Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised his concern about terrorist organizations utilizing the darknet, metaverse, and cryptocurrency to fulfill their malicious activities, in an interview with a local news company.
In the interview, Modi highlighted that the World Bank has estimated that around $5.2 trillion has been lost due to cybercrime from all over the world in 2019-2023, but “their impact goes beyond just financial aspects into activities that are deeply worrying.”
The prime minister states that cyber threats must be taken very seriously. “Cyberterrorism, online radicalization, use of networked platforms to move funds from money laundering to drugs and terrorism – are just the tip of the iceberg.” added PM Modi.
Thanks to cyberspace, the fight against terrorism and illegal financial activity has taken a completely new dimension. Modi said, “Terrorist organizations are using technology for radicalisation, moving money from money laundering and drugs into terror funding, and capitalizing on emerging digital avenues such as the dark net, metaverse, and cryptocurrency platforms to fulfill their nefarious aims.”
The seriousness of these threats can have implications for the nation’s social fabric. Further, PM Modi also emphasized the issue of disinformation and fake news, which “can cause chaos and erode the credibility of news sources, potentially fueling social unrest.”
Modi said, “So, it is of concern to every group, every nation, and every family. That is why we have taken this up as a priority.” India hosted the G20 conference on crime and security in the age of NFTs, AI, and the metaverse, said Modi.
“Because the threat dynamics are distributed – handlers are somewhere, assets are somewhere else, they are speaking through servers hosted in a third place, and their funding could come from a completely different region. Unless all the nations in the chain cooperate, very little is possible.” Modi said.
Also Read: G20 Countries Receive Blueprint on Regulation of Crypto Assets
