Information and communications technologies
While the general population uses new and emerging technologies (particularly information and communications technologies (ICT) such as the Internet, social media platforms, and other communications applications) primarily for social communications, digital commerce, and informational purposes, they have also become a favoured tool for terrorists such as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)/Da’esh, Al-Qaida, their affiliated groups, and other terrorist organizations. These actors are known to exploit new and emerging technologies as a way to keep their members motivated, as well as to facilitate a wide range of terrorist activities, including incitement to violent extremism conducive to terrorism, recruitment, training, planning, networking, securing logistical support, acquiring weapons and their components, fundraising, and conducting terrorist operations.
The Security Council has focused attention on countering the exploitation of ICT for terrorist purposes for more than 20 years and has adopted 15 counter-terrorism related resolutions and issued four policy documents on the matter. In its resolution 2129 (2013), the Council noted the evolving nexus between terrorism and ICT, in particular the Internet, and the use of such technologies to commit and facilitate terrorist acts. In its resolution 2617 (2021) of December 2021, the Council referred to the use of the Internet, other ICT, and other “emerging technologies” for terrorist purposes.
In assisting the Counter-Terrorism Committee to monitor, facilitate and promote Member States’ implementation of these relevant Council resolutions, CTED seeks to reconcile the positive and negative aspects of new technologies, namely their considerable potential to improve quality of life, on the one hand, and their vulnerability to abuse by terrorists, on the other. CTED supports Member States in their efforts to identify innovative and collaborative ways to tackle terrorist abuse of ICT and develop innovative technological solutions to harness their vast potential for good, in respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms and in compliance with their other obligations under international law. This includes proactively promoting and facilitating the delivery of technical assistance and the development of public-private partnerships to address the exploitation of digital technologies by terrorists.
CTED also assists Member States to counter terrorist narratives online and offline, emphasizing the need for States to identify an appropriate balance between countering hate speech and safeguarding freedom of expression, as well as the need to work together to identify durable solutions to these challenges, regardless of their differences of opinion. CTED advocates that States adopt a holistic, all-of-society, and comprehensive approach to addressing the conditions conducive to the spread of violent extremism that could be conducive to terrorism, including by encouraging dialogue and collaboration with civil society, the private sector, and other relevant stakeholders.
CTED, with the full support of the Committee, has actively engaged in a number of multi-stakeholder initiatives in this area:
- Tech Against Terrorism. A public-private partnership launched in April 2017 by CTED, Tech Against Terrorism aims to support the technology industry to develop more effective and responsible approaches to tackling terrorists’ use of the Internet, while respecting human rights. The guiding principle of Tech Against Terrorism is that smaller platforms are most vulnerable to use of the Internet for terrorist purposes, as larger companies are generally better able to address the threat to their systems. Tech Against Terrorism supports technology platforms in the areas of social media, video sharing, messaging, cloud computing, storage, and financial technology (fintech), helping them to identify and mitigate risk and share knowledge and best practices. It also develops resources to assist such platforms, providing capacity-building and operational support and facilitating their cooperation with government, civil society, and academia.
Core to this support is the Tech Against Terrorism Mentorship Programme, aimed at supporting smaller technology companies in building and strengthening their counter-terrorism frameworks, and the Terrorist Content Analytics Platform, supporting technology companies in swiftly identifying, triaging and removing terrorist content. It also develops resources to assist such platforms. A further important resource for the promotion of good practices is the Knowledge-Sharing Platform (KSP), a website that is exclusive to members of the Tech Against Terrorism initiative and contains a collection of tools and resources to support their efforts.
- Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT). CTED supports the efforts of this industry-led initiative to develop technological solutions, conduct research, and share knowledge with smaller companies to contribute to the global fight against terrorism. GIFCT implements many of its activities within the framework of the Tech Against Terrorism initiative. As part of GIFCT’s efforts to share knowledge and best practices, CTED and Tech Against Terrorism have cooperated on a series of activities, such as the development and promotion of KSP and the organization of joint workshops to enhance public-private partnerships. Committed to preserving and respecting the fundamental human rights that terrorism seeks to undermine, GIFCT also collaborates with a broad range of non-governmental organizations, academic experts, governments, and human rights experts.
- Global Initiative on Handling Electronic Evidence. Accessing digital data produced by terrorists is necessary to bring terrorists to justice. Mindful of the challenges States face in their efforts to obtain electronic evidence from Internet service providers (ISPs), CTED is working with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on a global initiative aimed at strengthening the capacity of central authorities, prosecutors and investigators to preserve and obtain electronic evidence within the framework of cross-border counter-terrorism investigations. A key project output is the Practical Guide for Requesting Electronic Evidence Across Borders, now in its second edition, which was developed through a consultation process that involved numerous stakeholders, including private sector entities.
- Protection of critical infrastructure. Terrorist groups may eventually acquire the capacity to launch terrorist attacks through the Internet, thereby causing damage to critical infrastructure, industrial control systems, or Internet of things devices. In its resolution 2341 (2017), the Security Council directs the Committee, with the support of CTED, to examine Member States’ efforts to protect critical infrastructure from terrorist attacks, related to the implementation of resolution 1373 (2001) and with the aim of identifying good practices, gaps and vulnerabilities in this field. CTED, the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) developed, in 2018, The Protection of Critical Infrastructure against Terror Attacks: Compendium of Good Practices, which may in due course be complemented by an addendum addressing cyber issues more specifically.
- Data protection and privacy. In response to a proposal by CTED, the Working Group on Criminal Justice, Legal Responses and Countering the Financing of Terrorism of the Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact launched a project on developing model legislative provisions and a compendium of existing good practices on data protection rules to facilitate international cooperation in counter-terrorism (“UN CT Programme on Data Protection”). The project is co-led by CTED, UNODC and UNOCT.
- Online investigations. As a result of the Security Council’s and the Committee’s recognition that States’ need to have the capacity to conduct open source and dark web investigations is a counter-terrorism priority, the Committee’s assessments have begun to focus on such matters (e.g., dark web trafficking in small arms and light weapons). UNODC, UNOCT and INTERPOL have all launched capacity-building programmes in this area. CTED has participated in several of these projects and has also provided expertise.
- Artificial intelligence. The use of AI in counter-terrorism efforts, from automatic content moderation by communication service providers to the use of biometrics, is widespread. Machine learning and decision-making are seen as extremely powerful surveillance and investigative tools but also as serious threats to the enjoyment of civil and political rights, from privacy and freedom of expression to freedom from racial and gender discrimination. CTED has been collaborating with various partners that are working in this area, notably the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute and the World Economic Forum. CTED has been following developments in the use of AI-powered algorithms by technology platforms (including GIFCT companies) to support their content moderation efforts. Additionally, in his Road Map on Digital Cooperation, the Secretary-General notes the importance of AI for the promotion of peace and noted the work of CTED on several AI-related matters. CTED advises the Executive Office of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the Road Map.
CTED is also actively engaged in work on the interactions of new technologies with the financing of terrorism, border management and law enforcement, and new trends. For example, the increase in the number of individuals motivated by xenophobia, racism, acts of intolerance, the rise in violence, including sectarian violence, and the COVID-19 pandemic have been accompanied by the use and abuse of new technologies, such as gaming platforms and the gamification of terrorist propaganda, which CTED has been monitoring.