Expressing grave concerns about the potential misuse of the metaverse and cryptocurrencies by terrorist organizations, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday asserted that the virtual world is likely to become a breeding ground for terrorists to brainwash youth, employ and train new recruits.
During his address at the G20 summit, he highlighted the shift from traditional methods of terrorism and money laundering to more technologically advanced ones, emphasizing the need for a joint global strategy to counter these threats.
Shah pointed out that terrorists increasingly use virtual assets and the darknet to conduct financial transactions and spread radical ideologies.
He stressed the importance of recognizing the trends in these activities and discovering methods to effectively halt them.
He also called for a robust operational system to curb the use of virtual assets.
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The home minister further warned about the potential dangers of the metaverse, a concept that has transitioned from science fiction to reality.
"Metaverse which was once a science fiction, has now entered the real world. Metaverse can create new opportunities for terrorist organizations to publicize themselves, employ, and train individuals. It (the metaverse) will make it easy for terrorists to easily select people with weak minds and make them a target and to make material based on their weaknesses will be very easy," Shah said.
The minister also raised concerns about the risks associated with deepfakes in the metaverse, where users' identities can be replicated.
He warned that criminals could use biometric information to steal users' identities. He also highlighted other cyber threats, including ransomware attacks, the online sale of private data, child exploitation, and the spread of misinformation campaigns.
Shah emphasized the need for global cooperation and a unified strategy to address these emerging security challenges.
He urged the international community to work together to find effective solutions to these issues.
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