MySpace is trying to make users experience more secure. They have announced plans to partner with Sentinel Tech Holding Corp, an online identity and background verification company. They are jointly working on Sentinel Safe, software that will block the access of convicted sex offenders to MySpace.
“We are committed to keeping sex offenders off MySpace,” said MySpace’s Chief Security Officer, Hemanshu Nigam. With over half a million registered sex offenders in the U.S. Sentinel will create national real time searchable database. The database will be updated on a regular basis and contain a large amount of information on individual sex offenders.
Details of the offenders will include name, age, height, weight, eye and hair color. Also any identifying marks such as scars or tattoos.
The hope is to prevent sex offenders from ever being able to having access to the site.
John Cardillo, CEO of Sentinel Tech said, “By incorporating cutting edge technology, this real-time, searchable database gives MySpace and other such companies the ability to quickly identify registered sex offenders and immediately delete them from the community”.
MySpace will have a 24-hour a day staff to monitor for convicted sex offenders and remove them from the site if they find matches in their database. They are also working on a system to catch false positives.
While this new system may prevent some sex offenders from joining MySpace there are still problems with the system. If they give false information then a sex offender could conceivably avoid detection. It does not seem that the system would deter someone who was determined to try and obtain access to the site.
Deleting all the sex offenders profiles may help improve security for MySpace users but if they are able to falsify information how much safer will the site really be?
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Mike is a staff writer for Murdok. Visit Murdok for the latest ebusiness news.
