OSINFO - Open Sources Information

Microsoft helped international law enforcement create the Child Exploitation Tracking System as part of a continuing collaboration to stop those who prey on children online.

TORONTO, April 7, 2005 -- The Child Exploitation Tracking System (CETS) saw early success while still in beta in November 2004. The tracking system identified a link between information arising from an FBI investigation in the United States and a separate investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, known as Operation Falcon. As a result of this link, the Child Exploitation Section of the Toronto Police Service’s Sex Crimes Unit charged a man previously arrested on child-pornography charges with sexually assaulting a 4-year-old-girl, taking pornographic pictures of her and distributing them.

Microsoft Deputy General Counsel Nancy Anderson (L) and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Commissioner Guiliano Zaccardelli (R) at a news conference to announce the Child Exploitation Tracking System jointly developed by Microsoft, RCMP and the Toronto Police Service. Toronto, April 7, 2005.

Click image for high-res version.

CETS, a software solution built using open industry standards, assists law-enforcement officials in their work to stop the exploitation of children on the Internet by enabling effective collaboration and providing a set of advanced software tools and technologies for use by investigators. Officially launched today, CETS was developed jointly by Microsoft Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Toronto Police Service.

“Our vision is to support more effective child-exploitation policing by enabling collaboration and information sharing across police services,” says David Hemler, president of Microsoft Canada. “The tracking system will serve as a repository of information and will also be used as an investigative tool.”

Teaming of Industry and Law Enforcement

Inspector Jennifer Strachan, officer-in-charge with the RCMP’s National Child Exploitation Coordination Center, praises CETS for making linkages that have helped in the execution of warrants. She also applauds the tool’s use of SharePoint Portal Server to help track trends and post best practices. But most of all, she is optimistic about the partnering of law enforcement with industry.

“The old ways of policing won't meet the needs of today's cyber criminals,” Strachan says. “Industry created this environment, and Microsoft is setting a good example by realizing that with this innovation also comes accountability. Law enforcement will never be industry, and industry will never be law enforcement, but we need to keep the best interests of the people we serve in mind.”

As Strachan notes, it is difficult to look at the images of these children being exploited and not want to do something to save them. So she, like many others in law enforcement, is excited to see where CETS will take them.

“We see the excitement amongst police agencies when they realize the potential of this tool and the difference it will make in the fight against online predators,” Hemler says. “The responsibility lies with all of us to limit evil on the Internet and to protect our young people from being exploited. It is part of our duty as responsible leaders.”

CETS’s reach continues to grow as police agencies around the world show interest in using this tool.

“The international law-enforcement community is always looking for ways to stop child pornography and exploitation,” said Rich LaMagna, director of worldwide investigative and law-enforcement programs with Law and Corporate Affairs. “The international law-enforcement community has expressed strong interest in exploring this tool. CETS has got their attention as a way to have a great impact in this field.”

‘We Were Always Playing Catch-up’

The seeds for CETS were planted when Sergeant Paul Gillespie, a detective with the Toronto Police Service’s Child Exploitation Section, felt he was fighting a losing battle in his attempts to stop child exploitation online. While officers in his unit learned their way around the Internet, cyber-criminals were advancing in their ability to victimize children online, trade images and create pedophile communities, all in relative anonymity.

• READ FULL POST…