Concerns have been raised that the immutable nature of blockchain technology could aid the dissemination of terrorist messages and propaganda after the first instance of a Non-Fungible Token (NFT) generated and distributed by a “terrorist sympathizer” was made public.
The NFT displays the Islamic State’s logo and is named “IS-NEWS #01” on at least one NFT trading website. According to the former authorities, it was developed by a group supporter and probably served as an experiment to try a new ISIS fundraising and recruitment technique. Regulators and national security officials are concerned that terrorists could take advantage of new financial technology and marketplaces, such as NFTs.
Yaya Fanusie, a veteran economic and counterterrorism analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency, stated that “it was only a matter of time.”
Quick Update on IS-NEWS #01
The Justice Department and other law-enforcement agencies would find it extremely difficult to remove IS-NEWS #01 from the internet due to its existence on the blockchain, which is distributed all over countless systems connected to the internet, says a news release that resides on a traditional website that is hosted by a server.
NFTs – As an Area of Concern
Security professionals have already voiced their concerns about the future possibility of terrorists using developing markets and technologies, like NFTs, to fund attacks.
The U.S. Treasury Department published a February study highlighting the expansion of the NFT market as a potential source of worry.
Israeli officials confiscated a collection of 30 cryptocurrency wallets in March from 12 exchange accounts connected to the Gaza-based militant organization Hamas.
Last April, while cryptocurrency has been mentioned in several cases of terrorism financing, according to Matthew Levitt, director of the Jeanette and Eli Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, “it has not yet become a primary means of financing terrorism.”
