Some global forces use tech for social harm: Shah at G20

Union home minister Amit Shah said on Thursday pushed for “uniformity” in global laws and a “united front” to deal with cyber threats, adding that some antisocial elements and global forces are using technology to cause economic and social harm to citizens and governments.

- Neeraj Chauha

The home minister underlined threats emanating from cyber criminals using the darknet, metaverse, deepfakes, ransomware and toolkit-based misinformation campaigns, and who target critical information and financial systems. He asked members of the G20 to have a “dedicated common channel” to prevent financial irregularities through the use of digital currencies.

“Our vision for the internet should neither compromise the security of the nation by allowing excessive freedom nor should it adopt an isolationist structure like digital firewalls,” he said, explaining the need for a balanced vision for the internet.

“Today, 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 antisocial elements and global forces that are using technology to cause economic and social harm to citizens and governments,” Shah said while inaugurating the two-day “G20 Conference on Crime and Security in the Age of NFTs, Artificial Intelligence and Metaverse“ in Gurugram.

Over 900 participants from G20 countries, nine special invitee countries, international bodies such as Interpol, and technology leaders and domain experts from India and across the world are attending the conference.

While the home minister did not name any country, there have been instances of cyberattacks by China-backed hackers on India’s key establishments in the recent past, including the hacking of All India Institute of Medical Sciences servers last year.