Technology has long made crime and its prosecution a game of cat and mouse. But those same new technologies that have allowed crime to outpace law have also reenergized law enforcement and government—offering new ways to root out crime, to gather evidence, to surveil people.
That tension is the key to our new March/April issue. Thanks to technologies like cryptocurrency and off-the-shelf autonomous autopilots, there’s never been a better time to do crime. And thanks to pervasive surveillance and digital infrastructure, there’s never been a better time to fight it—sometimes at the expense of what we used to think of as fundamental civil rights.
Here’s a sneak peek at what you can expect:
+ The fascinating story of what happened when cyber security researcher Allison Nixon decided to track down the mysterious online figures threatening to kill her. Read the full story.
+ AI is already making online crimes easier, but those reports of AI-powered superhacks are seriously overblown. Here’s why.
+ Welcome to the dark side of crypto’s permissionless dream.
+ Chicago is home to a vast monitoring system to track its residents, including tens of thousands of surveillance cameras. But while law enforcement claims it’s necessary to protect public safety, privacy activists have likened it to a surveillance panopticon. Read the full story.
+ Modern thieves are stealing luxury cars right from under their manufacturers’ and owners’ noses. But how are they doing it?
+ How innovative conservationists are using tech to fight back against wildlife traffickers—including by turning rhinos radioactive.