Interpol has given insight into how important and what steps it’s taking to develop law enforcement tools to bring safety into the metaverse. In a documentary led by the BBC, Madan Obeori, Executive Director of technology and innovation at Interpol, said that the crimes in the metaverse are of two kinds – those that exist in current media spaces and those that are peculiar to the metaverse.
He added that some of the metaverse crimes seen today include financial fraud and data theft where people’s data are stolen and wrongly used without their consent. Furthermore, the director explained that Interpol is currently seeing issues like sexual harassment coming up in the metaverse. Although it’s not yet clear if it’s a crime or not, comparing it with physical harassment is different, he added.
Research threats and remote training in the metaverse
Speaking about the current application of the metaverse by Interpol, Madan noted that they are researching the possible threats that will be common in the metaverse. Since some of the threats are not known yet, it’s important that Interpol stays ahead of the criminal agents and what they can explore or create to harm users of the metaverse.
Another way Madan revealed that Interpol is using the metaverse is in conducting remote training for law enforcement agencies. Interpol, an organization that connects several police agencies around the world, is deploying the metaverse to train these law enforcement agencies enabling them to understand how the metaverse works.
Interpol also plans to use the metaverse as an investigatory tool, Madan said. It’s logical to implement the infrastructure of the environment used for committing crime to also investigate those crimes and the metaverse will require virtual investigative measures as well.
Government agencies are always behind the curve
In the interview, Jurgen Stock, Secretary General, Interpol, expressed his concerns saying that while criminals will always find ways to explore and exploit systems for illegal financial gains and the metaverse is not left out, governments seem always late to catch up.
Law enforcement agencies are always behind in terms of understanding and using new technologies and the case with the use of social media is an example, he added. Having law enforcement agencies understand how the metaverse work will help curb crime in the virtual space.
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