UN counter-terrorism body supports innovations to fight digital terrorism |

Before the two-day meeting, the President of the Council, Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj of India, spoke to UN News about how criminals are exploiting social media, mobile payment systems, 3D printing, and other technological developments.

Highlighting the impact on society, he said “their simplicity, affordability and universal appeal, have opened up a great opportunity for humanity, while also exposing vulnerable users to actors with unscrupulous intentions.”

Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj of India and Chairman of the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism, briefed the media at a press conference.

The spread of terrorist propaganda

Ms. Kamboj explained how the “widespread use of social media for terrorist purposes to spread terrorist propaganda”, has become particularly evident during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Terrorist groups take advantage of young people increased presence online during the crisis “to spread their propaganda and lies recruit soldiers and raise money for terrorist reasons,” he said.

Beyond the Internet and social media, other innovations that benefit society – such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and synthetic biology – also cause concerns because they can be used for terrorist purposes.

Attacks involving unmanned aerial systems (UAS), such as drones, are being reported in many conflict zones, complicating their legitimate use.

Two sides of the same price

Mrs. Kamboj hopes that at the meeting, the UN Member States and experts from the private sector, universities, and civil society, will discuss the best practices to “share information to discover and prevent acts of terrorism, bring perpetrators to justice, and to support victims. of terrorism.”

This interview has been edited and condensed for publication.

UN report: What prompted the theme of this special meeting? Are there any figures showing the increased use of new technologies by certain groups, or are there specific events that sound the alarm on the relevance of these new methods?

Ruchira Kamboj: The use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes is a matter of increasing concern. Member States have faced a serious and growing threat from the misuse of the Internet and social media platforms to facilitate various terrorist activities.

Terrorists are taking advantage of online sites to build networks, buy weapons and equipment and financial support.

Further issues of concern are the use of emerging payment methods – such as prepaid cards and mobile payments, or virtual assets and online funding methods such as crowdfunding platforms – for terrorist purposes. There is also potential for the use of emerging technologies to include unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), artificial intelligence, robotics, synthetic biology, self-driving cars, and 3D printing, to forward terrorist plans.

We have to remember, of course, that technology is used for good. Many of the technologies I just mentioned are also incredibly useful tools and communication services used by a large portion of the world’s population.

The Security Council has focused attention on addressing new technologies in a number of counterterrorism resolutions focused on law enforcement and border control, aviation security, and protecting critical infrastructure and soft targets.

The most recent resolution of the Council on counter-terrorism, Resolution 2617 of December 2021, specifically refers to other emerging technologies, giving attention to the increasing threat posed by their use for terrorist purposes . In this decision, the Commission notes with concern the increasing global use of UAS by terrorists to carry out attacks and acknowledges the need to balance improving innovation and preventing misuse as its applications expand.

UN report: What are the main outcomes that the meeting hopes to achieve?

Ruchira Kamboj: The special meeting will provide an opportunity to discuss how new technologies are currently being exploited for terrorist purposes, as well as how the terrorist threat from this exploitation can develop and grow as new technologies are developed and taken by all kinds of user.

The discussions will also focus on ways in which States and other relevant actors can strengthen their engagement and cooperation with each other against the use of new and emerging technologies for the purposes terrorism, including the financing of terrorism.

As always, when examining terrorism and responding to terrorism, human rights and gender dimensions are important components of the conversation.

A key outcome is to understand how States are responding to these growing threats in a way that is consistent with their human rights obligations, and to encourage all our partners to ensure that we respect human rights as we seek to keep pace with ever-growing technologies.

UN report: What are the main recommendations of the Council for Member States to examine the issue of new technology and terrorism?

Ruchira Kamboj: The use of new and emerging technologies to prevent and combat terrorist activities can be a very effective and powerful tool if implemented while respecting international human rights law. The purpose of the meeting is to learn from the experience of the Member States how to strike the right balance.

UN report: Will discussions also examine how other sectors, such as financial markets and private companies, can take action to mitigate the issue?

Ruchira Kamboj: The answer to that is ‘yes’. The special meeting will provide an opportunity for participants to focus on what steps can be taken to further develop and use public-private partnerships, explore security through good practices, and create monitoring, transparency and accountability mechanisms.

We are also looking to hear from our private sector, academia, and civil society partners what initiatives they are working on in this regard.

Private actors and member states have also increased the use of digital technologies to identify, prevent and stop the financing of terrorism through online means. When used responsibly and in accordance with international law, technology can facilitate data collection, processing and analysis, and help actors identify and manage terrorist financing risks effectively and in near real time.

The practices of data aggregation and collaborative analytics can help financial institutions better understand, assist and reduce money laundering and terrorist financing risks. There are also a number of positive uses for UAS to combat the movement of terrorists across borders, prevent terrorist activities, and secure public spaces and special events.

There are also a number of technologies to prevent UAS from being used for terrorist purposes.

UN report: Taking into account the assessments made by the Commission, what are the most harmful effects on citizens of the use of these new methods, especially regarding social media?

Ruchira Kamboj: Easy access, affordability, and universal integration of new and emerging technologies, on the one hand, have opened up great opportunities for humanity, while also bringing them together in a closer environment, especially revealing the weak user to players. with nefarious agendas.

For example, during the pandemic, the online presence of young people has been exploited by terrorist groups to spread their propaganda and distorted stories to recruit and raise money for terrorist purposes.

We have seen widespread use of social media for terrorist purposes to spread terrorist propaganda. Thus, the easy access, availability, affordability, and universality of new and emerging technologies have affected every segment of society.

On the other hand, the widespread application of counter-terrorism measures has also raised serious concerns.

Experience has shown that the indiscriminate use of technologies to combat terrorism can alienate the population and negatively affect the execution of violence and the effects of terrorism. The United Nations is constantly promoting a global, all-society and holistic approach to address the many challenges that arise around counter-terrorism and the violent crime that contributes to online terrorism. Civil society organizations, universities and private companies have important roles to play in this regard.

UN report: Given the current scenario, is the Council hopeful that the Security Council will reach a final agreement?

Ruchira Kamboj: Well, there is not necessarily any final agreement to be reached when it comes to preventing the use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes.

Given the trajectory of technological development through science, curiosity, play and users, there is no visible limit to what can be created. And that means there is no predictable end stage for what we do on the growing terrorist community as any technology has the potential to be abused.

Each member of the Security Council and its Counter-Terrorism Committee are committed to an approach to counter terrorism that respects the rule of law in accordance with their obligations under international law.

And to that end, the Council and the Council are in possession of the matter and will continue to work to fulfill the mandates as given under various Security Council resolutions on terrorism.