Child Abuse Material Blocked from Over 2,000 UK Wide Area Networks

CI-Net first customer for Watchdog International’s new UK office

Secure and resilient Wide Area Networks specialist, CI-Net, has implemented an affordable filtering service that will block access to websites containing child sexual abuse images. The service, provided by Watchdog International, is based on NetClean WhiteBox technology.

CI-Net is the first customer for Watchdog International’s new UK office and will be deploying Watchdog International’s filtering across its network. The company will benefit from a cost effective, one size fits all, blocking and filtering service which does not require extensive internal management resources.

New Office Promotes Blocking of Child Sexual Abuses Images by UK Broadband Companies

88 Per Cent of Internet Service Providers DO NOT Prevent Access to Known Illegal Content

Watchdog International opens first Northern Hemisphere office in the UK Peter Milford, regulatory affairs expert, appointed Country Manager  

In a drive to help ISPs in the UK to block access to known images of child sexual abuse, New Zealand based specialist Watchdog International has opened its first office in the Northern Hemisphere. The office will be headed by Internet regulatory affairs expert Peter Milford.

The new office will manage the UK promotion of Watchdog International’s NetClean WhiteBox; a one-size-fits-all internet blocking and filtering service. It offers the cheapest, simplest and most effective solution for the more than 400 UK broadband suppliers who feel there are barriers to implementing technical solutions to block access to websites known to contain child sexual abuse images. The NetClean WhiteBox system supplied by Watchdog International is already being used by Warrington-based ISP Talk Internet and aims to eradicate easy access to known images of child sexual abuse via the Internet.

New UK Country Manager for Watchdog International, Peter Milford, is an expert in Internet regulation and management issues. In his previous role at NewNet, a medium sized ISP, he provided regulatory and compliance advice and guidance for all legal notifications and responses. He also has extensive experience in education and in managing large-scale trans-national projects including institutions in a number of European countries.

Watchdog’s research into the deployment of filtering services suggests that fewer than 45 ISPs in the UK have to date implemented a system that blocks access to illegal child sexual abuse image (CSAI) material. Over 400 ISPs do not currently have such a system in place.

Many ISPs promote broadband to homes and home offices - Small Office Home Office or SOHO products. These residential business connections are often used for both work and leisure and Watchdog research shows that there are around 200 ISPs offering residential and business access of which only 13 per cent provide filtering.

Of the 150 ISPs specialising in providing Internet services to business just 7 per cent currently implement filtering to prevent access to illegal content in the workplace.

Just weeks ago, Colin Blanchard - part of the trio of paedophiles involved in the Little Ted’s Day Nursery case – was using his office computer to gain access to the horrific images shared by Vanessa George. A colleague alerted police after he logged into his office PC and found the shocking images.

Peter Milford said, “Talk Internet is the perfect example for UK ISPs to follow – a primarily business ISP that takes its corporate responsibilities seriously. NetClean WhiteBox provides Talk Internet with an effective, low cost system that protects users from child sexual abuse content without interfering with the speed and reliability of their network.”

He continued, “To date the UK Internet industry has had an excellent track record of fighting illegal content on the Internet, exemplified by the establishment of the Internet Watch Foundation. We must now learn lessons from the excellent work that New Zealand has undertaken to combat the distribution of child sexual abuse images on the Internet. The New Zealand implementation does not distinguish between business or residential connections as participating ISPs filter all connections.

” Watchdog's Managing Director, Peter Mancer, said, "Child protection is at the centre of everything Watchdog International does but until now there has been no one-size-fits-all technical method of blocking images of child sexual abuse. By making Peter Milford UK Country Manager we can use both his experience with UK ISPs and his knowledge of local and European Internet regulation to promote the NetClean WhiteBox and its benefits to UK Internet users.”

For more information visit the Watchdog International website.

-- Ends --

Notes to Editors For further editorial information or to arrange interviews please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or telephone 020 7609 1900

Exetel Conducts Live Trial Using NetClean WhiteBox Technology in Australia

Exetel Trials NetClean ‘blacklist’ Filtering Technology from Watchdog International.  

Watchdog International Ltd Press Release
Tuesday 5th May 2009 – Auckland, New Zealand

Independently of the Australian Government ISP Content Filtering Trial, Exetel has undertaken testing by linking up to the externally hosted blacklist filtering service offered by Watchdog International Ltd.

