Terrorists with Technology

Subhashis Mittra

New methods and emerging technologies are being used by terrorists for financial transactions, posing great threats for the security apparatus and digital public infrastructure. Terrorists are finding new ways to perpetrate violence, radicalise youth and raise financial resources.

Against this backdrop, union home minister Amit Shah said transformation of security challenges from “dynamite to metaverse” and “hawala to crypto currency” is a matter of concern. He made the remarks at the inaugural session of the two-day G20 Conference on Crime and Security in the Age of NFTs, AI, and Metaverse in Gurugram, Haryana.

Over 900 distinguished individuals from G20 countries as well as representatives from special invitee countries, international bodies, technology leaders and experts, gathered to discuss ways to protect the digital space and the interconnected world from evolving cyber threats.

The event offered a unique opportunity to form global partnerships for a secure cyberspace as the world faced profound challenges of cybercrime in this new era of non-fungible tokens, artificial intelligence and metaverse.

The minister said some anti-social elements and global forces were using technology to cause economic and social harm to citizens and governments. Incidents ranging from ransomware attacks, sale of critical personal data, online harassment and child abuse to fake news and misinformation campaigns with toolkits are being carried out by cybercriminals. Shah emphasised the urgent need for cooperation both at the national and international levels to build cyber resilience in an increasingly connected world. He urged all to devise a common strategy to effectively deal with this menace.

Highlighting the achievements made in the digital sector in the last nine years, the home minister said 840 million Indians have online presence and by 2025 another 400 million Indians will enter the digita