At an open meeting held by the UN Security Council to mark the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, officials said terrorist organizations had evolved into more fragmented structures and were using technology more extensively. The meeting called for stronger international cooperation and prevention efforts in response to these changes.
Threats are becoming more fragmented as technology use grows
Natalia Gherman, executive director of the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, said the international community had made significant progress since the September 11 attacks but that efforts to prevent terrorism must continue.
Gherman stressed that solidarity and international cooperation were essential to bringing terrorists to justice and preventing terrorist organizations from finding safe havens.
Gherman said terrorist organizations were becoming increasingly fragmented and decentralized, taking advantage of fragile governance, local grievances and instability. She added that the groups were also diversifying their financial networks.
Gherman said unmanned aerial systems were being used for surveillance and attacks, while social media, gaming platforms and other online spaces were being exploited to recruit young people. She said advances in artificial intelligence and automated content generation were increasing terrorist organizations’ ability to influence and exploit people in terms of speed, scale and precision.
The meeting addressed the growing use of online payment services, crowdfunding, mobile money and virtual assets in terrorist financing. Gherman said these methods were being used alongside traditional means such as cash couriers and that international efforts to counter financing risks needed to continue.
Security measures must comply with the law
Eihab Omaish, director of policy and coordination at the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism, said the September 11 attacks had transformed the international security environment but warned against complacency. Omaish said terrorist actors had changed their methods and called for the joint response to adapt accordingly.
Omaish said there were three lessons to be learned from the past 25 years. He said security measures must be supported by continuous prevention efforts and that civil society, women, young people and victims of terrorism should be included in international cooperation.
Omaish stressed that counter-terrorism efforts must be conducted in accordance with international law, warning that measures that undermine human rights and the rule of law would harm the joint response.
Call for partnerships with technology companies
Naureen Chowdhury Fink, executive director of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism, drew attention to the growing role of technology for terrorist organizations. She said new technologies had ceased to be merely an important tool for terrorists and had become a fundamental one.
Fink said artificial intelligence could reduce barriers to action by providing tailored information and assistance to people preparing attacks. She said ideological and operational fragmentation made it more difficult to identify perpetrators and called on governments to view technology companies as essential partners in countering terrorism.
Fink also called for the private sector to be included in multilateral counter-terrorism efforts and for public-private partnerships to be strengthened.
