The taskforce consists of 12 law enforcement agencies and 11 private sector partners

Apr 18, 2013 11:21 GMT  ·  By

The Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement and private sector agencies whose goal is to combat online child abuse, has three new members: the Dutch National Police, the Indonesian National Police, and the Korean National Police.

The new members have been announced at an official ceremony that took place at Europol’s new European Cybercrime Center (EC3). This means that the taskforce currently consists of 12 law enforcement agencies and 11 private sector partners.

“The Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) is honored to join the renowned VGT as a new member,” said Kim Jae-kyu, director of the Cyber Terror Response Center for the KNPA.

“With Korea’s new government placing an extra emphasis on the safety of children, the KNPA will actively engage in VGT projects and cooperate with members to save vulnerable children and to bring perpetrators to justice. The KNPA hopes our joint effort will lay the foundation for a safer world which children deserve to live in.”

“We would like to extend our appreciation for being a part of the VGT. This is an important opportunity to strengthen our efforts to combat crime, in particular online child [abuse],” commented Police Brigadier General Arief Sulistyanto, director of commercial crime for the Indonesian National Police.

“The Dutch National Police is looking forward to working with these important international partners that are united in the VGT,” said Dutch National Police representative Miriam Barendse. “I am proud to be part of this effort.”

Besides the three new members, the list of law enforcement agencies includes ones from Australia, the UK, Canada, Italy, New Zealand, United Arab Emirates, and Interpol and Europol.

The private partners of the Virtual Global Taskforce include PayPal, Microsoft, World Vision Australia, Research in Motion (RIM), The Code, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), and the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC).