India, the current chair of the Counter Terrorism Committee for 2022 is arranging a high-level special meeting of the UNSC in the capital city of New Delhi and in Mumbai in the month of October 2022. The underlying main agenda or objective is to enlighten the world regarding use of new technologies by the terrorists and how to deal with these upcoming issues.
Ruchira Kamboj, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador stated that there shouldn’t be any double standards in dealing with terrorists. She stressed the need for political will for nations to counter terror activities. Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan declared a slain Al-Qaeda leader as a martyr. She also taunted Imran Khan for glorification of terrorists as heroes. According to her, there is need for intense discussions on this field and subject.
Terrorists are generally classified as “non-state actors” in the field of International Relations and Security Studies. As technologies become available for legitimate use, there are high chances that the terrorists will exploit them for their own means. Extremist Groups use social media and Internet as platforms for radicalisation, communicating and coordinating their activities. Target identification and attacks along with recruiting new cadets and also promotion of their existence is being done.
Access to Blockchain and Cryptocurrency technologies will enable terrorists for stealing important and critical information/statistics and data thus endangering the national security of the countries. Organised Crime such as trafficking (drug/arms/human), money laundering, hawala and terror funding can continue bypassing detection by law enforcement agencies.
If the terrorists gain access to AI technology, they will adopt unconventional methods to carry out their operations. A perfect example is the use of “Killer Drones”. Autonomous Robotic machines equipped with explosives can be placed into markets and commercial centres for bomb blasts. The use of 3D printing will enable terrorists to fabricate home made guns. The CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) weapons of mass destruction can be used in place of ordinary bombs for greater impact and destruction.
NATO has developed “DEXTER” (Detection of Explosives and firearms to counter terrorism). It can be placed at subway stations, airports and mass gathering places. International Agencies such as “INTERPOL” and the UN Counter Terrorism Center are assigned to tackle such situations at a global level. “Tech against Terrorism” aims to support technology industry in CT (Counter Terror Operations)
The basic guiding principle of Tech Against Terrorism is that smaller platforms are highly vulnerable to misuse of the Internet for terrorist purposes. Larger companies are generally better able to address the threat to their systems. Tech Against Terrorism supports technology platforms in the areas of social media, cloud computing, storage, and financial technology.
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