14 DAY TRIAL // The Microsoft COFEE evidence extracting tool will be made available to Interpol for free, per an agreement between the Redmond company and the International Criminal Police Organization. The software giant announced that the Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor would be distributed by Interpol internationally, in no less than 187 markets worldwide. The move is just one aspect of a broader Microsoft strategy designed to protect people both physically and virtually in collaboration with governments around the world. In this regard, the Redmond company used the Worldwide Public Safety Symposium to launch the Citizen Safety Architecture as well as to promise support for Interpol's Security Initiative (GSI).
“Given the direct correlation between the declining economy and the rise of public safety concerns, there is a pressing need for innovative, collaborative and integrated solutions, like Citizen Safety Architecture, that deliver to governments the tools they need to ensure the safety of their citizens,” explained Tim Bloechl, managing director for worldwide public safety and national security at Microsoft.
The Citizen Safety Architecture has at its basis a variety of tools dedicated to not just cutting costs, but also boosting what Microsoft referred to as multiagency operational effectiveness, as well as streamline collaboration and information sharing. The Redmond company indicated that the Citizen Safety Architecture was based on Microsoft Single View Platform (SVP), Microsoft FusionX, “Eagle,” Microsoft Intelligence Framework, the Microsoft Incident Response Platform and Global Security Operations Centers (GSOCs).
“Microsoft and INTERPOL recognize the strong synergies between Citizen Safety Architecture and GSI, and our pledge to develop a long-term relationship with organizations like INTERPOL supports the overall goal of Citizen Safety Architecture,” Bloechl added.
In addition to the Citizen Safety Architecture framework, the software giant will also provide Interpol with COFEE, a tool designed to extract forensic evidence from live computer activity. In this manner, Interpol officers will be able to harvest and then use evidence that would otherwise not be available through traditional offline forensic analysis, Microsoft underlined.
“To meet 21st-century security threats, and equip global police forces with cutting-edge tools, INTERPOL is forging strategic long-term partnerships with global industry leaders such as Microsoft,” revealed Elaine Dezenski, managing director of INTERPOL’s Global Security Initiative. “As the world’s global police organization, INTERPOL launched the GSI to partner with the public and private sectors to establish initiatives that will address security threats common to all stakeholders. Our broad, long-term collaboration with Microsoft will raise security standards globally against IT crime, and with COFEE will deliver a vital tool to law enforcement on the front lines.”