Security Council - Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) - ICT4peace

Second Asia counter-terrorism workshop focused on information and communications technologies held in Bangkok

AKHVEDELID — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 06:20:00 +0000

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On 24 and 25 January 2018, a workshop on information and communications technologies (ICT) and counter-terrorism (CT) was held in Bangkok. Co-hosted by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea and Thailand, this was the 2^nd Asia ICT and CT Dialogue involving the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) with a focus on exploring practical ways to strengthen the implementation of all relevant Security Council resolutions in this area.

In his address to the workshop, Mr. Andrei Kovalenko, Director in charge of the Administration and Information Office of CTED, outlined the role and activities of the Executive Directorate.

“Terrorists and terrorist groups exploit the Internet and social media not only to commit terrorist acts, but also to facilitate a wide range of terrorist activities. As part of the mandate given to us by the Security Council, CTED is involved in several initiatives that seek to address this issue.”

Mr. Kovalenko described two of these initiatives more in detail: In 2016, CTED together with Swiss non-governmental organization ICT4��AV had launched a joint project on private-sector engagement in responding to the use and abuse of ICT for terrorist purposes. The project, called Tech Against Terrorism (www.techagainstterrorism.org) and involving major Internet and social media platforms, had been recognized by several Security Council resolutions, including 2395 (2017) and 2396 (2017). Another project, undertaken with the International Association of Prosecutors (IAP) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), focused on strengthening international cooperation among prosecutors in UN Member States engaged in counter-terrorism issues, specifically by enhancing prosecutors’ capacity to obtain digital evidence in timely manner.

In the Bangkok workshop, representatives from Member States, the private sector, civil society, and academia exchanged views on a range of challenges, including online radicalization and violent extremism, digital evidence and mutual legal assistance, the protection of critical infrastructure against terrorist attacks, and private-sector engagement and self-regulation.

Whereas the first workshop – held in Jeju, Republic of Korea, in May 2017 – had enabled participants to discuss current challenges, the second gathering deepened participants’ understanding of certain critical themes. Panellists noted that technology was developing at an overwhelming speed, stressing the need to provide immediate and urgent responses to terrorists’ exploitation of ICT. CTED emphasized the need for an all-of-society, comprehensive approach, as well as the need to address conditions conducive to the spread of violent extremism that could be conducive to terrorism, including by encouraging dialogue and collaboration with civil society and other relevant stakeholders.

It is anticipated that the third workshop (tentatively scheduled for the second half of 2018) will produce an agreement on general principles, as well as recommendations for future work in this area.

Additional photos from the workshop in Bangkok are available on our Flickr page, whereas more information about ICT and counter-terrorism can be found on the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee/CTED website.

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The Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea, CTED, and ICT4��AV launch next phase of Tech against terrorism

BMUSONI — Thu, 30 Nov 2017 17:03:00 +0000

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As technology develops, terrorists continue to adapt their strategies to exploit information and communications technologies (ICTs) to incite, recruit, fund, and plan terrorist acts. The Security Council recognizes this threat to both online and offline space and calls upon Member States to adopt measures to prevent and address it. As part of these efforts, on 29 November 2017 at the United Nations in New York, the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations, along with the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), and Swiss non-governmental organization ICT4��AV, hosted an event to launch the next phase of Tech against Terrorism, a knowledge-sharing platform (KSP).

Tech against Terrorism, a joint project between CTED and ICT4��AV, is a public-private partnership that brings together ICT industry leaders – e.g. Facebook, Google, Kaspersky Lab, Microsoft, Telefonica, and Twitter – with startups, governments, and academia to tackle terrorist exploitation of the Internet. The knowledge-sharing platform establishes a sustainable mechanism to coordinate governments with the tech sector, bridges the knowledge-sharing capabilities between startups and ICT industry leaders, and encourages transparency and self-regulation.

The launch enabled major tech companies to reiterate the importance of the initiative, while smaller firms and startups highlighted challenges they face, from human to financial or management-related resources. H.E. Ambassador Cho Tae-yul of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea, H.E. Ambassador Roman Oyarzun Marchesi of the Permanent Mission of Spain, and H. E. Oliver Zehnder of the Permanent Mission of Switzerland, participated in the launch and each spoke of the necessity of continued efforts in addressing the growing threat of terrorists abusing ICTs. The Executive Director of CTED, Assistant Secretary-General Ms. Michèle Coninsx, emphasized the invaluable relationships developing through Tech against Terrorism among civil society, startup tech companies, established tech platforms, and the wider private sector.

Documents

Agenda for the event

Presentation by Miguel Sánchez SV, Global Chief Security Officer, Telefonica

Presentation by Jeff Collins, Vice President, After School

Webcast

The webcast recording of the event can be accessed here

Photos

More photos from the event are available here

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CTED-initiated process results in High-Level meeting on preventing terrorist use of the Internet

BMUSONI — Thu, 21 Sep 2017 14:07:00 +0000

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On 20 September 2017, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom co-hosted a high-level United Nations meeting on Preventing terrorist use of the Internet. President Emmanuel Macron of France, Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni of Italy, Prime Minister Theresa May of the UK, and Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Google Kent Walker opened the meeting, which was held on the margins of the 72nd UN General Assembly. Linked to efforts initiated by the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) with the industry to prevent and counter terrorism online, this was the first time that world leaders and technology executives at this level addressed the United Nations on the issue.

