Indiana state lawmaker targeted in AI sextortion scheme

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana State Police is investigating a sextortion attempt that targeted an Indiana state lawmaker.




According to the Indiana House Democratic Caucus, State Rep. Maureen Bauer (D-South Bend) became aware of AI-generated sexual images of her that were created with the intent to harass and extort her on Wednesday. Rep. Bauer then filed reports immediately with the Indiana State Police and the FBI. The FBI said it could not confirm nor deny whether it's investigating this incident.




A statement from a caucus spokesperson reads in part:




"...No one should ever be subjected to this kind of violation. Deepfake exploitation and the creation of altered sexual images are a form of abuse and will not be tolerated..."




In a later statement, another caucus spokesperson said the manipulated images have since been removed, but that this continues to be an active investigation.




"Under Indiana law, it's a crime to generate/share those kind of pictures even if they are totally fabricated from artificial intelligence," said Doug Kouns, CEO of Veracity IIR and a former FBI special agent.




This comes as the Marion County Prosecutor's Office is looking into allegations that a staffer in Lt. Governor Micah Beckwith's Office created a pornographic AI-deepfake video of State Rep. Craig Haggard's wife. Lt. Gov. Beckwith has denied those allegations.




Because Indiana's AI pornography laws are relatively new, Kouns said they present some grey areas that make them difficult to investigate and prosecute.




"In the next few years, hopefully we'll see a lot more clarity on these things, but also in those few years technology will change," Kouns said.




Currently, a state legislative task force is looking at ways to put more safeguards around existing AI laws. It's unclear what their final recommendations could look like.




"I'm afraid with technology we're going to see a lot more and more of this if they don't address it quickly and forcefully," Kouns said.




If you think you've become a target of a similar scheme, Kouns recommends the following:

• Call law enforcement immediately.





• Do not click on any links in emails, texts, or social media messages that look suspicious.





• Do not forward any suspicious messages to anyone.





• Document all relevant information that could help law enforcement.

"Even if it's not real, it still looks like it's real, so it can be embarrassing to people, but law enforcement is your best bet," Kouns said.




In addition to calling law enforcement, anyone who feels they've been victimized by this type of crime should report it by going to in.gov/cybersecurity.



via: https://fox59.com/news/politics/indiana-state-lawmaker-targeted-in-ai-sextortion-scheme/