Law enforcement agencies in Hong Kong launched their own Metaverse to inform the public about the threats and opportunities associated with Metaverse projects and the Web3 sphere.
The Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau (CSTCB) of the Hong Kong Police Force announced the launch of the CyberDefender Metaverse platform. The law enforcers plan to use the project to raise citizens’ awareness of the challenges in the digital age and implement crime prevention in virtual space.
The law enforcers held the first online event, a conference “Exploring the Metaverse,” which aimed to discuss crime prevention strategies in the Metaverse space. Three venues — CyberDefender City, the Web3-themed Gallery, and Auditorium — were available to attendees of the event.
Ip Cheuk-yu, Chief Inspector of CSTCB, gave a speech at the event. He emphasized that hackers and fraudsters use the same methods in virtual space as in other segments of the global network, and therefore users should be vigilant. This is especially relevant to investing and keeping personal information safe.
Creating an educational Metaverse platform became necessary due to the growing number of crimes related to digital assets. In Q1 2023, the CSTCB recorded 663 such cases with a total loss of $570 million, a 75% increase over the same period last year and a 44% increase over the previous quarter. There were 2,336 digital asset cases totaling $1.7 billion in losses in 2022.
The CyberDefender Metaverse will also enable public education initiatives aimed primarily at raising security awareness among young people in the Web3 space. China plans to become a leader in the field of Metaverse technologies by 2026. To this end, a number of large-scale Metaverse and augmented reality projects are already being implemented.
