Don't panic, Redmond isn't after your credit card details -- well, no more than usual. Microsoft has announced the opening of a new Cybercrime Center to combine its legal and technical expertise with cutting-edge tools and technology in the fight against crime on the internet. The center will tackle a wide range of crimes including malware, botnets, intellectual property theft and online child exploitation.
"The Microsoft Cybercrime Center is where our experts come together with customers and partners to focus on one thing: keeping people safe online," says David Finn, associate general counsel of the Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit. "By combining sophisticated tools and technology with the right skills and new perspectives, we can make the Internet safer for everyone".
Located on Microsoft's Redmond campus, the center includes a separate and secure location for third-party partners allowing them to work alongside the company’s own experts. This will allow for improved partnerships across law enforcement, education and industry.
The secure facility houses technologies that allow the team to visualize and identify global cyberthreats as they develop in real time. These include SitePrint, which allows the mapping of online organized crime networks; PhotoDNA, a leading anti-child-pornography technology; cyberforensics, a new investigative capability that detects global cybercrime, including online fraud and identity theft; and cyberthreat intelligence from Microsoft’s own botnet takedown operations.
With around 100 people worldwide including lawyers, forensic analysts and technical experts the center is well-equipped to make online life safer.
"In the fight against cybercrime the public sector significantly benefits from private sector expertise, such as provided by Microsoft," says Noboru Nakatani, executive director of the INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation. "The security community needs to build on its coordinated responses to keep pace with today’s cybercriminals. The Microsoft Cybercrime Center will be an important hub in accomplishing that task more effectively and proactively".
Microsoft is encouraging customers to visit www.microsoft.com/security to learn more about threats and ensure that their systems are protected.