Gurugram, July 14: India on Friday issued the summary of a G20 meeting under which it stressed the need for strengthening capacities of individual states and all stakeholders to better respond to traditional, non-traditional and emerging challenges, including terrorism and its financing, money laundering, misinformation and disinformation.
The chair’s summary was issued after the two-day conference on ‘Crime and Security in the age of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Metaverse’ that took place here on Thursday and Friday.
The inaugural address was delivered by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who had warned the global community about security challenges evolving from “dynamite to metaverse” and “hawala to crypto currency” and asked G20 member countries to join hands to fight the menace.
The summary of the chair said: “It is critical to strengthen and develop capacities of individual states, international organisations and relevant stakeholders to better respond to traditional, non-traditional and new and emerging challenges, including terrorism and its financing, money laundering, misinformation and disinformation.” The chair emphasised promotion of an open, secure, stable, accessible, peaceful and accountable ICT environment, including technical advancement, business development, safeguarding the security of States and public interests and respecting privacy right of individuals.
Concerns were raised over the increasing challenge to protect individuals, particularly women and children, from online sexual exploitation and from other content harmful to their health and well-being.
Stakeholders are looking forward to strengthen cooperation to develop initiatives aimed at ensuring safety of users, especially children and women on the Internet, it noted.
The chair observed that the misuse of ICTs along with new and emerging technologies and advanced ICT tools by State and non-State actors for terrorist purposes is a serious concern for global security and stability, economic and social development, as well as the safety and well-being of individuals.
The importance of deterring, preventing and combating the use of ICTs for terrorist purposes and strengthening of international cooperation, through exchange of best practices, sharing of information and effective and efficient mutual legal assistance, was underscored.
The chair noted that the use of AI, Metaverse, NFTs, Dark Net, Deep fakes, Internet of Things (IoTs) and other technologies by malicious actors is increasing rapidly. There is concern about AI generated cyber-attacks, malware, highly convincing information manipulation, and scams that can be deployed cheaply and at formidable scale using these tools.
“Collaboration between law enforcement agencies, financial institutions, technology companies, and cryptocurrency exchanges can lead to better intelligence and coordinated efforts to combat illegal activities. By addressing the challenges, implementing robust solutions, and exploring future directions, stakeholders can strive to connect the dots in the Darknet and create a safer digital environment for all users,” it observed. (PTI)
