​L-3 ASA / NetClean ProActive joins G-Cloud to help public sector deal with 'national threat 'of child sexual abuse

As the UK Government outlines plans to tackle the endemic problem of child sexual abuse, L-3 ASA / NetCleanProActive enables organisations to monitor for abusive content and alert authorities to potential abusers

London, UK, 23 March 2015 –L-3 ASA and NetClean, providers of intelligence solutions for a safer society, have added breakthrough software, ProActive, to services available through the UK G-Cloud Digital Marketplace. ProActive's presence on G-Cloud 6 will allow public sector organisations to procure tools to secure their networks, computers and other devices against child sexual abuse (CSA) material, helping to identify and stop abusers.

NetClean ProActive will alert public sector organisations when known images or videos of child sexual abuse are stored or accessed via work computers and sent or downloaded via the organisational network. Using unique algorithms and image hashing technology NetClean ProActive identifies and blocks the actual abuse content, rather than URLs or filenames.

The image recognition technology is linked to a database of digital hashes or image 'fingerprints', provided by national and international law enforcement agencies, to ensure that every alert is an actual instance of child sexual abuse.

This image fingerprinting technique ensures that the technology captures images and videos anywhere on the network, on work computers and other connected media and devices. For example if an abuse image is accessed via a tablet connected to the work Wi-Fi, an employee views abusive content via Flickr or Facebook, or a USB key containing abuse material is inserted into a work laptop, NetClean ProActive will send an alert to the designated professional within the organisation.

This development comes as the Government launches new proposals for tackling the 'national threat' of child sexual abuse and the culture of 'walking on by' when faced with evidence of such abuse. L-3 ASA and NetClean are already working with the Home Office to implement the nationwide Child Abuse Image Database (CAID) and roll out digital forensic investigative tools to 46 law enforcement and police agencies across the country.

"Those who collect, view and distribute child sexual abuse material pose a significant risk to children. CSA material is like an addiction – collecting and using these kinds of images and videos is often a gateway. As individuals using this illegal content seek more material, the next stage is participating in actual abuse. By finding this illegal content, and bringing it to the attention of the authorities, we can help save current and future victims", commented Christian Berg, CEO and founder of NetClean.

Established in 2012, G-Cloud was set up to allow government organisations to gain easy and fast access to cloud services. Buyers don't need to carry out lengthy procurements under the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) process, as the frameworks on the Digital Marketplace are fully compliant with EU procurement regulations. Software providers offer their services on the Digital Marketplace at a designated price point and with a clearly defined Service Description. This provides a degree of certainty for both parties in a centralised marketplace that is tightly regulated.

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