Kroll Ontrack Joins Safe Harbor

Business Wire, Dec 18, 2006

Participation in Safe Harbor Framework Demonstrates Client Data is Handled in Accordance with European Data Protection and Privacy Requirements

MINNEAPOLIS -- Kroll Ontrack, the industry's largest provider of electronic and paper-based document discovery and computer forensics services, today announced its formal registration as compliant with the Safe Harbor framework, a set of standards developed by the U.S. Department of Commerce and European Commission in order to bridge the gap between the data privacy approaches of the two regions. Compliance with the Directive will demonstrate to Kroll Ontrack clients that the practices of the company meet European requirements for data privacy protection and will further streamline data transfers between Europe and the United States when necessary. Kroll Ontrack is the only electronic discovery provider of the top five vendors named in the 2006 AmLaw Tech survey to join the Safe Harbor.

"As part of the Safe Harbor framework, our potential clients can be certain we adhere to the 'adequate protection' requirements for personal data, as put forth by the European Commission's Directive on Data Protection," said Kristin Nimsger, vice president of Legal Technologies at Kroll Ontrack. "Compliance with this initiative eliminates the need to negotiate separate data privacy contracts for every transfer of data from each European country involved in a project, and better enables us to meet our clients' time-sensitive deadlines."

"Our clients' engagements have grown increasingly international and complex in that many of our cases now involve the collection, transfer and processing of electronic data from multiple jurisdictions throughout the world," said Ben Allen, president of Kroll Ontrack. "Participation in the Safe Harbor framework allows those clients who desire an entire project to be centrally processed and managed in the United States the ability to do so. This represents Kroll Ontrack's continued commitment to our global network of clients by protecting the privacy and confidentiality of the data entrusted to us."

The European Commission's Directive on Data Protection prohibits the transfer of personal data to non-European nations that do not meet the European "adequacy" standard for privacy protection. Established in 2000 as a solution to the unique approaches to data privacy between the U.S. and E.U., the Safe Harbor framework enables U.S. companies who comply to more efficiently serve the needs of their European customers and minimize delays in the transfer of data that could arise as a result of European privacy laws.

Adherence to the Safe Harbor framework ensures clients that data can be lawfully transferred from the European Union to the United States for processing in connection with an electronic discovery engagement. Given its global presence, in addition to the Safe Harbor framework, Kroll Ontrack continues to provide local data collection, processing, review and production from its offices throughout Europe, including its main office in London, so that clients may be comprehensively served both inside and outside of the United States.

The decision by Kroll Ontrack and other U.S. organizations to enter the Safe Harbor is voluntary. Organizations that decide to participate in the Safe Harbor framework must comply with the Safe Harbor's requirements and publicly declare that they do so. In turn, the Department of Commerce maintains a list of all compliant organizations, which can be accessed at http://web.ita.doc.gov/safeharbor/shlist.nsf/webPages/safe harbor list

About Kroll Ontrack Inc.

Kroll Ontrack Inc. (www.krollontrack.com) provides large scale electronic and paper-based discovery, computer forensics, and data recovery solutions to help companies, law firms, and government agencies quickly and cost-effectively review, manage and produce relevant evidence. Kroll Ontrack has been recognized as the most used electronic discovery provider by AmLaw Tech (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 & 2006), Law Office Computing (2004 & 2005), Legal Assistant Today (2005) and received Law Technology News' "Electronic Discovery System of the Year" award in 2004 for ElectronicDataViewer[TM], its proprietary online document review tool. Kroll Ontrack, based in Eden Prairie, Minn., is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kroll Inc., the world's leading risk consulting company.