NIA To Train Law Enforcement Agencies In Detecting Terror Networks, Counter-Terrorism Hotspots

A Parliamentary Committee has urged the Central government to address terror financing and continuously evolving strategies to effectively counter terrorist organisations' tactics.

New Delhi: The cyber terrorism division of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has decided to train the law enforcing agencies of various States across the country in identifying terror networks, along with Counter Terrorism (CT) hotspots, surveillance over the encrypted devices as well dark web besides initiating capacity building programmes.

The development took place after a Parliamentary Committee asked the government to tackle the menace of terror financing in the country and keep on evolving its strategies to be on par with the terrorist organisations.

“To counter acts of terror financing, the government has intensified cyber patrolling for identifying terror networks, along with Counter Terrorism (CT) hotspots, surveillance over the encrypted devices as well dark web besides initiating capacity building programmes for Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs),” government representatives informed a Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs.

The NIA is empowered to probe cases of cyber terrorism under the NIA (Amendment) Act, 2019. A dedicated division namely, the “Anti-Cyber Terrorism Division” has been created in the NIA for focused investigation of offences relating to cyber terrorism, including exploitation of information and communication technologies by terrorists.

“Besides, India hosted a special session of the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee (UNCTC) wherein the overarching theme was countering the use of Internet and drones by terrorist groups. In another meeting, ‘No Money For Terror (NMFT), the issues of emerging technologies in the field of terror financing were discussed,” officials stated.

The committee notes that the government is committed to tackling the menace of terror financing in the country and keeps on evolving its strategies to be on par with the terrorist organizations.

To counter the use of cryptocurrencies and virtual assets in terror financing, Virtual Digital Assets Service Providers have been notified as Reporting Entities with effect from March 7, 2023, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002.

Further, to enable the service providers to effectively detect and report suspicious transactions, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU-India) has factored in various scenarios that could be indicative of terror financing into the Red-Flag indicators to be issued for the said Reporting Entities.

The committee also noted that as of date, the use of cryptocurrencies and virtual assets has not been noticed/identified in any of the cases related to terror financing being investigated by the Directorate of Enforcement.

“The government should remain vigilant in the matter and tighten its detection and identification mechanism so that no cases of terror financing through cryptocurrencies and virtual assets occur in the country,” the committee said.