Security agencies to use face-recognition, social media data mining: Rajnath

Security agencies in a bid to enable themselves to dig out deeper information from social media, about a criminal whose record is unavailable in police database, are trying to obtain new software and improved face-recognition technology, said Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday.

"We are also trying that if there is no information about them (criminals) in the CCTNS (crime and criminal tracking network system), we should have such software that can dig into the social media network and collate information about such elements," the home minister said.

Stating that cyber crimes were posing a "big challenge" to the security establishment, Singh said security agencies have detected that terrorists were using the "dark internet" to recruit operatives and to "sell and purchase confidential information by big criminals".

Citing the above reasons, the Union Minister said that they have created a cyber-security division in the home ministry for the first time.

Inaugurating a three-day Defence and Homeland Security Expo and Conference 2018, organised by the PHD Chamber, Singh said the utility of drones in ensuring security has been found to be necessary and the central government will soon bring out a policy on their comprehensive usage in the country.

Talking about the use of technology in security agencies, the Minister expressed that the country's security agencies are looking to procure "new tech-edge".

"We can track criminals through the CCTV cameras. But at times, it is very difficult to identify and recognise them. We are trying that face recognition technology is better improved so that if a criminal is not identified by CCTV cameras, there should be a technology to get his face recognised. This is what we are trying", said Singh.