Microsoft Introduces Cybercrime Center, Its Crime-Fighting Headquarters

Microsoft has just earned itself a bit of James Bond flair, having taken the wraps off its new Cybercrime Center. Calling it the company's "new headquarters for the fight against cybercrime," the Cybercrime Center fights all sorts of online evils, whether it be child exploitation, Citadel botnets, or anything in between. The center was introduced today, and is located at the company's Redmond campus.

What exactly is the Cybercrime Center? According to Microsoft, it is a "world-class laboratory where a seasoned team of cybercrime investigators engage in a high-stakes game of chess, trying to stay a move or two ahead of the world's most odious Internet criminals in an effort to make the web a safer place." The crime-novel language is accompanied by a website that plays on popular spy perceptions, including a looping "live feed" of the headquarters and a mention of "Fr@ckCyl0ns".

Of course, Microsoft, has been engaging in law enforcement aid and criminal hunting for a while now. Earlier this year and over the summer, the company helped take down quite a few Citedel botnet networks, and it has done other related work in the field. With the Cybercrime Center, the company is paying particular attention to Russia and the Ukraine, which is says are epicenters of cybercrimes.

Said Associated General Counsel to Microsoft, David Finn, "There are nearly 400 million victims of cybercrime each year. And cybercrime costs consumers $113 billion per year. We understand that there's no one single country, business or organization that can tackle cyber security and cybercrime threats alone. That's why we invest in bringing partners into our center – law enforcement agencies, partners and customers – into this center to work right alongside us."

SOURCE: Digital Trends