Conversion of hawala into cryptocurrency a matter of concern: Amit Shah

 Gurugram: Union Home Minister Amit Shah today flagged the dangers of cryptocurrency and called for building international-level cyber resilience to make the digital world safer for all.

“The transformation of our security challenges from ‘dynamite to metaverse, and conversion of hawala’ into cryptocurrency is a matter of concern for the countries of the world. All of us together, have to devise a common strategy against it. Terrorists are finding new ways to perpetrate violence, radicalize youth and raise financial resources, and the new methods in the form of virtual assets are being used by terrorists for financial transactions,” Shah said addressing G-20 Conference on Crime and Security in the Age of NFTs, AI and the Metaverse, in Gurugram.

 He said terrorists are using the dark net to hide their identity and spread radical material. “We have to understand the pattern of these activities running on the dark net and find solutions for the same. He said that to create a robust and efficient operational system, we need to think coherently to crack down on the use of various virtual assets,” he added.

“We live in a big global digital village. Although technology is a positive development in bringing human beings, communities, and countries closer, there are also some anti-social elements and global forces that are using it to cause economic and social harm to citizens and governments. Therefore, this conference becomes all the more important as it can be an important global initiative towards coordinated action to make the digital world safer for all,” he said.

Shah said that the Metaverse, once a science fiction idea, has now stepped into the real world and it may create new opportunities for terrorist organizations, primarily for propaganda, recruitment, and training. 

He noted that this will make it easier for terrorist organizations to select and target vulnerable people and prepare material according to their vulnerabilities.

He said that the metaverse also creates opportunities for true imitation of a user‘s identity, known as “deep-fakes”, and, by using better biometric information about individuals, criminals will be able to impersonate users and steal their identities.   

Shah said that 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

He said there should be greater coordination among cyber agencies of all countries in reporting and action on cyber incidents, he said.

“Cooperation in the investigation of cross-border cyber crimes through joint efforts to build a ‘peaceful, secure, deterrent and open’ information and communication technology environment is extremely necessary today. In line with the United Nations Convention on the Criminal Use of Information and Communication Technology, speedy preservation, investigation and co-ordination of evidence is essential. Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) must be strengthened to deal with emerging threats due to emerging technologies,” he said

“There should be a 24×7 cyber security mechanism in place for an effective ‘predictive – preventive – protective and recovery action. The nature of the Cyber Threat Landscape has spread across national boundaries, necessitating cooperation and sharing of information by nations, organizations, and stakeholders to effectively combat cybercrimes. The time has come to build a ‘Transparent and Accountable AI and Emerging Technologies Governance Framework’ to ensure responsible use. Given the rise in cybercrime involving digital currency, there is a need for a ‘dedicated common channel’ among nations to prevent such financial irregularities. Third-party verification of NFT platforms will increase trust and curb criminal activities.”

Shah said that many countries of the world have become victims of cyber attacks and this threat is hovering over all the major economies of the world. He stated that, according to World Bank estimates, cyber-attacks could have caused losses of around $5.2 trillion to the world during the years 2019-2023.

 Shah said that the Government of India has worked towards outlining a uniform cyber strategy, Real-time reporting of cybercrimes, capacity building of Law Enforcement Agencies, designing analytical tools, setting up a national network of forensic laboratories, ensuring cyber hygiene, and spreading cyber awareness to every citizen.

Home Minister said 840 million Indians have an online presence, and by 2025 another 400 million Indians will enter the digital world. He said that internet connections in India have increased by 250% in the last 9 years and that the cost per GB of Data has been reduced by 96%.

Shah said the possibilities of cyber threats have also increased. He quoted Interpol’s ‘Global Trend Summary Report’ for the year 2022, that some of the cybercrime trends such as ransomware, phishing, online scams, online child sexual abuse, and hacking are posing serious threats across the globe and there is a possibility that these cyber crimes will increase manifold in the future.   

He said a discussion on cyberspace security and cybercrime on the platform of G-20 will help in the development of ‘the Intelligence and Information Sharing Network’ and will give a boost to ‘Global Cooperation’ in this field.   Shah said that the objective of this conference is to promote a secure and efficient international framework for empowering and securing ‘digital public goods’ and ‘digital public infrastructure’ as well as optimally harnessing the power of technology.

He said that at the same time, there is also a growing tendency to strategically target critical information and financial systems. Such activities are a matter of national concern, as their activities have a direct impact on national security, law and order, and the economy, he said.

He emphasized that if such crimes and criminals have to be stopped, then we have to think and act by rising above the conventional geographic boundaries.   Shah pointed out that the targets in digital warfare are not physical resources, but the ability to act online. He said disruption of online networks even for a few minutes can be fatal.

Shah said that the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and System (CCTNS) has been implemented in all the police stations of the country. He said that the Government of India has established the Indian Cyber-Crime Coordination Center (I-4C) to ensure a comprehensive response against cybercrime. The government of India has also created a massive open online courses platform called the ‘CyTrain’ portal, which perhaps, will be the world’s largest training program in the field of cyber security.

  Shah expressed hope that this conference will provide a concrete action plan in this direction. He said that an integrated and stable approach to cyber security policies will facilitate interoperability, increase trust in information sharing and reduce the agency protocols and resources gaps.