Mr. Cooper was a retired high school history teacher using what NBC News calls those peer-to-peer networks where “the lack of corporate oversight creates the illusion of safety for people sharing illegal images.”

Police were led to Cooper’s door by a forensic tool called Child Protection System, which scans file-sharing networks and chatrooms to find computers that are downloading photos and videos depicting the sexual abuse of prepubescent children. The software, developed by the Child Rescue Coalition, a Florida-based nonprofit, can help establish the probable cause needed to get a search warrant… Cooper is one of more than 12,000 people arrested in cases flagged by the Child Protection System software over the past 10 years, according to the Child Rescue Coalition… The Child Protection System, which lets officers search by country, state, city or county, displays a ranked list of the internet addresses downloading the most problematic files…

The Child Protection System “has had a bigger effect for us than any tool anyone has ever created. It’s been huge,” said Dennis Nicewander, assistant state attorney in Broward County, Florida, who has used the software to prosecute about 200 cases over the last decade. “They have made it so automated and simple that the guys are just sitting there waiting to be arrested.” The Child Rescue Coalition gives its technology for free to law enforcement agencies, and it is used by about 8,500 investigators in all 50 states. It’s used in 95 other countries, including Canada, the U.K. and Brazil. Since 2010, the nonprofit has trained about 12,000 law enforcement investigators globally. Now, the Child Rescue Coalition is seeking partnerships with consumer-focused online platforms, including Facebook, school districts and a babysitter booking site, to determine whether people who are downloading illegal images are also trying to make contact with or work with minors…
The tool has a growing database of more than a million hashed images and videos, which it uses to find computers that have downloaded them. The software is able to track IP addresses — which are shared by people connected to the same Wi-Fi network — as well as individual devices. The system can follow devices even if the owners move or use virtual private networks, or VPNs, to mask the IP addresses, according to the Child Rescue Coalition…. Before getting a warrant, police typically subpoena the internet service provider to find out who holds the account and whether anyone at the address has a criminal history, has children or has access to children through work.

A lawyer who specializes in digital rights tells NBC that these tools need more oversight and testing. “There’s a danger that the visceral awfulness of the child abuse blinds us to the civil liberties concerns. Tools like this hand a great deal of power and discretion to the government. There need to be really strong checks and safeguards.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: Slashdot – Surveillance Software Scanning File-Sharing Networks Led To 12,000 Arrests