NetWatch

NetWatch
Information
Variation(s)	Net Police
Type	Corporate Security
Established	1991
HQ	London, UK
Country	USA/Europe
Appearance(s)
Game(s)	Cyberpunk 2020 CyberGeneration (Non-Canon) Cyberpunk Version 3.0 (Non-Canon) Cyberpunk RED Cyberpunk 2077
Literature	Rache Bartmoss Guide to the Net The World of Cyberpunk 2077

NetWatch was created as part of a unilateral agreement in the UN treaty. It is empowered to protect and serve the law abiding citizens of the World Communications Network ...

 — The NetWatch Story, A DMS Production, Cyberpunk 2020

NetWatch is a worldwide Net policing organization based out of London, England. Its initial focus was to patrol the Net in order to prevent illegal activity. After the DataKrash, it tried to contain dangerous AIs and secure what it could from the Old NET. It works closely with corporations and often fights against rival Netrunners.

Overview

NetWatch is a global policing organization founded in 2013 by a US/Eurotheatre treaty. It works in tandem with and receives funding, equipment, and personnel from governments, corporations, and other large organizations to patrol the Net and prevent cybercrimes. The organization's Netrunners, known as NetCops, Wolves, Weasels, and The Icemen, were equipped with very powerful software to move through the Net, and would patrol specific "beats", which could cover a city, region, or continent. While arrest and imprisonment were the primary goals of NetWatch, it was also known to use Black ICE programs to kill or maim their opposition.

After the collapse of the Old NET due to the DataKrash, during the 2030s and 2040s NetWatch oversaw the development of corporate CitiNets, local VPNs established in Reclaimed Cities. At the same time, it made contact with AIs that had managed to survive rogue malware known as R.A.B.I.D.s in order to work together on getting the Old NET under control. The project did not exist in any official books or records, and was known only as "the Black Wall".

By 2077, one of NetWatch's goals included keeping people from penetrating the Blackwall: a virtual firewall, which was believed to keep free AIs from breaking through and causing mayhem. As such, they were at odds with Night City gangs such as the Voodoo Boys, who wished to break down the Blackwall with the belief that the AIs would help them and humanity as a whole.

Database Entry (2077)

---

NETWATCH

NetWatch was founded as a European net security company, but its success quickly transformed it into an international agency sponsored by corporations. The "Net Police" specializes in securing data fortresses, pursuing unlicensed AIs, neutralizing hacks, removing software threats and apprehending troublesome netrunners. NetWatch also maintains the Blackwall, a barrier of ICE that guards against rogue, post-Krash AIs. Corporate propaganda likes to portray NetWatch agents as defenders of humanity without which the Net would have long-ago collapsed. The truth is that it's not so hard to become a "public enemy" in the eyes of NetWatch – go head, jack in and read the security protocols sent to every user on the Net. The moment you step over the line, some eager rookie in the nearest NetWatch division will have a file on you in no time.

Notable employees

Main article: List of NetWatch employees

Game Information (2077)

Shards

• Looking for a career change? Join NetWatch!

Notes

• In the original Cyberpunk 2020 lore, NetWatch was formed in 2013 through a treaty between the United Nations and the World Communications Network. In Cyberpunk RED and Cyberpunk 2077, NetWatch is considered a pre-existing private United Kingdom security company, founded in 1991, which was remade into a worldwide policing agency through a US/Eurotheatre treaty in 2013.

Gallery

NetWatch Badge