'Multilateral Cooperation Key to Success': Amit Shah Inaugurates G20 Conference on Cyber Crime & Security

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday inaugurated the two-day G20 conference on ‘Crime and Security in the Age of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Metaverse’ in Haryana’s Gurugram. While addressing the inaugural session, Shah stressed that “multilateral cooperation is the key to success in securing nations from emerging threats to cyber security”.

Amit Shah warned the global community of security challenges which have evolved from “dynamite to metaverse” and “hawala to cryptocurrency”, and urged G20 countries to “rise above conventional boundaries to act against such crimes”.

Home Minister also expressed grave concerns about some cybercrime trends like ransomware, phishing, offline telecom, offline child sexual abuse and hacking and warned that this will increase manifold in future.

“According to Interpol’s 2022 Global Trends Summary report, some of the cybercrime trends such as ransomware, phishing, offline telecom, offline child sexual abuse and hacking are posing a serious threat globally. There is a possibility that this cybercrime will increase manifold in future,” he said.

“The G20 has so far focused on digital transformation and data flow from an economic perspective, but now it is important to understand the aspects of crime and security and find a solution,” he added.

Shah further advocated for an “integrated and stable approach to cyber security policies” that will facilitate “interoperability, increase trust in information sharing, and reduce the agency protocol and resources gaps”.

“The need of the hour is to share ‘real-time cyber threat intelligence’ among member countries with active support from industry and academia to secure the nation’s critical infrastructure,” the Home Minister said.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Home Minister said the G20 conference on cybersecurity will witness rigorous brainstorming among G20 countries, nine special invitee countries, and domain experts.

“The conference will emphasise global partnerships to counter cybercrimes and pave the way for safer cyberspace by addressing a wide range of cybersecurity concerns,” he said.