Friday, September 17, 2010

Huron Consulting Group Announces R3con(TM) Solution Providing Cost-Effective Intellectual Property and Enterprise Data Protection Investigations

Huron Consulting Group, a leading provider of business consulting services, today announced the launch of its R3con(TM) solution, an expert-driven, cost-effective solution to investigate and protect enterprise data.

"Data theft, leakage, and destruction can harm an organization's reputation, competitive position and compliance obligation, not to mention it can be extremely costly," said Shahzad Bashir, vice president, Huron Consulting Group's Legal Consulting segment. "Huron's R3con solution helps an organization or outside counsel determine if data has been compromised and whether to embark on expensive litigation, or feel confident that the data is secure."

When suspicions arise, company personnel sometimes follow their emotions or rely on circumstantial evidence when making critical decisions for their company about safeguarding intellectual property and information related to litigation matters. Organizations and their outside counsel may often be deterred from seeking professional support because of the traditionally unpredictable cost of a forensic investigation. Huron's R3con (pronounced "recon") solution is a low, fixed cost service that provides clients with direct evidence regarding intellectual property and security matters so they can make an informed decision.

Huron experts understand the time sensitivities and can quickly run a series of computer forensic tests to determine if information has been compromised. If no impropriety is determined, the client has the evidence they need to confidently close the case. However, if data movement or destruction is determined, the client, after consulting with legal counsel, may choose to pursue litigation. At this point, Huron provides affidavits, expert reports and further examination to support any legal action.

"While litigation is costly, inaction could cost even more if valuable company information lands in the hands of competitors," said James Zinn, managing director, who specializes in computer forensics and electronic discovery services. "Huron's R3con solution guides clients through the early stages of a possible security breach at a predictable price. Clients should never have to choose between their most precious assets and their bottom line."

In a recent case, a group of individuals left their employer to set up a new organization in direct competition with their previous employer. The former employer called on Huron's R3con solution to identify evidence of data transfer from the former employer's computer systems. Huron's computer forensic examiners uncovered widespread sharing and usage of confidential files on external data storage devices from the former employer's computer systems soon after the employees' departure. The information and reports generated by the R3con solution supported the client's decision to take legal action. Ultimately, based on the results of Huron's examinations and the facts developed in the case through the R3con solution, the case was decided in favor of Huron's client and a multi-million dollar judgment awarded.

Huron's R3con solution assists organizations, and their outside counsel, in protecting enterprise data, including customer accounts or contact lists, formulations, project plans and deliverables, and other valuable information. The R3con solution's standardized examination also uncovers coordinated activities between employees, including communications, data transfers or sharing of external devices. Evidence of data movement using hard drives, personal email accounts, flash drives, etc., is presented in an easy-to-understand format to allow organizations and their legal counsel to rapidly make informed decisions. Similar to Huron's V3locity(R) solution, the R3con solution is a low cost, fixed price discovery solution.

For more information visit: www.huronconsultinggroup.com/r3con

About Huron Consulting Group

Huron Consulting Group helps clients in diverse industries improve performance, comply with complex regulations, resolve disputes, recover from distress, leverage technology, and stimulate growth. The Company teams with its clients to deliver sustainable and measurable results. Huron provides services to a wide variety of both financially sound and distressed organizations, including leading academic institutions, healthcare organizations, Fortune 500 companies, medium-sized businesses, and the law firms that represent these various organizations. Learn more at www.huronconsultinggroup.com.

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