Cybersecurity and New Technologies

Misuse of information and communications technologies

There is growing concern over the misuse of information and communications technologies (ICT) by terrorists, in particular the Internet and new digital technologies, to commit, incite, recruit, fund or plan terrorist acts. 

Member States have stressed the importance of multi-stakeholder cooperation in tackling this threat, including among international, regional and subregional organizations, the private sector and civil society in Security Council resolution 2341 (2017) and the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (GCTS). 

In the seventh review of the GCTS, the Office of Counter-Terrorism and other relevant Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact entities were requested to “jointly support innovative measures and approaches to build the capacity of Member States, upon their request, for the challenges and opportunities that new technologies provide, including the human rights aspects, in preventing and countering terrorism.”

Counter-terrorism Cybersecurity and New Technologies initiatives

The UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) launched several initiatives in the field of cybersecurity and new technologies. 

The UNOCT/UNCCT Cybersecurity and New Technologies programme aims to enhance capacities of Member States and private organizations to prevent cyber-attacks carried out by terrorist actors against critical infrastructure. The programme also seeks to mitigate the impact of cyber-attacks and recover and restore targeted systems should such attacks occur. 

In 2022, UNOCT/UNCCT and INTERPOL launched the CT TECH initiative, aimed at strengthening capacities of law enforcement and criminal justice authorities in selected partner countries to counter the exploitation of new and emerging technologies for terrorist purposes, as well as supporting Member States in leveraging new and emerging technologies in the fight against terrorism. CT TECH is funded by the European Union and implemented under the UNCCT Global Counter-Terrorism Programme on Cybersecurity and New Technologies.

In November 2024, building on the results achieved by the CT TECH Initiative, CT TECH+ was launched to contribute to global security by strengthening selected Partner States’ law enforcement capacities to respond to the increasing use of new technologies for terrorist purposes, while protecting human rights and in a gender-responsive manner. 

The Office also provides expertise in international fora on the use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and delivers capacity-building assistance in Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT), darkweb, cryptocurrencies, and digital forensic investigations. 

Past UNOCT projects have focused on the use of social media to gather open source information and digital evidence to counter terrorism and violent extremism while respecting human rights. 

Human Rights and Gender

In all its activities, the Cybersecurity and New Technologies Programme supports Member States in ensuring full respect of human rights and the rule of law in their counter-terrorism measures. 

The Programme reinforces human rights compliance and mainstreams gender by integrating human rights into its outcomes. This involves launching specific activities for female practitioners and incorporating human rights into its results framework, monitoring and reporting. 

Human rights and gender mainstreaming will also be ensured through international and regional cooperation, by applying the biennial reviews of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategies, as well as relevant Security Council resolutions, and by taking into account the United Nations Human Rights Due Diligence Policy on Support for Non-United Nations Security Forces (HRDDP).