The International Criminal Police Organisation, or INTERPOL, launched its first-ever Metaverse specifically designed for law enforcement worldwide at its 90th INTERPOL General Assembly in New Delhi, India.
The INTERPOL metaverse allows registered users to tour a virtual facsimile of its General Secretariat headquarters in Lyon, France.
The immersive experience allows its officers to interact with each other via their avatars and even take immersive training courses in forensic investigation and other policing capabilities.
At the event, INTERPOL announced the creation of an expert group on the Metaverse to represent the concerns of law enforcement on the global stage – ensuring this new virtual world is secure by design
“By identifying these risks from the outset, we can work with stakeholders to shape the necessary governance frameworks and cut off future criminal markets before they are fully formed,” said Madan Oberoi, INTERPOL’s executive director of technology and innovation.
INTERPOL has entered the #Metaverse ???? https://t.co/k6OrS7SPZs pic.twitter.com/H5DbNuU8gc— INTERPOL (@INTERPOL_HQ) October 20, 2022
Criminals exploiting the Metaverse
It’s no surprise that criminals are already exploiting the metaverse, the World Economic Forum has partnered with INTERPOL, Meta, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and others in an initiative to define and govern the Metaverse, and has warned that social engineering scams, violent extremism and misinformation could be particular challenges.
As the number of Metaverse users grows and the technology further develops, the list of possible crimes will only expand to potentially include crimes against children, data theft, money laundering, financial fraud, counterfeiting, ransomware, phishing, and sexual assault and harassment.
Oberoi adds: “The Metaverse has the potential to transform every aspect of our daily lives with enormous implications for law enforcement.
“But in order for police to understand the Metaverse, we need to experience it."
Although the future trajectory of the Metaverse remains uncertain, associated technologies like VR, AR, NFTs & web 3.0 hold the potential to transform how we interact, work, pay & play.What are the possible threats and opportunities for law enforcement?????https://t.co/V724WzlkaJ pic.twitter.com/rm9DpiQnFl
— INTERPOL (@INTERPOL_HQ) October 28, 2022
What is Metaverse
Ever since Facebook (NASDAQ:META) Inc’s rebrand as Meta, the term Metaverse has become the new buzzword in the tech space.
Riding on this wave, several companies pioneering the development of the Metaverse have gained momentum, significantly fast-tracking the development of this new frontier.
Simply put, the end goal is an immersive virtual world where people live, work and socialise connected to a virtual reality (VR) device in the comforts of their own home
However, with core technologies like 5G, affordable augmented reality (AR) and VR technology and edge computing still in their infancy, a fully-fledged metaverse might be years away from fruition.
Looking ahead, the concept of Metaverse has gone through several iterations, improving exponentially at each stage, making us closer to an immersive reality as we advance the tech that powers it into the future.