At a High Technology Crime Investigation Association event on Wednesday, Microsoft  announced plans to launch a Web site that will aid police in investigating Internet crime.
Analysts say the move should resonate with the law enforcement community as a valuable crime-fighting tool. The announcement comes on the heels of the FBI's Microsoft-aided investigation into the origins of the ZoTob worm, which crippled business across the U.S. last month.
"Over the past months, cybercrime has gone from casual to malicious to criminal," said Joe Wilcox, a senior analyst at Jupiter Research.
Poised for Battle
Planned resources for the site include online training sessions on how to conduct Internet investigations, extract information from hard drives and trace an IP address back to its source to identify Web site owners. The portal also will offer information on recently passed legislation related to Internet crime.
Analysts say that Microsoft's enormous resources and intimate knowledge of its software prompted the creation of the Web portal. Given Microsoft's recent focus on security and its in-house taskforce of roughly 50 investigators, some analysts see the new portal as a win-win for the company, its users and law enforcement.
According to Wilcox, everyone wins when industry is cooperating with law enforcement. "This is a way for Microsoft to give back to its customers," Wilcox said. "After all, who knows Windows better than Microsoft?"
Publicity Stunt?
But other experts are bit more skeptical about casting Microsoft as some sort of Lady Bountiful. They suggest the new portal might simply be a cry for attention.
"[It's] tough to say at this point how much of this is really more than a public relations exercise," said Phil Hollows, vice president of Open Service, a security-solutions developer. Hollows pointed out that the impact of such a Web site probably would be minimal for local law enforcement agencies that do not have the funds to secure dedicated I.T. resources and track down Internet criminals.
Hollows added that, although the smaller agencies will not be able to take advantage of the site, larger metropolitan forces will benefit because the site will help them consolidate their current knowledge and expertise with formal training.
But Hollows warned that businesses and consumers should not expect to see a significant drop in Internet crime. This move, he said, only will serve to help law enforcement agencies analyze Internet crime but do little to reduce or prevent it.
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