To prevent illegal substances from entering the nation and reaching your community, law enforcement is continuously investigating new avenues of entry. More and more, government organizations are relying on AI to aid in border security, particularly in the south. Agents from the Border Patrol discovered nearly all of the fentanyl that was trafficked into the US there.
Using conventional procedures, it might be extremely difficult to locate a medication such as fentanyl. Altana, a global supply chain startup platform, has a $9 million contract that the government is increasing so that it can employ an artificial intelligence technology to monitor fentanyl production.
How AI is Used to Track Fentanyl Production?
To identify manufacturers of fentanyl-related compounds, Altana employs AI. Additionally, it monitors the delivery location of those components. With this data in hand, agents can cut off the supply of the lethal synthetic opioid at the source.
With all that data, the organization creates an ever-expanding knowledge map. We don’t know how precisely Altana keeps tabs on those businesses, but it does reveal the connection between producers and distributors. Millions of transactions are also displayed. Efforts by the startup to trace products manufactured with forced labor are conceptually comparable.
How AI is Helping Border Patrol Seize Fentanyl, Arrest Traffickers?
The use of AI has yielded outcomes for the Border Patrol. Since hiring Altana in July, agents have reportedly carried out two huge missions, according to reports from Customs and Border Protection.
A seizure of 13,000 pounds of fentanyl-making materials was the outcome of one. In a separate operation, agents detained 284 individuals and recovered 10,000 pounds of fentanyl.
Lessons Learned by Kurt
Amazingly, Altana is able to use publicly available data to build a constantly expanding map that shows suppliers and manufacturers. It would take an enormous amount of time and effort, not to mention artificial intelligence, to accomplish it. In addition, the outcomes are becoming apparent.
Even yet, I can’t help but question whether this is exploitable. Is this data accessible to those who make and sell fentanyl? In that case, what would be its purpose? Do they have any purpose at all?
Your thoughts on the use of AI by law enforcement? What other ways do you think the government may use AI to bolster national security? Please notify us by sending an email to Cyberguy.com/Contact.
Head over to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter to subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter, where I share additional tech tips and security alerts. Get in touch with Kurt with any questions or suggestions for stories you’d want us to investigate.
You can check our recent posts related to technology: