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Typing technique 'could trap paedophiles'
One-handed typing might be a giveaway.Researchers believe technology could be used to determine a computer typist's age, sex and culture within 10 keystrokes by monitoring their speed and rhythm. The murder of Ashleigh Hall, a teenager from Darlington, last year by a predator she met on Facebook has raised fresh calls for extra security to protect young people on the internet. Professor Roy Maxion, associate professor at Newcastle University, has been carrying out the research in America. Former Northumbria Police detective chief inspector Phil Butler believes the technology could be useful in tracking down online fraudsters and paedophiles. Mr Butler, who heads Newcastle University's Cybercrime and Computer Security department, said: ''Roy's research has the potential to be a fantastic tool to aid intelligence gathering for crime fighting agencies, in particular serious and organised crime and for those tracking down paedophiles. ''If children are talking to each other on Windows Live or MSN Messenger, we are looking at ways of providing the chat room moderators with the technology to be able to see whether an adult is on there by the way they type.'' Mr Butler said the technology could also be used to prevent convicted sex offenders committing further crimes. He said: ''As part of a sexual offences prevention order, courts currently have the power to ban a sex offender from using a computer. With this technology the courts could force the offender to provide an example of their typing as a way of ensuring they don't use a computer." Mr Butler said the university was planning to submit a proposal to the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to fund further research. He said the technology could also be used to prevent fraud at devices such as cash machines. He said: ''We'd like to look at various adaptations of the research for use in law enforcement, forensics and for companies trying to avoid fraud. We have also had interest from the private sector who are keen to see whether this technology can be used as an additional tool for identity verification, such as in online banking.'' Posted by: gorb 2010-03-26 |
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