The Hong Kong Police Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau (CSTCB) launched the CyberDefender metaverse to inform the public about new opportunities and threats in the Web3 segment.
The agency has already hosted the first online event exploring digital worlds, with about 120 participants.
CSTCB Chief Inspector Yip Cheuk-yu during his speech noted that classic schemes of fraud, hacking and harassment are common in the metaverses.
The decentralized nature and use of digital assets also increases the likelihood that cybercriminals will target users’ devices and wallets, as well as smart contracts themselves, the head of the unit said.
The event was attended by the President of the Hong Kong Esports Association Eric Jung and the chairman of the local association of media designers Aska Yeng. They discussed entrepreneurial opportunities in digital worlds and career opportunities for artists in the field of non-fungible tokens.
“In order to increase the digital literacy of the younger generation, the police will continue to organize community education initiatives on various topics through CyberDefender, raising awareness of teenagers about the latest advances in information technology, potential pitfalls and the importance of preventing cybercrime,” the CSTCB said.
According to the police, in 2022 Hong Kong registered 2,336 cases involving digital assets, which caused losses of $1.7 billion. In the first quarter of 2023, the authorities recorded 663 such cases with damages of $570 million. Most of them concerned investments in cryptocurrencies.
Recall that in May, the Chinese city of Nanjing launched a “platform of innovative technologies and blockchain applications” aimed at promoting and developing the metaverses.
Later, Zhengzhou supported the initiative by publishing a project to launch a hub with a fund of $1.42 billion for startups focused on virtual worlds.
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