Ahead of the two-day meeting, the Committee Chair, Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj of India, spoke to UN News about how terrorists are exploiting social media, mobile payment systems, 3D printing, and other technological developments.
Highlighting the impact on society, she said their “easy accessibility, affordability and almost universal outreach, have unlocked an immense opportunity for mankind, while also exposing vulnerable users to actors with nefarious agendas.”
Spreading terrorist propaganda
Ms. Kamboj explained how “the rampant use of social media for terrorist purposes to spread terrorist propaganda”, was particularly exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Terrorist groups took advantage of young people’s increased presence online during the crisis “to spread their propaganda and distorted narratives to recruit and raise funds for terrorist purposes,” she said.
Beyond the Internet and social media, other innovations that benefit society – such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and synthetic biology – are also sparking concerns because they can potentially be used for terrorist aims.
Attacks involving unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), such as drones, are now being reported in many conflict zones, further complicating their legitimate use.
Two sides of the same coin
Ms. Kamboj expects that at the meeting, UN Member States and experts from the private sector, academia, and civil society, will discuss best practices to “share information to detect and prevent acts of terrorism, bring perpetrators to justice, and to support victims of terrorism.”
This interview has been edited and condensed for publication.
UN News: What inspired the theme for this special meeting? Are there any figures showing the increased use of new technologies by certain groups, or were there any specific incidents that sounded the alarm over the relevance of these new methods?
Ruchira Kamboj: The use of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes is an issue of increasing concern. Member States already face a significant and growing threat from the exploitation of the Internet and social media platforms to facilitate a wide range of terrorist activities.
Terrorists are taking advantage of online spaces to build networks, procure weapons and garner logistical and financial support.
Further issues of concern are the use of emerging payment methods – such as pre-paid cards and mobile payments, or virtual assets and online funding methods such as crowdfunding platforms – for terrorist purposes. There is also the potential for use of emerging technologies to include unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), artificial intelligence, robotics, synthetic biology, self-driving cars, and 3D printing, to further terrorist aims.
We have to remember, of course, that technology is used for good. Many of the technologies I just mentioned are also incredibly useful tools and communication services used by a large percentage of the global population.
The Security Council has focused attention on addressing new technologies in a number of counter-terrorism resolutions focused on law enforcement and border control, aviation security, and the protection of critical infrastructure and soft targets.
The Council’s most recent resolution on counter-terrorism, Resolution 2617 of December 2021, specifically refers to other emerging technologies, giving notice to the increasing threat posed by their use for terrorist purposes. In this resolution, the Council notes with concern the increasing global misuse of UAS by terrorists to conduct attacks and acknowledges the need to balance fostering innovation and preventing misuse of use as its applications expand.