The Home Minister also emphasised the need of unified thought while enforcing regulations against the usage of virtual currencies.
On the first day of the two-day G-20 Conference in Gurugram, India, Union Home Minister Amit Shah voiced his fear that terrorists are exploiting the dark web to mask their identities and distribute extreme content.
The minister also expressed concern about the looming danger of cyber attacks, saying that “many countries around the world have become victims of it.” Shah said, “Terrorists are using the dark net to hide their identity and spread radical material, and we have to understand the pattern of these activities running on the dark net and find solutions for the same” if a “robust and efficient operational system” is to be developed.
The Home Minister also emphasised the need of unified thought while enforcing regulations against the usage of virtual currencies.
In his remarks at the G20 Conference on Crime and Security in the Age of the Non-Fungible Token (NFT), Artificial Intelligence (Al), and Metaverse’, Shah elaborated, “The Metaverse, once a science fiction idea, has now stepped into the real world.”
Terrorist groups, he said, might find new ways to use the metaverse for recruiting, training, and propaganda.
Terrorist groups will be better able to pick and choose their victims and tailor their attacks to their weaknesses if this happens.
Deep-fakes, or convincing impersonations of users, are made possible by the metaverse. Identity thieves would be able to impersonate people using more detailed biometric information, Shah said.
The minister said that hackers are using ‘toolkits’ to carry out a wide variety of crimes, including ransomware attacks, the selling of sensitive personal data, online harassment and child abuse, and false news and disinformation operations.
Shah said that there is also an increasing trend towards the deliberate targeting of vital information and financial infrastructure.
Activities of this kind are of national importance because of their effects on security, law and order, and the economy. “If we really want to put an end to these crimes and criminals, we have to think and act in ways that transcend traditional borders,” Shah added.
In a digital conflict, our capacity to operate in the virtual sphere is the battlefield. A 10-minute hiccup in the web network might be disastrous.
Shah said that individuals need to have trust in digital platforms since all governments are now embracing digital ways of governance and public welfare.
Shah warned, “Our internet vision should neither be one of excessive freedom threatening the very existence of our nations nor one of isolationist structures like digital firewalls,” because cyber insecurity casts doubt on the “legitimacy and sovereignty” of the nation-state.
According to Shah, “cyber-attacks could have caused losses of around $5.2 trillion to the world during the years 2019-2023.” This figure is based on an estimate by the globe Bank.
He said that the usage of cryptocurrencies by bad actors makes it increasingly harder to spot and stop threats.
According to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, “the government of India has worked towards outlining a uniform cyber strategy, real-time reporting of cyber-crimes, capacity building of LEAs, designing analytical tools and setting up a national network of forensic laboratories, ensuring cyber hygiene, and spreading cyber awareness to every citizen. Every police department in the nation is now using the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and System (CCTNS), as stated by Shah.
He said that in order to provide a thorough response to cybercrime, the government of India has set up the Indian Cyber-Crime Coordination Centre (14C).
