Criminals are getting away with higher levels of online-led crime than ever before, as Australian police struggle to keep pace with a web so complex that even some perpetrators don't know they are involved.
Organised crime networks now outsource their tasks to people online, decentralising criminal capabilities and making attribution and disruption more difficult.
Dark web marketplaces and encrypted communication channels allow the sale and transaction of criminal services to flourish, with police struggling to keep up, Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner Hilda Sirec told a parliamentary inquiry on Friday.
She said many people involved in crimes, like arson or cybercrime, do not know they are doing it on behalf of a big criminal operation.
Current legislation made it hard to track people to the top, leaving the real perpetrators without any punishment, the assistant commissioner said.
