In the backdrop of government drawing up a comprehensive strategy to tackle radicalization through internet and preventing youth from getting attracted to the ideology of Islamic State (IS), National Investigation Agency (NIA) has for the first time set up a special cell to monitor internet content and chatter.
It will also help the agency generate its own intelligence vis-a-vis terror investigations.
For this, the agency has acquired state-of-the-art tools (software) from a US software giant. The tools -approved by National Informatics Centre (NIC) and Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) –will help the agency cull out communication having certain key words related to any kind of terrorism or radicalization attempt.
They will also cull out suspect content across various platforms that could be put together to establish patterns through analysis.
Until now, such tools were available only with Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). This makes NIA the only agency outside the intelligence set-up to be allowed such surveillance.