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The United Nations Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee is holding a special meeting in Mumbai and New Delhi starting Friday, focused on the growing threat posed by new and emerging technologies.
The two-day meeting in India marks the first time since 2015 that the Committee has met outside UN headquarters in New York.
The discussion will focus on three areas: Internet and social media; financing of global terror networks; and the proliferation of unmanned aerial systems, such as drones. These emerging technologies are developing rapidly and are being used more and more regularly by countries around the world, including for internal security and counter-terrorism purposes.
But high-tech software and hardware is also increasingly being misused by terrorist groups for their own illicit purposes.
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Terrorists Hijacking Technology
India chairs the Counter-Terrorism Committee until the end of this year. Briefing reporters in New York, Committee Chairperson Indian Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj said the high-stakes meeting will reflect on recent developments and evidence-based research on terrorism and the use of technology.
It said it would bring together “a wealth of real-world knowledge and expertise on the subject, with the participation of Member States, relevant operational partners and key stakeholders”.
The meeting will provide a platform to exchange ideas on how the technology sector can help address the spread of terrorist content online and effectively counter terrorist narratives.
Additionally, they are expected to discuss how tech-savvy terrorists are using technological innovations to move money through crowdfunding, merchandise sales, appeals for donations through social media platforms and other methods.
Drones and AI
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Another concern that will be explored is the potential use of 3-D printing, robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, unmanned aerial systems, and synthetic biotechnology for illicit purposes.
On the increase in the use of drones, the Committee’s Coordinator for Information Technologies, Jennifer Bramlette, said that member states have already taken some steps to address it.
“Of course, there are no-fly zones around airports and critical infrastructures. Of course, the companies themselves have taken steps to build geo-blocking mechanisms so that if drones are found flying in certain locations, they are automatically disabled,” she added.
She said there are also “a number of discussions” going on about how drones are sold, “and who can buy them.”
SOURCE: UN News/SLT
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