On the eve of its 90th General Assembly, Interpol has spoken out about its concerns with cybercriminals. For law enforcement, lack of digital training is a major hindrance in investigations. For this reason, a new unit dedicated to cryptocurrencies in cybercrime has been created by Interpol.
Police lack training in dealing with cybercriminals
Following the revelations about Terra Labs and its co-founder Do Kwon, the international criminal police organisation Interpol is scrambling to catch up with its technology. The world’s largest police organisation is holding its 90th general assembly this week, with cybercrime and cryptocurrencies as its main theme.
Jürgen Stock, Interpol’s secretary general, says that much of the assets generated by criminal activity have been “laundered using cryptocurrencies”.
However, in order to hinder cybercriminal activities, one would need to have sufficiently trained teams on the subject. As Jürgen Stock points out:
“The important technological innovations, the Internet of Things and digital, in connection with cryptocurrencies, pose a challenge to law enforcement because very often the services are not properly trained and equipped. “
For this reason, Interpol has created a new police unit. Based in Singapore, the unit specialises in cybercriminal activities involving virtual assets such as cryptocurrencies.
Cybercriminals at the end of their cruise
Interpol’s efforts to catch up on cybercrime are not new.
After the closure in 2013 of the Silk Road website, specialised in the trade of illicit products and services, law enforcement agencies understood the importance of digital police training. As early as 2015, Interpol police officers were training on the darknet to understand how transactions flow and disappear.
However, their efforts do not seem to be conclusive enough as scandals continue to flourish. Let’s recall that the Terra affair last May swallowed up nearly $80 billion, significantly impacting the cryptocurrency ecosystem globally.
Since then, Do Kwon, the co-founder of the Terra project, has been put on the Interpol red list. As a result, all 194 countries in the organisation are called upon to arrest him. Currently on the run, Do Kwon continues to promote Terra via Twitter, while countering the claims made against him:
I am not “on the run” or anything similar – for any government agency that has shown interest to communicate, we are in full cooperation and we don’t have anything to hide
– Do Kwon (@stablekwon) September 17, 2022
“I’m not “on the run” or anything – for all the government agencies that have shown interest in communicating, we have cooperated fully and have nothing to hide. “
Pending the capture and conviction of the key figures in Terra Labs, Interpol teams must continue their cybersecurity-related training.
