CETS - Child Exploitation Tracking System
Microsoft has created a software product called the Child Exploitation Tracking System, CETS, which is currently being used in 9 countries to disseminate information and evidence, and track online predators.
Per this article at the CRN website, CETS use in England has been credited with
"helping to save 138 children from abuse, make 240 arrests and dismantle three international paedophile rings."
Microsoft Senior Vice President Brad Smith says:
“While the internet has contributed many benefits to our lives, one unfortunate downside is that it allows child predators to find one another and form virtual communities around the world through which they exploit and perpetrate heinous crimes against children,” said Smith. "
Sadly, those are very true words.
More information can be found here: http://www.microsoft.com/industry/publicsector/government/programs/CETs.mspx
From the Microsoft site:
"The Child Exploitation Tracking System (CETS) is a unique software tool developed by Canadian police, international law enforcement officials, and Microsoft to help battle child exploitation online. Pronounced "kets," this tool helps law enforcement officials collaborate and share information with other police services based on legal agreements in place. When law enforcement officials turned to Microsoft to help solve a significant challenge they faced, CETS was created to increase the effectiveness of investigators and teams by providing them with software to store, search, share, and analyze large volumes of evidence and match cases across police agencies."
added later: NYC becomes the first to use CETS in the US.
Comments
Good stuff. I saw Israel joined a month or two ago and as I understand NYPD was one of the first US law enforcement agencies to adopt the technology last year.
http://www.policeone.com/police-products/investigation/Investigative-Software/articles/1351144/
Now if this were to be combined with Flint Waters geolocation technology and adopted globally we will be taking a step toward getting ahead of the bad guys.
~f
Posted by: Fraudarena | March 21, 2008 03:53 AM
very cool about NY. i emailed the folks at CETS last week to find out why they don't list the US as a user, either the feds or the states [because you KNOW we need it at either level]. Anyway, the declined to discuss that with me, but were very forthcoming with other information.
i've been looking into the KIDS program that the FBI uses, to see how the two compare.
Posted by: Bethan | March 21, 2008 08:14 AM
Great - any feedback from your comparison of the FBI program? Isn't that hardwired into Interpol?
Posted by: fraudarena | April 20, 2008 01:36 PM
neither msft nor the fbi are very forthcoming with the details of their programs. i was talking to someone from the AG, and they have a similar program to track homicides.
the primary limitation for all of this is that a database that cross-compares all the details of a variety of crimes is ONLY as good as the information that is added to the database. in many states, it is not mandatory to upload all of that information. each jurisdiction gets to make a judgement on whether or not a set of fingerprints or the details of a crime get reported to a state-level or federal database.
infuriating. it's on my list.
Posted by: bethan | April 20, 2008 02:54 PM