The high-level meeting sought to encourage governments and civil society groups to engage with the Global Internet Forum for Counter Terrorism (GIFCT), which Mr. Walker represented on the panel of speakers. When GIFCT was launched by Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, and YouTube on 26 June 2017, the then-Executive Director of CTED welcomed the initiative as elevating “our existing private-public partnership with these and other companies.” The high-level meeting recognized GIFCT as a global focal point in the digital battlespace against terrorists and commended its work in shaping future action needed to address this issue.

UK Prime Minister May commended the attendance at the event as evidence of the commitment held by governments, companies, and civil society in collaborating to protect citizens against the use of the Internet by terrorists to spread their ideology. Many of the speakers reiterated the importance of a global response to protect citizens from incitement through awareness and continued efforts in countering narratives.

According to Monika Bickert, Head of Global Policy Management and the Head of Counter-terrorism at Facebook, GIFCT focuses participating companies’ efforts in a number of areas: Improving the means for detecting terrorist content, including through technical solutions like she Shared Industry Hash Database; commissioning research in this area; and sharing knowledge with counter-terrorism experts. “And through a joint partnership [with UN CTED and the ICT4��AV Initiative “Tech against terrorism”], we’ll work with smaller companies on all of the above.”

Ms. Bickert also emphasized that companies like Facebook and Google recognize the importance in helping people challenge extremist narratives in addition to removing content. The United States Department of Homeland Security representative Claire Grady concluded that “we cannot surrender the digital battlespace to violent extremists.”

The full webcast (in English) of the meeting can be found here.

The joint declaration by the three Heads of State/Government (in French) is available here.

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CTED and ICT4��AV host U.S. launch of Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism in San Francisco

BMUSONI — Tue, 01 Aug 2017 14:07:00 +0000

(NEW YORK / SAN FRANCISCO) On 1 August 2017, the Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) and partners ICT4��AV are hosting the U.S. launch of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT) in San Francisco.

In many States, terrorists’ use of Internet technologies is a headline issue. In the wake of recent terrorist attacks, political pressure is building for technology firms to better explain what steps they are taking to combat terrorism and extremism on their platforms and to show concrete results. To this end, the TechAgainstTerrorism.org initiative aims to help startups build practical tools and develop their responses whilst reinforcing the importance of human rights and protecting fundamental freedoms.

“Tackling terrorists’ use of the Internet requires a multi-stakeholder approach involving governments, international organizations, civil society, and the private sector. CTED is happy and proud to see our TechAgainstTerrorism initiative continue to develop and now be associated with GIFCT,” said David Scharia, Chief of Branch, CTED.

Home Secretary of the United Kingdom Amber Rudd, and Deputy Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security of the United States Elaine Duke will both attend the launch in San Francisco, which CTED will open. _____________________________ // ____________________________

CTED and ICT4��AV are partners with Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, and YouTube in supporting the recently announced industry-led Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism. TechAgainstTerrorism is a joint initiative between CTED and ICT4��AV, pursuant to UN Security Council resolution 2354 (2017) and the mandate of the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee and its Executive Directorate (CTED).

The Republic of Korea, Spain, and Switzerland, as well as Facebook, Google, Kaspersky Labs, Microsoft, and Telefónica are sponsors of TechAgainstTerrorism.

For more information, please contact Mattias Sundholm with CTED here, or +1-917-628-3531.

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ICT4��AV and CTED continue to work on countering online presence of terrorist organizations

BMUSONI — Thu, 02 Feb 2017 10:18:00 +0000

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How can the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), including the Internet and social media, for terrorist purposes be effectively countered? This is the focus of a public-private capacity building project, launched in 2016 and led by the Swiss foundation ICT4��AV and the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED). In January and February 2017, ICT4��AV was invited by the UN in Geneva and New York, respectively, to share preliminary findings of the ongoing project.

On 31 January 2017 in Geneva, Adam Hadley from ICT4��AV presented interim recommendations from Phase 1 of the joint project. During the seminar “Violent extremism online – a challenge to peace and security,” Mr. Hadley emphasised the importance of building upon existing efforts in this area. To access the full presentation, please click here. Other speakers included Mark Stephens, Independent Chair of the Global Network Initiative; Ambassador Kok Jwee Foo, Permanent Mission of Singapore to Geneva; and Ms. Wedad al Hassen, Senior Program Associate, Hedayah.

Mr. Stauffacher with ICT4��AV briefing the Counter-Terrorism Committee on 23 February 2017.

On 23 February 2017, Ambassador (retired) Daniel Stauffacher, founder and President of ICT4��AV, provided an update to the Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee in New York. According to the plan of action for 2017, efforts will concentrate on two of the 9 core recommendations from Phase 1 of the project, namely to (i) continue to strengthen dialogue on the emerging normative framework by means of multi-stakeholder engagement through the convening of a regular programme of global stakeholder workshops, and (ii) to establish a Global Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Building Platform focused on emerging policies and effective practice.

Additional information from ICT4��AV is available here.

Front Page Article:

Security Council - Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) - ICT4peace

Second Asia counter-terrorism workshop focused on information and communications technologies held in Bangkok

40009152371_7aa6f07bc2_o-1024x683.jpg

The Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea, CTED, and ICT4����AV launch next phase of Tech against terrorism

img_8042_edited.jpg

CTED-initiated process results in High-Level meeting on preventing terrorist use of the Internet

print_screen_1.png

CTED and ICT4����AV host U.S. launch of Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism in San Francisco

ICT4����AV and CTED continue to work on countering online presence of terrorist organizations

img_6662_cropped.jpg

The Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea, CTED, and ICT4��AV launch next phase of Tech against terrorism

CTED and ICT4��AV host U.S. launch of Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism in San Francisco

ICT4��AV and CTED continue to work on countering online presence of terrorist organizations