Russian Security Council warned of the advent of “the era of technological and digital terrorism”
The number of terrorist attacks in the world last year compared to 2017 decreased by more than a third, and the number of victims by a quarter. This statistic was announced on Wednesday by Deputy Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Yuri Kokov. At the same time, he made it clear that you shouldn’t relax: the Middle East, Africa, South and Southeast Asia remain the main centers of terrorist activity, but now Islamists are increasingly targeting Western countries. In addition, having lost the old sources of financing, they are actively looking for new ones, for example, through firms controlled by them, “are engaged in speculation on the stock exchanges.”
Yuri Kokov completed the discussion of the first issue on the agenda of the meeting of high representatives responsible for security issues on Wednesday morning. It took place in Ufa with the participation of delegations from 119 countries. In his report, Mr. Kokov noted that there are currently hundreds of terrorist groups in the world. They mainly operate in the same regions as before – in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Meanwhile, he added, “if before igilovtsy (members of the Islamic State group banned in the Russian Federation) called for supporters to move to Iraq and Syria, now they are offering them to remain to continue jihad in the host countries” .
The fact that they are listening to this appeal is proved by the number of terrorist attacks in European countries – this year, as noted in the report, they have already occurred in the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and France. As noted by Yuri Kokov, the response from ultra-right radicals is no less dangerous. As an example, he cited the terrorist attack in New Zealand on March 15, 2019, during which 51 people were killed. The terrorist was a 29-year-old Australian Brenton Harrison Tarrant, who is far-right. “You can not ignore the threats posed by extremists of various stripes. A wave of extremism and terrorism should not overwhelm the civilized community, ”said the representative of the Security Council.
Yuri Kokov noted that terrorists are constantly adapting to new conditions. For example, they use 3d printers for making firearms that cannot be detected by a metal detector. In addition, among the innovations are “unauthorized interference with the operation of automated control systems of potentially dangerous and critical facilities”, as well as more frequent “attempts to attack coastal infrastructure using swimmers-saboteurs with skills in mining seaports and seizing civilian vessels “.
“According to UN experts, the financial reserves of the IG are up to $ 300 million,” said Yuri Kokov. “At the same time, the terrorists continue to look for new sources of funding. The firms they control are engaged in speculation on the stock exchanges, investing in real estate, in a number of legal sectors of the economy, and participating in criminal business in different countries. ”
However, there is also something unchanged: transnational organized crime remains a major pillar of terrorist organizations. At the same time, as noted in the Security Council, “the proceeds from illicit arms trafficking, illegal production and sale of narcotic drugs” are of particular importance in financing terrorism. “Recently, the transportation of illegal migrants from the countries of the Middle East, North Africa and Afghanistan has become a very lucrative criminal business for them,” added Yuri Kokov.
As usual in such speeches, the representative of the Security Council did not bypass the threat from the side of new information and communication technologies. “Today, the global network for terrorists is, in fact, the main mechanism for managing disparate forces and assets, including financial ones. Today, according to expert estimates, there are about 30 thousand extremist and terrorist sites, – he said and concluded: –
It should be noted that many participants made similar statements during the plenary session, mainly from Africa, Asia and Latin America. In the afternoon, the conference will discuss the issue of “emergency humanitarian response” to crises, and tomorrow delegates will take part in round tables on the problems of the information space and on counteraction against single terrorists.
