SCO's Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure conducts exercise to suppress use of internet by terrorists
Dec 15, 2023
New Delhi [India], December 15 : The competent authorities of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) with the support of the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) of the SCO, conducted a joint anti-terrorism exercise on Friday, to identify and suppress the use of the Internet for terrorist, separatist and extremist purposes.
The joint anti-terrorism exercise was hosted by India in New Delhi, according to a press release.
The exercise aimed to exchange positive experiences between the competent authorities of the SCO member states in countering the use of digital assets to finance terrorist, separatist and extremist activities.
Moreover, another objective of the exercise was to improve the "mechanisms of interaction between the competent authorities of the SCO member states to identify and suppress the use of the Internet for terrorist, separatist and extremist purposes," the release stated. 
It further aimed to exchange positive experiences between the competent authorities of the SCO member states in collecting digital evidence against these terrorists.
It also focuses on "increasing the level of interaction between the competent authorities of the SCO member states in countering cyber-attacks from terrorist, separatist and extremist organizations on the critical information infrastructure of the SCO member states."
Furthermore, while summarizing the results of the exercise, the heads of delegations noted that the exercise was an important step aimed at integrating efforts and strengthening the SCO's anti-terrorist potential, according to the release.
Earlier on Tuesday, the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), Government of India, organised a Practical Seminar on "Countering the misuse of Internet and new information technologies for terrorists, separatist and extremist purposes" for delegates from the SCO Member States and representatives of EC RATS SCO at New Delhi.
The practical seminar is one of India's initiatives started in 2019 under the framework of the SCO's Regional Anti-Terrorists Structure (RATS), an official release said.
SCO RATS Member States include India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
This Practical Seminar is the 4th Edition which has been designed which focus on examining and discussing issues related to the misuse of the Internet by terrorists, separatists and extremists (TS&E).
As per the release, the seminar had various presentations from Member States of SCO which gave a multi-dimensional perspective on addressing challenges from AI, Dark web and regulatory challenges, cryptocurrency and emerging technologies, countering the misuse of the internet by discussing on the roles of social media platforms and enhancing the law enforcement capabilities.
The member states further showed their keen interest in deepening cooperation amongst each other for countering the misuse of the internet by terrorists, separatists, and extremists and issues related to cyber security.
