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Let’s Get Behind Online Citizenship Education to Tackle Cyberbullying and Harrassment

Posted by Chuck Cosson
Senior Policy Counsel

Cyberbullying was in the news again last week as local authorities try to crack down on the problem. At Microsoft, we believe the best way to prevent cyberbullying is through education. We’d like to see it included in Internet safety curricula in schools.

Cyberbullying methods may be virtual, but the pain is real, especially for young people whose social lives depend heavily on their online connections. Communities are searching for the right boundaries to set when the rough-and-tumble of online discussion turns cruel and even harassing. Context and individual judgment are important in setting limits that protect healthy child development and personal reputations without inhibiting free expression of critical opinion, political and cultural discussion.

Education is not the single solution, but it has proven effective against cyberbullying, it doesn’t impinge on free expression, and it receives broad support around the world as an important and appropriate response. Education was mentioned by nearly all of the witnesses at a recent Congressional hearing on cyberbullying. Reports from safety experts note the importance of education, particularly as part of child development and as a means to more effectively target high-risk situations. Education can help individuals distinguish appropriate social boundaries, identify ways to protect their privacy and reputation, and learn how to be civil while speaking candidly.

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Posted 23 October 2009 09:27 AM mscorp | 1 comment(s)
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Public Service Ads Alert Bing Users to Online Scams

Posted by Tim Cranton
Associate General Counsel

Two weeks ago you heard from me about Microsoft’s enforcement efforts to curb malvertising; today I want to tell you about another approach we are taking to help protect consumers online.  

Along with using the legal system to help stop online criminals and fraud, my team does a lot of work with other groups at Microsoft and with public and private organizations around the world developing novel ways to actively prevent and disrupt online threats.  In the realm of Internet advertising, we’re not only working to promote the safety and integrity of the online ad platform, we’re using that ad platform to directly fight fraud more generally across the Web.

Microsoft – in conjunction with the Federal Trade Commission, the United States Postal Inspection Service and Western Union – today launched a series of online public service announcements within our Bing search engine to remind consumers to be alert for common online financial scams.  When consumers search using keywords that could expose them to credit repair, mortgage foreclosure, or fake lottery scams, the sponsored ad results in Bing will include educational information to help consumers protect themselves.

Here’s an example of how it will look:

 

 

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Posted 29 September 2009 10:17 AM mscorp | with Post Comment
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Saying No to “Spim”

Posted by Tim Cranton
Associate General Counsel, Internet Safety Enforcement

Have you ever received an instant message that prompts you to click on a mysterious link?  Or been asked to share your IM account information, only to have it used to spam all of your friends?

Such instant messaging spam, or “spim,” can take the fun -- and utility -- out of instant messaging.   And cybercriminals know that for many Internet users, the threat of spim is not yet widely understood.  Spim is more than just an annoyance.  It’s a serious threat to online privacy and security.  Spim campaigns that employ phishing tactics to get your account information can put all the personal information associated with your account at risk.

A few weeks ago, I talked with you about Microsoft’s enforcement efforts to help promote Internet safety for consumers, advertisers and the industry at large.  Today, as part of our ongoing commitment to online safety, Microsoft is taking additional legal action to help protect our customers against IM spim and account phishing. 

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Posted 16 July 2009 12:49 PM mscorp | 11 comment(s)
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PointSmart.ClickSafe: Laudable Principles for Online Safety

Posted by Adrienne Hall
General Manager, Trustworthy Computing

Like most parents, I want to help my children enjoy a safer and more enriching online experience.  This is a complex problem that lots of people are trying to solve and, to that end, we’ve seen a series of high-profile commissions and reports, each with its own set of recommendations to improve online safety. 

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Posted 09 July 2009 08:33 AM mscorp | 3 comment(s)
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“The World’s Most Notorious Illegal Spammer”

Posted by David Bowermaster
Administrator, Microsoft on the Issues

Earlier this week it was widely reported that Alan Ralsky, a 64-year-old Michigan man that a federal prosecutor described as “the world's most notorious illegal spammer," pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud and CAN-SPAM charges.

The guilty pleas from Ralsky and four co-defendants are a credit to the hard work and dedication of U.S. Attorney Terrence Berg and trial attorneys Thomas Dukes and Mona Sedky Spivack, the prosecutors in the case, as well as the many law enforcement officials who helped conduct the complicated investigation, which included defendants from Canada, China and Russia. 

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Posted 26 June 2009 03:20 PM mscorp | 2 comment(s)
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Keeping Citizens Safe through Solidarity

UPDATE: April 16, 2009 – 1:00 p.m. Pacific

Posted by Matt Miszewski
Government General Manager, Worldwide Public Sector

Interpol_COFEE

I’m pleased to report that at the Worldwide Public Safety Symposium yesterday, we announced INTERPOL will use Microsoft’s Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor (COFEE) to help its law enforcement investigators gather live computer evidence at the scene of  cybercrimes all over the globe.

INTERPOL is the world’s largest international police organization, with 187 member countries.

The COFEE software tool is based on a number of common digital forensics tools, bringing them together for the express purpose of gathering live computer evidence with the use of a simple USB device, which requires minimal training to use.  This means that officers at the scene of a crime don’t have to be computer experts to gather important digital evidence.  Law enforcement agencies that previously lacked any computer forensics capability can now easily collect critical data in a reliable and cost effective way. 

Under yesterday’s agreement, Microsoft will  provide  COFEE free of charge to INTERPOL for use in each of the 187 countries where the organization operates. Additionally, INTERPOL will work with the Cybercrime Center at the University College Dublin to develop computer forensics training programs for law enforcement. 

Armed with this new tool INTERPOL and its affiliated law enforcement agencies around the world can better combat the myriad ways criminals use the Internet to commit crimes.

Microsoft also launched today the Citizen Safety Architecture (CSA), a set of software solutions and services that are designed to help governments respond in real time to threats to public safety. And we announced support of INTERPOL’s Global Security Initiative (GSI), which aims to address international security challenges. Both the Citizen Safety Architecture and GSI take effective action to combat crime and bring humanitarian relief to crisis situations, which all demand collective action across disparate groups.

If you want more background on this announcement, or if you want to take a look at a transcript of Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner’s remarks at yesterday’s event, take a look at the content posted over on PressPass.

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Posted 15 April 2009 03:02 PM mscorp | with Post Comment
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Working Together to Fight Fraud Online

Posted by Tim Cranton
Associate General Counsel

Earlier today the Federal Trade Commission kicked off a two-day “Fraud Forum” in Washington, D.C., that is bringing together regulators, law enforcement officers, consumer advocates, academics and business leaders to swap ideas and advance cooperation to combat illegal online activities that cost citizens and businesses millions of dollars each year.

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Posted 25 February 2009 08:26 PM mscorp | with Post Comment
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Microsoft Encourages Parents to “Get Game Smart”
Posted by Robbie Bach
President, Entertainment and Devices Division

Today’s digital world is an exciting place for kids, offering a mind-boggling array of high-tech diversions. Recent statistics speak volumes. According to recent PEW studies, 97 percent of teens play video games and 65 percent of online teens use social networking technologies. Xbox 360 hosts one of the largest social network on the planet with over 17 million members on our Xbox LIVE service, up 70 percent in 2008.

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Posted 20 February 2009 06:00 PM mscorp | 7 comment(s)
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