Microsoft also alerts police of image on Onedrive

[Great deal]

This makes me feel safer and happier that MS are scanning Onedrive for dodgy images and reporting them, this needs to be stamped out and people locked up. BBC News - Microsoft tip leads to child porn arrest in Pennsylvania

However there is a very fine line between privacy and security, im very curious what and how Onedrive storage is scanned.

 

[RavenSword]

So I'm of the opinion that as long as it's being done for good I'm ok with the scanning. I'm pretty sure it's also that law that if these companies find their users with images like these they are required to report. And from what I heard, maybe I heard incorrectly, but I heard that these types of images have a special id tag or something so it's fairly easy to find them. So maybe there only scanning for those special tags?

 

[Laura Knotek]

So I'm of the opinion that as long as it's being done for good I'm ok with the scanning. I'm pretty sure it's also that law that if these companies find their users with images like these they are required to report. And from what I heard, maybe I heard incorrectly, but I heard that these types of images have a special id tag or something so it's fairly easy to find them. So maybe there only scanning for those special tags?

You are correct regarding the law in the US. "ESPs are required by law to report apparent child pornography to law enforcement via the CyberTipline (18 U.S.C. ? 2258A)." CyberTipline - NCMEC

 

[Great deal]

So I'm of the opinion that as long as it's being done for good I'm ok with the scanning. I'm pretty sure it's also that law that if these companies find their users with images like these they are required to report. And from what I heard, maybe I heard incorrectly, but I heard that these types of images have a special id tag or something so it's fairly easy to find them. So maybe there only scanning for those special tags?

They use something called PhotaDNA, MS invented it and Google, Facebook, Twitter amongst others use it.,,,,

PhotoDNA creates a unique signature for each image, similar to a fingerprint, to help pictures be matched. This is done by converting the picture into black-and-white, resizing it and breaking it into a grid. Each grid cell is then analysed to create a histogram describing how the colours change in intensity within it, and the information obtained becomes its "DNA".

The technique means that if a copy of a flagged photo appears in one of Microsoft's user's accounts, the firm can be alerted to the fact without its staff having to look at the picture involved.

Because the amount of data involved in the "DNA" is small, Microsoft can process and compare images relatively quickly.

"[It] allows us to find the needle in the haystack," says promotional material for the software.

 

[etphoto]

I way I read the article his actions were "subsequently" uncovered because he was trying to send an image via an email account. After that was uncovered someone probably looked to see if there was a OneDrive account and other (or the same) images were uncovered.


Sent from my DX4860 using Tapatalk

 

[osallent]

As a Florida licensed attorney, let me give my legal perspective regarding privacy and the law in the U.S.. Your Fourth Amendment right to privacy only extends to what you truly keep private. Sharing your information with a 3rd Party, such as a friend, phone company, business, etc., waives your right to privacy because you have shared it with someone else, and therefore there is no longer any expectation of privacy once the information leaves your exclusive control. This has been the law since the early 1970's, when the Supreme Court ruled that phone registry records were not protected by the Fourth Amendment because you waived your right to privacy knowing that a 3rd Party (the phone companies) had a record of what number you called.

The same applies to pictures on a cloud system. If you truly want to keep pictures private, keep them in your phone or computer and don't load them to a cloud or share them with anyone else. Once you hand over the pictures to a 3rd Party, there is no expectation that the 3rd Party has an obligation to keep private what you share with them, specially if you are dumb enough to hand them pictures of you committing a crime.

People love to waive around big words like freedom of speech, right to privacy, right to assembly, etc., but seldom bother to actually read the laws and find out exactly what these things mean and just what is protected and what isn't. For example, just because you have freedom of speech it doesn't give you a free pass to slander others, or threaten and verbally abuse others, or say things that amount to a crime (such as fraud). Your rights have limitations, and it is your duty as a citizen to keep yourself informed as to the extent and limitations of your rights, and act accordingly (or suffer the consequences).

 

[peacefulberry]

The technology used to catch the child photos is called "PhotoDNA" and it was actually developed by Microsoft and given to Google, Facebook, and others as an agreement between tech companies and child advocates to help stop this illegal activity. Its not actually ppl reading emails, but this technology assigns numbers to colors/gradients/shadings so that an inappropriate photo will equal a certain number. If the photo matches these numbers, then the photos are examined and turned over to law enforcement. You can read more about this technology here http://techcrunch.com/2014/08/06/wh...t-for-child-porn-was-not-a-privacy-violation/

 

[RavenSword]

They use something called PhotaDNA, MS invented it and Google, Facebook, Twitter amongst others use it.,,,,

PhotoDNA creates a unique signature for each image, similar to a fingerprint, to help pictures be matched. This is done by converting the picture into black-and-white, resizing it and breaking it into a grid. Each grid cell is then analysed to create a histogram describing how the colours change in intensity within it, and the information obtained becomes its "DNA".

The technique means that if a copy of a flagged photo appears in one of Microsoft's user's accounts, the firm can be alerted to the fact without its staff having to look at the picture involved.

Because the amount of data involved in the "DNA" is small, Microsoft can process and compare images relatively quickly.

"[It] allows us to find the needle in the haystack," says promotional material for the software.

Thanks for the info that's interesting stuff.