Exetel, a mid sized ISP, has successfully tested the filtering technology outside of the Australian Government Content Filtering Pilot so that they can be prepared in the event that the government mandates blacklist filtering.

Trialing the technology has allowed Exetel engineers and system administrators to understand the technology, see how easy it is to implement, see it in action, and allow customers to determine first hand the impact of the NetClean WhiteBox hosted filtering solution.

Extel’s Director Steve Waddington felt that in reality if mandatory filtering of child sexual abuse imagery is to be introduced it would be across all connections with no opt-out facility.  He wanted a live test of the technology, as it would be eventually implemented. 

The list used is that provided by the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) in the UK. They are a well-established and respected agency that maintains a blacklist of illegal child sexual abuse material that is used in the UK and across Europe, and now locally by Watchdog Corporation.

Exetel tested the technology in passive mode and in blocking mode.   Thousands of requests to the blocked sites were being made every day. During the 6-day trial a total of 16,413 accesses or attempts to access child sexual abuse web sites on the IWF list were made. 

Surprised by the high number of requests, Watchdog International staff alerted NetClean to check the filter and ensure there were no technical reasons for the high number of accesses.  The number was however correct.

As expected the blind trial found that some of Exetel’s customers blamed the filter for slow downs that they noticed on their connections. . On his forum, Steve Waddington of Exetel concluded that these could not be attributed to the filter.

 “These were clearly false negatives, I stopped the filter traffic with no notice to customers so that an accurate blind 'before and after' comparison could be made. The result was that reports continued to arrive after filter redirection was stopped, proving with no room for doubt that the filter trial was not the cause of the reported problems.”

Watchdog agreed for Exetel to publish their findings on their blog in real time as they would any other technical test of new technology knowing that this transparent testing process will put many of the false claims about filtering to rest.

A Whitebox is also being tested by the Enex TestLab during the government filtering trial with participants able to link up to an externally hosted service.

The Watchdog service invites ISPs to test the WhiteBox service, blocking child sexual abuse imagery from part or their entire network. 

Further information can be obtained about the NetClean WhiteBox technology and hosting service by visiting: 
www.watchdoginternational.net

To read Exetel’s results go to: Exetel’s Forums

Watchdog International specializes in ISP filtering providing Governments, ISPs and Businesses with illegal and inappropriate web content filtering technology to suit their size and needs.

Contact:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.watchdoginternational.net
P O Box 313, Whangaparaoa, Auckland, New Zealand
Phone: +64 9 424 9060
From Australia 1-800-130-058
 

Auckland's Watchdog International Helps filter Aussie Internet

Auckland’s Watchdog helps filter Aussie Internet
Watchdog International part of trials by the Australian federal government

By Stephen Bell Wellington
Wednesday, 4 March, 2009

Auckland internet safety company Watchdog International will work with some of the six Australian internet service providers chosen for the first round of trials of internet filters by the Australian federal government, says managing director Peter Mancer.

He says two products for which his company is the agent for will be used in the trials.

The NetClean devised by Swedish company NetClean is used by New Zealand ISPs who voluntarily subscribe to a filter provided through the Department of Internal Affairs. This is directed at blocking addresses carrying illegal content and is currently targeting websites depicting child sexual abuse, says the DIA.

Lobbyists for civil liberties in Australia are concerned the government has mentioned that other “undesirable” but not illegal sites may also be blocked if filtering is implemented permanently in Australian ISPs.

Unlike New Zealand, the Australian government plans to make this level of filtering mandatory, given the success of the trials.

The other Watchdog product, from Marshal8e6, implements discretionary blocking of a broader range of websites with legal material of a kind restricted to adults in other media. The Australian government plans to let adult users opt out of this level of filtering if they wish.

The Marshal8e6 filter uses a different technique to the NetClean filter, as it is designed to minimise impact on internet use while checking page access attempts against the much larger list of websites.

The initial six ISPs chosen for the trials are Primus Telecommunications, Tech 2U, Webshield, OMNIconnect, Netforce and Highway 1. The trials will be for a minimum of six weeks. Mancer declines to name the companies Watchdog is working with.

The End