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India’s Home Minister Amit Shah has indicated that criminals today utilise both cryptocurrencies and dark web platforms to conduct their illegal activities.
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Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs) are becoming more prevalent as criminals exploit the use of drone technology to enable them to deliver drugs and weapons over international borders into countries.
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Big Bust: Over 24 lakh kg of illicit drug shipments were seized by the Indian Government in support of youth protection within the past 10 years.
Amit Shah, the Union Home Minister of India, has raised a critical alarm concerning the evolving operations of national security. According to him, technology has become a double-edged sword in tackling cybercrime. Despite connecting us all, the darknet also offers a hidden network for nefarious transactions.
Moreover, Drones also provide smugglers with access to an entirely new method of transport through the air for transporting illegal goods into Canada. Minister Shah stated that we must be prepared to deal with sophisticated technology-based smuggling as quickly as possible.
Minister Shah made his comments at a high-level conference on the Government of India’s commitment to eradicating drugs by 2047. He asked that all levels of Government implement a “Whole of Government” strategy to provide all citizens of India with complete protection against drugs.
Battlegrounds Behind the Screen
Amit Shah claims that the dark web has made it possible to purchase many types of dangerous products in a secret, invisible marketplace where traffickers do their business under extreme conditions of anonymity.
Because of this high level of anonymity afforded by the dark web, it has also become more difficult for law enforcement agencies to monitor this type of activity. In addition, another layer of complexity has been added as cryptocurrency has become the primary means of payment used by these traffickers, as there is no way to trace crypto transfers like there is for traditional bank transfers.
Through the establishment of a virtual wall, the ability to transfer funds across international borders has become increasingly efficient for organized crime syndicates. According to Shah, traditional law enforcement approaches have proven insufficient against these technologically advanced networks.
He urged the nation’s top technological experts to develop new tracking mechanisms to support policing and ultimately gain on-tech-enabled criminals through mastery of such tools. The ambition is to develop an overarching digital protective mechanism for both the Nation’s economic interests and National Security.
Drugs have become a major element of terrorism, and the government is taking action. Shah said authorities are currently dismantling numerous ‘narco-terrorism’ modules across the country, with networks using drug profits to fund violence and terrorism. These groups reportedly rely on encrypted messaging apps to communicate and coordinate without leaving an easily traceable paper trail.
The Home Minister said that the challenge we face now is to break the overall ecosystem. Authorities will track every rupee from the street corner back to its origin. Agencies are receiving training in blockchain data and metadata analysis to assist in this process. Strengthening cyber units is now a priority of the Ministry of Home Affairs, so that criminals no longer have the ability to hide behind screens and digital wallets.
Protecting the Borders and the Next Generation
The airspace has opened a new way to bypass physical barriers. Smugglers are utilizing drones as an inexpensive method to circumvent fences by flying them by air. Drones can transport large amounts of illegal drugs or weapons and do so at low altitudes, flying at night to avoid radar detection.
Amit Shah indicated that this “drone-nexus” presents a significant obstacle for border security. To mitigate all these, the Indian federal government is building sophisticated anti-drone signal jammers and technologies.
The government has engaged with home-grown technology entrepreneurs to develop new methods of destroying rogue aircraft. Authorities require this to maintain peace in the border areas of Jammu and Punjab. It is equally important to secure the airspace as it is to secure the ground.
