NSA Ajit Doval at BRICS meet: 'AI, disruptive technologies will increase gravity of cyber risks'

• NSA Ajit Doval attended the BRICS NSA meeting in Johannesburg, discussing cyber security with participating countries
• He stressed the need for a collective effort, especially for countries in the Global South facing resource constraints
• Doval highlighted the increasing cyber risks due to disruptive technologies like AI, big data, and the Internet of Things, and the nexus between cybercriminals and terrorists

National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval attended the BRICS NSA meeting in the South African capital Johannesburg on Monday. The issue of cyber security was extensively discussed at the meeting. In addition to the BRICS countries, Belarus, Burundi, Iran, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kazakhstan and Cuba also participated in the discussions.

Doval emphasized the need for a collective effort in addressing the issues arising from cyber security. “The Global South in particular needs to overcome resource constraints. In this regard, India will always remain at the forefront and work closely with the Global South,” he said.

Doval also emphasized that the severity of cyber risks will increase exponentially with the advent of disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data and the Internet of Things.

He spoke about the nexus of cybercriminals and terrorists, including the use of cyberspace for financing, money laundering, radicalization, lone wolf attacks, recruitment and secure communications.

"The younger population has been particularly vulnerable to the spread of extremist ideologies through social media sites because they are technologically savvy and have receptive minds," he noted.

Doval also held several bilateral meetings with his BRICS counterparts and Friends of BRICS.