Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday called for building cyber resilience internationally as there are anti-social elements and global forces that are using technology to cause economic and social harm to citizens and governments.

He was addressing the inaugural session of the G20 conference on “Crime and Security in the Age of the Non-Fungible Token (NFT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Metaverse” in Gurugram, Haryana.

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Shah said technology was a positive development in bringing humans, communities, and countries closer. Considering the misuse of technology, he said, “I would like to emphasize the urgent need for cooperation, both at the national and international levels, to build cyber resilience.”

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi believes that “Cyber security is no longer confined to the digital world only. It has become a subject of national security – global security.”

The prime minister, he said, emphasized the humane aspect of technology and had integrated the “Internet of Things” with “Emotions of Things”
to ensure ‘compassion’ and ‘sensitivity’ in the use of technology.

The home minister said India has been at the forefront of adopting emerging technologies at the grassroots level. “We aim to make modern technology more accessible and affordable to all sections of society,” he said adding, this has brought an unprecedented expansion in the use of technology.

There are 840 million Indians with an online presence today, and by 2025 another 400 million Indians will enter the digital world, he said. The internet connections have increased by 250 per cent in nine years. Data per GB is cheaper by 96 per cent. Under the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana, 500 million new bank accounts have been opened and 330 million RuPay Debit Cards have been distributed.

India leads in global digital payments with 90 million transactions in 2022, and UPI transactions in India to date have a total of Rs 35 trillion. Forty-six per cent of global digital payments are done in India.

These initiatives for ‘digital delivery of services’ have transformed India into a ‘Digital Nation’ within a decade. But at the same time, possibilities of cyber threats have also increased, Mr Shah said.

According to Interpol’s ‘Global Trend Summary Report’ for 2022, some of the cyber-crime trends such as ransomware, phishing, online scams, online child sexual abuse, and hacking are posing serious threats across the globe. There is a possibility that these cyber crimes will increase manifold in the future, the Home Minister said.

He said “The world today needs a new model for digital public infrastructure to facilitate the flow of information and finance. This will facilitate the countries of the world to digitally empower their citizens.”

According to World Bank estimates, cyber-attacks could have caused losses of around $5.2 trillion to the world during the years 2019-2023. The use of cryptocurrency by malicious threat actors further complicates its detection and prevention, he said.

The transformation of security challenges from ‘Dynamite to Metaverse’ and ‘Hawala to Crypto currency’ is a matter of concern for the world, he said, and there is need to devise a common strategy against it.

The home minister said terrorists are using 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. To create a “robust and efficient operational system, we need to think coherently to crack down on the use of various virtual assets,” he said.

The Metaverse, once a science fiction idea, has now stepped into the real world. The metaverse may create new opportunities for terrorist organizations primarily for propaganda, recruitment, and training. This will make it easier for terrorist organizations to select and target vulnerable people and prepare material according to their vulnerabilities, the Home Minister said.

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

Shah said the conference should consider bringing uniformity in laws of all countries against digital crimes. “We must put in place a response mechanism under different laws of the countries,” he said.

The home minister said that “the need of the hour is to share real-time cyber threat intelligence” among member countries with active support from industry and academia to secure the nation’s critical infrastructure. There should be greater coordination among cyber agencies of all countries in reporting and action on cyber incidents.

In line with the United Nations Convention on the Criminal Use of Information and Communication Technology, speedy preservation, investigation and co-ordination of evidences is essential.

The Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) must be strengthened to deal with emerging threats due to emerging technologies. There should be a 24×7 cyber security mechanism in place for an effective ‘predictive – preventive – protective and recovery’ action, he said.

The home minister said 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 the nations to prevent such financial irregularities, he said. Third-party verification of NFT platforms will increase trust and curb criminal activities, the Home Minister said.