The software giant has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to take up issues including spam, financial scams, phishing, spyware, viruses, worms, malicious code launches, counterfeiting, and other illegal activities.

Country's Reputation Suffers

Established in 2002, the EFCC has investigated some 50 cases of cybercrime in courts throughout Nigeria and has confiscated $100 million from spammers and other defendants, according to Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the commission's executive chairman.

"Our economy has lost hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign investment because our credibility and the trust of the international community have been affected. Nigerians can't even use financial instruments as basic as mail orders; if it comes from Nigeria, it's suspect," he said.

So when Microsoft, which has an office in Nigeria, approached the EFCC about collaborating to fight cybercrime, the government was interested.

Cooperation between the two parties already has resulted in the shutdown of two Nigerian Internet service providers (ISPs) associated with large amounts of spam. The rate of spam from Nigeria that seeks to swindle people has been halved since the EFCC's formation, according to the government.

Good Corporate Neighbor

Microsoft also will share its knowledge of "botnet" technology, a tool that enables hackers to control thousands of PCs and to use those machines to spread spam or to inundate Web sites with so much traffic that sites crash.

The company also plans to provide leads on spam originating from Nigeria, using a global analysis of spam sent to e-mail accounts.

"This is not something the company has to do, but it provides a public service and shows that Microsoft is a good corporate neighbor," Yankee Group senior analyst Andrew Jaquith said. "Anything to stem the problem of Internet crime is a good move."

Microsoft certainly has experience dealing with compromised PCs, Jaquith noted, and the company has a wealth of information at its fingertips regarding e-mail traffic, thanks to the large number of Hotmail accounts. "It's in their best interest to reduce spam on that service, wherever it originates," Jaquith said.