Hong Kong Police Educates Citizens on Opportunities, Threats Related to Metaverse

The Hong Kong Police launched a metaverse platform to educate people about the opportunities and threats related to Web3 and metaverse.

According to a press release, the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau (CSTCB) of the police launched CyberDefender Metaverse to make citizens aware and prepare them for challenges in the digital age by paying attention to fighting technological crimes.

In the CyberDefender Metaverse, three virtual venues were opened to the public, namely the CyberDefender City and the Web3-themed Gallery and Auditorium.

The CSTCB also held a thematic sharing session, which addressed threats related to the metaverse and crime prevention measures. CSTCB Chief Inspector IP Cheuk-yu said all the crimes in cyberspace could also happen in the metaverse, such as investment frauds, unauthorized access to systems, theft, and sexual offenses, adding the decentralized nature and use of virtual assets in Web3 may also increase the likelihood of cyber criminals targeting endpoint devices, virtual asset wallets and smart contracts.

He also pointed out that the decentralized nature of Web3 increases the possibility that cybercriminals would target endpoint devices, virtual asset wallets, and smart contracts, asserting the importance of being cautious in the metaverse.

It is worth mentioning that the Hong Kong Police increased the levels of launching technology crime educational initiatives, especially for the younger generations given that Hong Kong recorded 2,336 virtual asset-related cases with a loss of $1.7 billion in 2022.

In the first quarter of 2023, year, the police received 663 cases of such kind with a total loss of $570 million, representing respective increases of 44% and 75% as compared with the first quarter of last year.