Subject: GS 3
Syllabus: Challenges to Internal Security through Communication Networks, Role of Media and Social Networking Sites in Internal Security Challenges, Basics of Cybersecurity, Money-Laundering and its prevention.
Questions
- Social media has huge potential to disrupt societal peace and political stability. Discuss the threats to internal security due to social media and also enumerate the steps that can be taken. (250 Words, 15 Marks)
- Money laundering has become a more sophisticated activity with time. Discuss. Also mention the steps taken at national and international level to deal with it. ( 250 Words, 15 Marks)
Model Structure
1. Social media has huge potential to disrupt societal peace and political stability. Discuss the threats to internal security due to social media and also enumerate the steps that can be taken. (250 Words, 15 Marks)
Model Structure
Introduction
- The advent of social media led to decentralization of service delivery, grievance redressal, information dissemination and a wide array of other benefits. But with time, it has been used for other acts like cyber frauds, terrorism, organized crimes etc.
Main Body
- Not just non-state actors, but state actors are also using social media to create instability, spread propaganda and cause social unrest. This is because of internet penetration and its accessibility and affordability which has enabled spread of terrorism, hate and disruption of peace.
- Social media poses a lot of threats to internal security like-
- Crowding of cyberspace by sophisticated operators who are difficult to trace. These cyber-planners identify recruits, train them and plan terror attacks.
- Radicalisation of youth by propaganda and brainwashing on various social media platforms.
- Lack of data localization makes it difficult to gather information on time to make these groups accountable and take action against them.
- Social media allows them to work in a target country without any physical presence which further adds to complexity and minimizes deterrence.
- Use of social media by political parties for polarization aids external agents in posing threat to internal security.
- Fake news and its quick spread on social media results in false propaganda and sensitive issues being prioritized which triggers issues detrimental to societal peace.
- Thus there is a need to take steps to ensure social media is not taken advantage of by external agents which affects internal security of India. Some of them are-
- Current infrastructure on e-surveillance like National Intelligence Grid, CERT-In, Network and Traffic Analysis System and National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre needs to be updated as per need of time.
- Review of the IT Act to make it stronger and setting up a crack team to respond to unusual incidents on a war footing.
- Fact checking websites need to be promoted more which can check authenticity on a real time basis.
- Dedicated institutes to promote training of ethical hackers to ensure preventive checks on hacking and quick response when attacked.
Conclusion
- Certainty of punishment is a better deterrent than severity of punishment. There must be provisions that ensure punishment for spreading fake news.
2. Money laundering has become a more sophisticated activity with time. Discuss. Also mention the steps taken at national and international level to deal with it. ( 250 Words, 15 Marks)
Model Structure
Introduction
- Money laundering is a method to hide or conceal sources of money generated by illegal activities like trafficking of arms, drugs and humans, corruption etc.
Main Body
- Money laundering has become a more sophisticated activity with time because of ever developing technologies and methods like-
- Use of cryptocurrencies, alternate finance and digital currency are unregulated and hence have huge potential of misuse.
- Placing money followed by integration in the global financial system results in coordination issues between several government institutions and jurisdictions.
- Structuring deposits by use of a large number of channels called as smurfs helps launderers hide illegitimate money from anti-money laundering agencies.
- Shell companies work without active business presence and use fake invoices to channelize laundered money into illegitimate businesses.
- Use of tax havens like Cayman Islands, Panama etc. for tax evasion and round tripping.
- To tackle these issues, many steps are taken like-
- The Black money (undisclosed foreign income and assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 was passed to address the issues related to black money, undisclosed income and assets.
- In 2002, Prevention of Money Laundering Act was passed which criminalized money laundering as a cognizable and non-bailable offense.
- The Financial Intelligence Unit under the Ministry of Finance helps coordinate and share information on money laundering with national and international intelligence agencies.
- The Financial Action Task Force established by G7 countries sets standard procedures and ensures implementation of legal and regulatory measures against money laundering and terror financing.
- Countries which have ratified the Vienna convention have an obligation to criminalize money laundering from drug trafficking.
- The OECD forum has adopted a convention against money laundering. It supports appropriate safeguards, access to tax administration in suspicious transactions based on information received from FIUs.
Conclusion
- Money Laundering transcends international boundaries and requires global effort to deal with it. All stakeholders must collaborate to strengthen data sharing to eliminate the problem of money laundering.
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