Dark web intelligence company Searchlight Cyber has announced a partnership with the Innocent Lives Foundation (ILF) to assist in the non-profit organization’s efforts to catch, identify, and bring to justice anonymous child predators. The ILF is using Searchlight’s dark web investigation solution Cerberus to gather intelligence and build cases against offenders operating on the dark web.
The ILF is a charity that identifies online child predators to help bring them to justice. It was founded by renowned social engineer Chris Hadnagy – aka The Human Hacker. The ILF’s Predator Identification Team (PIT) uses open-source intelligence (OSINT) to find the true identities of anonymous child offenders and compile evidence that is then passed on to US or international law enforcement agencies. It has worked closely with law enforcement in over 500 cases where offenders have been identified and brought to justice.
Dark web the perfect hiding place for child predators
Offenders often use the dark web to find and share sexually explicit materials related to children on hidden sites and forums while masking their identity. Run on anonymizing software, the dark web is notoriously difficult to police.
Searchlight’s dark web investigation solution Cerberus was built in collaboration with law enforcement agencies and has been successfully deployed in some of the world’s largest dark web investigations, the company said in a press release. Access to dark web intelligence through Cerberus will make it possible for the ILF to identify offenders even if they are using the dark web to cover their tracks, it added.
Dark web intelligence will help ILF’s “vital mission”
“The power that Cerberus has put into our hands will enable our mission to expand in ways I never thought possible,” said Hadnagy. “It is only by partnering with companies as generous as Searchlight that ILF will be able to continue to assist law enforcement in this vital mission.”
“Working with organizations like the ILF we can make sure that dark web sites and forums are no longer a safe haven for criminals to act with impunity, which can have the most profound impact on the lives of thousands of children,” commented Evan Blair, general manager of North America at Searchlight Cyber.
Earlier this year, Searchlight Cyber announced the launch of Stealth Browser – a new, secure virtual machine for cyber professionals to access the dark web and conduct investigations anonymously, reducing the risk to themselves and their organization.