With China being widely acknowledged as having made enormous progress in the use and applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in various fields, it is only natural that the domain expertise spills into the realm of public audit where huge numbers and big data are involved.
The good news is that some of that expertise will also be used to aid Indian auditors.
Stating this on the sidelines of the 6th SCO Supreme Audit Institutions' three-day meeting that began on Monday in Lucknow, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India Girish Chandra Murmu, told mediapersons that China has invited the Indian national auditors to visit a Chinese university that has been exclusively set up for auditors to enhance skills and best practices.
“I think we also draw some experience from them definitely in the audit space,” Murmu said, adding that the Chinese have invested a lot in AI which has helped in setting up a standardized audit process. “They have invested almost 20 years to develop this standardization.” The Lucknow meet is themed around AI and cybersecurity threats.
During his address, the CAG had said: “Cybersecurity threats often do not respect national boundaries, so international cooperation is vital to protecting against them.”
“Governments must work together with SAIs to share information and best practices, and to coordinate efforts to combat cyber threats.”
“AI algorithms are being used to guess passwords and analyze social media profiles,” he said, adding cybercriminals are now using AI to create convincing fake images, audio, and video to deceive their targets.
“These malicious AI applications make it easier for criminals to gather information, trick people, and steal sensitive information, thereby increasing the need for robust cybersecurity measures,” he said.
Cybercrime has become a major economic threat, costing the global economy an estimated over $6 trillion annually, which is projected to reach nearly $10 trillion by 2025.
India currently holds the SCO presidency, which annually rotates among member countries. India’s 2023 theme is ‘Towards a Secure SCO’ where it will work with a delegation of federal auditors from eight countries.
With aims for political, economic, military cooperation, coordination and solidarity in Eurasia, SCO was formed in 2001 by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. Now SCO has eight full members including India and Pakistan.
(With PTI inputs)
