November 25, 2022
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0Interpol Launched The First Metaverse for Police Officers
The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) has announced the launch of its own metaverse, according to the Interpol website.
At the 90th Interpol General Assembly in New Delhi, the global police organization presented the first ever metaverse specially designed for law enforcement agencies around the world.
What is metaverse? Read more here.
What is it?
The Interpol metaverse will allow registered users to visit the platform and take a tour of the virtual version of the Interpol headquarters in the French city of Lyon.
Users will also be able to interact with other employees through their avatars and even take special training courses, which will allow Interpol to introduce and train student recruits.
Interpol stressed that the key driving force behind its introduction into the metaverse is that attackers are already using this technology to commit crimes, while the level of public acceptance is likely to increase significantly over the next few years. The international police note that fraud using social engineering, violent extremism and disinformation is already flourishing in the metaverse.
According to a recently published Interpol report on global crime trends, as the number of metaverse users grows and technology continues to evolve, the list of possible crimes will only expand and potentially include crimes against children, data theft, money laundering, financial fraud, forgery, extortion programs, phishing, as well as sexual violence and harassment.
“As the number of Metaverse users grows and technology continues to evolve, the list of possible crimes will only expand and potentially include crimes against children, data theft, money laundering, financial fraud, money forgery, extortion programs, phishing, sexual assault, and harassment,” the statement said.
It is noteworthy that there are cases when criminals have already been imprisoned for their actions in the Metaverse. Last month, a South Korean man was sentenced to four years in prison for sexually harassing children in the Metaverse and luring them to send photos and videos.
At the event in Delhi, Interpol also announced plans to create a unit dedicated to combating crypto-crime. The Secretary General of Interpol, Jürgen Stock, stressed the need for this unit since many law enforcement agencies currently cannot cope with the difficulties in this sector.
Praveen Sinha, Special Director of India’s Central Bureau of Investigation, also noted that tracking cybercrime is becoming increasingly difficult due to its global nature and that coordination is a key factor that will facilitate their efforts.
“The only answer is international cooperation, coordination, trust, and real-time information exchange,” Sinha said.
According to the research company Gartner, by 2026, every fourth person will spend at least an hour a day in the metaverse for work, study, shopping, and socializing.
