Cyberspace has become a defining arena for contemporary crime, conflict and security. As emerging technologies transform the way societies function, they are also reshaping how criminal actors operate, how conflicts unfold, and how legal and governance systems are challenged to respond. This new issue of Freedom From Fear Magazine (F3), The New Criminal Code: Deciphering Emerging Threats in Cyberspace, jointly produced by UNICRI and Ghent University, examines these dynamics through a multidisciplinary and forward-looking lens.

One of the themes explored in this issue is the growing role of artificial intelligence in both enabling and countering crime. Contributions examine what is currently known — and still unknown — about AI-enabled criminality, the risks associated with generative AI, and the emerging phenomenon of jailbreaking AI systems. Several articles also explore how these developments intersect with human rights, including the misuse of deepfakes, online child sexual exploitation and abuse, and the often-overlooked prosocial applications of new technologies.

The magazine further examines how digital technologies are being exploited in contexts of conflict and fragility. Articles address the use of digital tools by non-state armed groups, the manipulation of information in armed conflicts, and the evolving role of cyber warfare in shaping power, perception and peace. Particular attention is given to the dual-use nature of technologies such as satellite internet, which can simultaneously support development while generating new security challenges in fragile environments.

Another important area of analysis concerns the intersection between cybercrime and illicit economies. Contributions explore how criminal actors exploit blockchain-based finance, digital entertainment platforms and cyber tools to launder proceeds, steal trade secrets and extract resources. These analyses highlight persistent governance gaps and the need for stronger regulatory and enforcement responses across jurisdictions.

Several articles move beyond technology itself to examine human behaviour as a critical — and often underestimated — factor in cyber conflict. By focusing on decision-making, perception and manipulation, the issue underscores that technological threats cannot be addressed through technical solutions alone.

Finally, the magazine broadens the lens to consider resilience, peacebuilding and long-term stability. Case studies from the Sahel and other regions explore how communities respond to violence and extremism, how natural resources intersect with peace processes, and how justice and reintegration efforts can be strengthened in complex post-conflict settings.

Together, the contributions in this issue offer a nuanced and comprehensive exploration of the emerging “criminal code” of cyberspace. They highlight the urgent need for legal, policy and justice systems to adapt — not only to keep pace with technological change, but to ensure that security, human rights and the rule of law remain firmly anchored in an increasingly digital world.

Content

• When code shapes crime: rethinking responsibility in the digital age by Leif Villadsen 

• AI crime: what we know, what we don’t know, and what we need to know by Marie-Helen (Maria) Maras

• Breaking the machine: jailbreaking AI and safeguarding the digital frontlines of vulnerable communities by Fabien Leimgruber and Alexandru Lazar 

• Generative AI: a new threat for online child sexual exploitation and abuse by Yalda Aoukar, Lisa Maddox and Lana Apple

• Generative artificial intelligence for human rights: disregarded prosocial uses of deepfake technology and their connection to human rights by Can Yavuz and Gert Vermeulen

• The exploitation of digital technologies by non-state armed groups in Colombia by Arthur Bradley, and Ottavia Galuzzi

• The dual role of satellite internet in fragile contexts: opportunities for development and challenges for security by Gaetano Sicolo 

• New technologies and the manipulation of facts in armed conflicts by Ari Koutale Tila Boulama Mamadou 

• The P3 equation: cyber warfare shaping peace, power and perception by Sarra Hannachi

• Cyberterrorism: legal and governance challenges by Yéelen Marie Geairon

• From persecution to peace: the resilience of Hamawi Sufis as a model for preventing violent extremism in the Sahel by Alliou Traoré

• Reintegrating peace through natural resources: enhancing DDR for sustainable stability by Cristian Mazzei

• Examining the hidden risk in cyber conflict: human behaviour as the critical blind spot by Christopher Weir and Ally Zlatar

• Escaping Plato’s digital cave: deepfakes, cybersecurity, and the battle for truth by Leonardo Lazzaro

• Crypto frontiers: how illicit actors are exploiting innovation in blockchain finance and the global fight to take it back by Janey Young

• Gaming the system: closing anti-money laundering gaps in the digital entertainment economy by Adam Rousselle and Galen Lamphere-Englund

• Using cyberweapons to steal trade secrets by Vasilis Katos, Kenneth Wright and John Zacharia

• From stolen data to stolen resources by Phoenix Omwando 

• Europe’s invisible battleground: safeguarding the commons in an era of borderless threats by Aiko Yeo