U.S. House panel presses for stronger cybercrime defenses as scams and AI abuse escalate

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House panel on cybercrime defenses

Highlights

Scammers are projected to steal more than $20 billion from Americans in 2025 as criminal groups weaponize digital platforms and cryptocurrency for money laundering.
Congressional witnesses report a 500% increase in AI-enabled fraud and scams, with AI used to craft convincing phishing, deepfakes, and support ransomware and crypto hacks.
Megan Stifel urges renewal of cybersecurity authorities before September 30, 2026, emphasizing their role in threat information sharing and strengthening local government defenses.

Congressional hearing sharpens focus on cybercrime threats

As reported by the House Committee on Homeland Security, the Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement and the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection hold a hearing this week on how international criminal networks weaponize emerging technologies to finance illicit activity and attack U.S. targets.

Witnesses include Cynthia Kaiser of the Halcyon Ransomware Research Center, Ari Redbord of TRM Labs, Joshua Bercu of USTelecom and Megan Stifel of the Institute for Security and Technology. Their testimony warns that cyber-enabled financial crime is becoming a larger threat to the U.S. financial system, public safety and vulnerable sectors such as healthcare, while calling for tighter public-private coordination, stronger information sharing and tougher penalties.

Border Security and Enforcement Chairman Michael Guest says scammers steal more than $20 billion from Americans in 2025 alone and argues criminal groups are using digital platforms and cryptocurrency to expand money laundering operations. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Chairman Andy Ogles says many online scam networks operate at industrial scale and are tied to organized groups with links to China and Russia, with some fraud compounds in Southeast Asia relying on trafficked labor.

In written testimony, Megan Stifel urges Congress to renew key cybersecurity authorities before their September 30, 2026 expiration dates, including the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 and the State and Local Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2021. She says those measures support cyber threat indicator sharing and help state, local, tribal and territorial governments improve defenses.

AI, ransomware and healthcare risks drive policy debate

Cynthia Kaiser tells lawmakers that malicious actors are using AI to craft more convincing phishing emails, deepfakes and other tactics that help them gain initial access to company networks. She also says ransomware attacks on hospitals and patient systems can meet the definition of terrorism because they endanger lives and coerce civilian populations.

Ari Redbord says TRM Labs is seeing a 500% increase in AI-enabled fraud and scams, while threat actors also use the technology to support ransomware operations and launder proceeds from major crypto hacks. He says investigators need access to AI tools and blockchain intelligence to match the speed at which criminal networks adopt new technology.

Joshua Bercu says AI improves the quality and scale of scams, especially in voice-based fraud, but notes industry is also deploying machine learning and automation to counter those threats. Redbord adds that closer cooperation between government and private-sector firms remains essential because companies often hold or can quickly gather the data authorities need to disrupt cyber-enabled financial crime.

In our earlier coverage of the U.S. government’s crackdown on transnational cyber fraud, we detailed coordinated actions against scam compounds in Southeast Asia accused of stealing billions from Americans. The measures included criminal charges, takedowns of hundreds of fake investment sites, seizures linked to trafficking-enabled recruitment, and the restraint of large sums of cryptocurrency tied to money laundering—showing how enforcement is expanding beyond prosecutions to broader financial and cross-border disruption.

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