Home From The Sidelines Virtual Workshop on ‘Misuse of the Internet’ Under CICA

Virtual Workshop on ‘Misuse of the Internet’ Under CICA

The Ministry of External Affairs, in collaboration with the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) and its outlying training unit, the Central Detective Training Institute (CDTI) of the Ministry of Home Affairs, organized a virtual workshop on the ‘Misuse of the Internet’ on May 25–26, 2023, as part of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA).

Ms. Muanpuii Saiawi, Joint Secretary (D&ISA) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Mr. Neeraj Sinha, Addl. Director General, BPR&D, and Mr. Anurag Kumar, Director, BPR&D, spoke during the virtual workshop.

Invited speakers discussed a variety of topics, including the use of the internet in organized crime, the prevention of information and communication technology crime against women and children, the use of malware and ransomware as a tool for financial crime, futuristic information and communication technology crime, Internet of Things hacks, and the use of the dark web and cryptocurrency in illegal trade and terror.

Representatives from member states of CICA, including Cambodia, Bangladesh, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Palestine, Russia, Tajikistan, and Vietnam, took part in the virtual workshop.

As a coordinator in the priority area of counterterrorism, India hosted this online CICA workshop on “Internet Misuse.” The workshop aimed to promote conversation about national methods as well as the sharing of experiences and skills. It was broadly focused on methods and techniques to prevent internet misuse, including success stories, best practices, and illustrative case studies. The sharing of member states’ experiences is expected to aid in the capacity building of national law enforcement bodies.

The gathering brought together 40 officials and professionals from 16 CICA member countries.

An expert on new challenges and risks at the CICA Secretariat, Ambassador Adel Adaileh, issued an analysis on the most common forms of unethical, unlawful, and damaging Internet and ICT use. He went into detail about how to prevent and reduce the effects of cyberbullying, internet scams, cyberstalking, online piracy, internet addiction, hacking, unsuitable content, and the spread of misinformation and fake news.

During the workshop, representatives from India’s and Russia’s foreign ministries emphasized the importance of the Ad-hoc Committee’s efforts to develop a comprehensive international convention to combat the use of ICTs for criminal purposes.

India successfully hosted another CICA workshop on counterterrorism and counter-radicalization in early February this year.