited number), offers solutions to individual problems. Conclusions, the interest of the readership. The conclusions are logical, practical, and they are obtained using a generally accepted methodology. The article in this form may be of interest to the readership in terms of the systematic positions of the author in relation to the issues stated in the article after revision, which should be typical for legal research. Based on the above, summing up all the positive and negative sides of the article, I recommend "sending for revision" with mandatory consideration of comments (to replenish the bibliography, give the opinion of other scientists, determine scientific novelty).