Integreon today announced an enhanced version of its Seek & Collect service and appliances. Seek & Collect efficiently captures electronically stored information (ESI) from remote locations in a forensically sound manner without the need for physical collection by forensic experts. The new version builds on the success of Seek & Collect v1.0 and now includes multi-platform support, collection for much larger data sets, stronger encryption technology and a simpler, more flexible configuration utility…“Law firms and legal departments continue to be under intense budget pressure and need technologies that will help contain the cost of e-discovery,” said Nick Patience, research director at The 451 Group. “Traditional forensic collections are often expensive, but alternative self-collection efforts by custodians without the proper training and supervision may present defensibility issues. Technology that melds the best of both approaches provides an attractive option, especially for large, geographically disbursed organizations.”
The “plug-and-play” Seek & Collect appliances were developed by the experts at Integreon’s Electronic Evidence Labs to simplify the e-discovery collection process and provide Integreon clients with a convenient, economical approach to targeted, defensible data collection from multiple unique data custodians across their global enterprises. The Seek & Collect technology, which can be installed on a wide range of storage media including USB memory sticks and external hard drives, executes automatically when connected to a computer to quickly capture ESI. The Seek & Collect solution helps organizations in need of timely, efficient, defensible data collection meet tight deadlines and achieve significant cost savings.
Seek & Collect v2.0 enhancements include:
– Expanded platform support – Seek & Collect now supports Linux and Macintosh operating systems in addition to Windows. As more corporate enterprises embrace the use of non-Windows operating systems, the need for open e-discovery solutions becomes increasingly important.
– New configuration utility – Seek & Collect’s set-up utility enables Integreon forensic experts to work closely with clients to specify targeted collections with greater ease. The utility provides granular configuration control for the collection of nearly 150 file types, with the flexibility to add additional file types as needed. Seek & Collect devices can also collect ESI based on file date or location, ensuring the targeted collection of only potentially relevant data.
– Support for very large data sets – Seek & Collect is only limited by the size of the storage medium deployed to data custodians, and has the capacity to handle any discovery tasks appropriate for remote collection.
– Enhanced security – To ensure the confidentiality of client data, Seek & Collect now implements secure 128-bit PKI (private key infrastructure) encryption to protect ESI from any tampering by unauthorized parties.
“Seek & Collect enables our clients to quickly and defensibly collect data from multiple locations worldwide,” said Cecil Payne, director of digital forensics at Integreon. “The new features allow us work closely with clients to target large sets of relevant files, expedite collection and further improve efficiency.”
Seek & Collect works by making logical copies of specified files and their directories without altering dates or metadata to avoid data spoliation, while creating a unique hash value for each collected file (using MD5 hashing algorithms). The entire dataset is copied into an encrypted archive container for secure transport, and the container is then returned to Integreon’s evidence labs via courier. Captured ESI is stored in Integreon’s secure evidence room, which boasts state-of-the-art physical security and a closed IT network. Throughout the entire process, Integreon strictly adheres to the standards set forth by the National Institute of Justice for preserving the authenticity and integrity of evidence, and follows Integreon’s own strict methodology for preserving data integrity and chain of custody, which is based on years of real-world case experience.
Launched for internal use in 2007 and externally in 2010, Seek & Collect has defensibly captured ESI from thousands of data custodians in dozens of countries. Integreon’s Seek & Collect can cut clients’ collection costs by up to 75 percent when compared to traditional data collection methods that require the presence of forensic specialists. In addition, because of Seek & Collect’s plug-and-play functionality, the work disruption for employees is measured in minutes, not hours, and the risk of spoliated data is eliminated.
To learn more about Seek & Collect, please visit: http://www.integreon.com/technologies/discovery-technologies/seek-collect.html.
About Integreon
Integreon is the largest and highest-impact provider of integrated legal, research and business support solutions to corporations and law firms. It is a trusted partner to 9 of the top 10 global law firms, the top 10 investment banks, and 17 of the top 50 global brands, enabling these organizations to improve profitability and freeing their leaders to focus on business growth. With 2,000 associates operating from 17 offices across North America, Europe, Asia and Africa, Integreon works collaboratively with its clients to address their specific support needs, including legal process outsourcing and e-discovery/disclosure, market and competitive intelligence, due diligence and other business services. For more information about Integreon’s full range of solutions, please visit www.integreon.com.
