FBI Exposes The Com’s Criminal Activities and Involvement of Minors – Infosecurity Magazine

Report on the Criminal Network ‘The Com’ and its Impact on Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction: A Threat to Global Stability and Development

The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has released public service announcements detailing a significant and growing threat from a decentralized criminal network known as ‘The Com’ (The Community). This global, English-speaking ecosystem, which includes a substantial number of minors, engages in a wide spectrum of criminal activities that directly undermine several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The group’s actions pose a direct challenge to international efforts to foster peace, ensure justice, promote gender equality, and build safe, sustainable communities.

Direct Opposition to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The operations of ‘The Com’ represent a multifaceted assault on the foundational principles of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The network’s activities create instability and harm that impede progress across multiple critical goals.

• SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions): The Com’s core activities, including violence-for-hire, extortion, and cybercrime, are a direct affront to peace, security, and the rule of law. By perpetrating violence and exploiting legal and digital systems, the network weakens societal trust and challenges the capacity of justice institutions.
• SDG 5 (Gender Equality): The ‘Extortion Com’ subgroup specifically targets and exploits minors, with a noted focus on young girls. This constitutes a severe form of gender-based violence and exploitation, directly contravening the goal of eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls.
• SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being): The psychological trauma inflicted by sextortion, doxing, and swatting, combined with the physical violence orchestrated by the ‘IRL Com’ subgroup, causes profound harm to the mental and physical well-being of victims.
• SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities): By exporting online threats into physical violence, including armed robberies and shootings, The Com erodes public safety and makes communities less inclusive and secure.
• SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth): Financial crimes such as ransomware deployment, SIM swapping, and cryptocurrency theft disrupt legitimate economic activities, inflict financial losses on individuals and businesses, and undermine the stability of financial systems.

Operational Structure and Subgroup Analysis

The Com functions through three primary, yet interconnected, subgroups that specialize in different forms of criminality. Membership and activities frequently overlap, increasing the network’s overall effectiveness and destructive capability.

1. Hacker Com

   This faction consists of technically proficient individuals responsible for cybercrimes that destabilize economic systems, aligning with threats to SDG 8. Their activities include:

   • Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) deployment
   • SIM swapping and phishing attacks
   • Large-scale cryptocurrency theft

2. IRL (In Real Life) Com

   Specializing in physical violence, this subgroup directly undermines SDG 16 and SDG 11 by making communities unsafe. They advertise and execute violence-for-hire schemes, including:

   • Kidnappings
   • Shootings and armed robberies
   • Acts of intimidation and enforcement

3. Extortion Com

   This subgroup focuses on the exploitation of minors, representing a grave violation of SDG 5 and SDG 16. They leverage threats of public humiliation (doxing) and violence (swatting, physical harm) to coerce victims, primarily young girls, into compliance.

Official Recommendations for Mitigation and Public Safety

In response to these threats, the FBI has issued guidance for families, educators, and the public. These recommendations are crucial for safeguarding individuals and reinforcing the community resilience needed to achieve the SDGs.

Protective Measures for Families and Individuals:

• Monitor and Educate: Supervise children’s online activities and provide education on the dangers of interacting with unknown individuals, contributing to a safer environment as envisioned in SDG 16.
• Limit Information Sharing: Restrict the posting of personal or financial data on social media and gaming platforms to prevent exploitation.
• Enhance Security: Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all accounts and conduct regular security checks for potential compromises.
• Do Not Comply with Extortion: Avoid engaging with or paying perpetrators of extortion to disrupt their criminal business model.

Vigilance from parents, guardians, and educators is paramount. All suspicious online activities should be reported to the appropriate authorities through official channels such as www.ic3.gov or by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI, thereby strengthening the institutional response central to SDG 16.

Analysis of the Article in Relation to Sustainable Development Goals

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions: The article’s central theme revolves around a large-scale criminal network engaging in violence, exploitation, and cybercrime, which directly undermines peace, security, and the rule of law.
• SDG 5: Gender Equality: The article specifically mentions the “Extortion Com” subgroup, which focuses on exploiting minors, “particularly young girls,” through sextortion, highlighting a gendered dimension of the violence and exploitation discussed.
• SDG 4: Quality Education: The FBI’s recommendations emphasize the need to “educate” children about online risks, linking the solution to educational initiatives that promote safety and responsible online behavior.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

  • Target 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere. The article details the activities of the “IRL Com” subgroup, which “specializes in orchestrating physical violence,” including “kidnappings, shootings and armed robberies.” This directly relates to reducing all forms of violence.
  • Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children. The article states that the network involves “many of them minors” and engages in “sextortion, child exploitation,” and recruitment of youth into criminal activities, which are all forms of abuse and exploitation of children this target aims to end.
  • Target 16.4: Significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime. The “Hacker Com” subgroup is involved in “ransomware attacks,” “SIM swapping,” and “cryptocurrency theft,” with members “boasting about stealing millions in digital assets.” These activities represent illicit financial flows and organized crime that this target seeks to combat.

• SDG 5: Gender Equality

  • Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation. The article describes the “Extortion Com” subgroup, which “focuses on exploiting minors, particularly young girls” through “sextortion.” This is a clear example of gender-based violence and sexual exploitation that this target aims to eliminate.

• SDG 4: Quality Education

  • Target 4.7: Ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including… promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence… The FBI’s recommendation to “Monitor children’s online activity and educate them about the risks of interacting with strangers” directly supports this target by promoting education for safety, non-violence, and responsible digital citizenship.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• For Target 16.1 (Reduce Violence)

  • Implied Indicator: Number of incidents of real-world violence (e.g., swatting, kidnappings, shootings, armed robberies) linked to online criminal networks. The article’s warning of an “increasingly dangerous” network implies that tracking the frequency of these events is a key measure of the problem’s scale.

• For Target 16.2 (End Violence Against Children)

  • Implied Indicator: Number of minors involved in or victimized by online criminal activities like “The Com.” The article mentions “thousands of English-speaking individuals worldwide, many of them minors,” suggesting that the prevalence of youth involvement is a critical metric.
  • Implied Indicator: Number of reported cases of online child exploitation and sextortion. The specific mention of these crimes indicates that their reporting rates are a direct measure of the problem.

• For Target 16.4 (Combat Organized Crime)

  • Implied Indicator: Value of illicit financial flows from cybercrime, such as ransomware and cryptocurrency theft. The article notes that some members boast about “stealing millions in digital assets,” making the monetary value of these crimes a relevant indicator.
  • Implied Indicator: Number of reported incidents of ransomware, SIM swapping, and phishing attacks. The activities of the “Hacker Com” subgroup suggest that tracking these specific types of cybercrime is necessary to measure progress.

• For Target 5.2 (End Violence Against Women and Girls)

  • Implied Indicator: Proportion of victims of online sextortion and exploitation who are girls. The article’s specific mention that the “Extortion Com” targets “particularly young girls” implies that a gender-disaggregated count of victims is a crucial indicator.

• For Target 4.7 (Education for Sustainable Development)

  • Implied Indicator: Implementation of educational programs on online safety and cyber risks for children and parents. The FBI’s recommendations for families to “educate” children imply that the existence and reach of such educational initiatives are a measure of preventative action.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: infosecurity-magazine.com