Published: Thu 25 Apr 2024
Global cybersecurity company Heimdal has joined forces with the IWF to tackle child sexual abuse imagery on the internet.
Heimdal now joins more than 200 companies across various industries as an IWF Member, contributing to a global effort to eradicate child sexual abuse online and make the internet a safer space for users.
Being an IWF Member gives tech organisations access to a unique range of services, such as the IWF Image Hash List, to help them protect their customers, staff and children online.
The Hash List is a list of ‘digital fingerprints’ of known child sexual abuse imagery. Each criminal image has its own individual hash. Once an image has been hashed, it can be recognised quickly and blocked from ever being uploaded to the internet in the first place.
By integrating IWF's resources, Heimdal will enhance its solutions to filter and block malicious content more effectively.
Morten Kjaersgaard, CEO at Heimdal Security, said: “Heimdal is honoured to partner with the IWF. We can only drive foundational change in restricting access to exploitative content through collective action, with the ultimate goal of creating a safer internet for both children and adults.
“Many of our valued customers work in the public sector or support it as managed service providers. Through this partnership, we're equipping them with an incredibly upgraded toolset to combat harmful content and contribute to a more secure online experience.”
Susie Hargreaves OBE, the CEO of the Internet Watch Foundation, said: “Every time we remove an image or video of child sexual abuse and make it harder for it to be uploaded, shared or viewed on the internet, we disrupt the efforts of offenders and the circulation of criminal content.
“It is only by working together with tech companies like Heimdal that we can achieve this impact and we are pleased to be able to offer Heimdal the use of IWF resources to help tackle this awful content.
“In this way, we can bring some measure of relief to child sexual abuse survivors, who continue to suffer knowing that evidence of their abuse could still be in circulation online.”
To learn more about Heimdal’s latest initiatives, visit the company's website here. Find out more about becoming a Member and the services the IWF can provide to make the internet a safer space for all users here.
The IWF welcomes new measures to help make sure digital tools are safe as new data shows AI child sexual abuse is still spreading.
More than nine in ten people in the UK say they are concerned at how images and videos of children being sexually abused are shared through end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) messaging services.
