Corporate Overview

Surety, LLC is an IT security software and services company founded in 1994 by two prominent Bellcore scientists, who pioneered the concept of trusted digital time-stamping. We continually build on our founders’ legacy by improving and expanding our suite of trusted third-party time-stamp software and services.

Today Surety is recognized as a global leader in the Trusted Time-stamp industry, our AbsoluteProof service enables businesses and government agencies to mitigate their legal and regulatory risk when managing electronic records by providing verifiable evidence of data integrity and authenticity.

AbsoluteProof helps organizations realize the efficiencies of completely digitizing their business process, and it gives their leaders and managers the peace-of-mind they need to confidentially attest to the content and time integrity of their electronic records - independent of their own people, processes and systems and independent of Surety.

Mission & Vision

Our Mission

Our mission is to enable organizations to realize the efficiency and cost savings of using electronic records by eliminating concern for their authenticity and long-term legal defensibility. It is towards this goal that we focus our company, our technology, our services, and our people.

Our Vision

We envision a world where billions of corporate and government records are generated and archived electronically each day without the need to retain printed versions;

A world in which executives have “peace of mind”, knowing that their trade secrets, legal documents and accounting records have not been altered;

A world where electronic intellectual property, legal briefs, financial records and transactions will have the same, if not better, legal defensibility as their paper counterparts; and

A world in which lawyers and judges will require that evidence they receive have a secure date and time-stamp so that its authenticity and integrity can be proven independently and irrefutably

AbsoluteProof provides the key missing piece toward making this vision a reality – legally defensible, independent and persistent data integrity assurance for electronic records.

Governance

Surety’s governance team consists of software, services and legal experts who bring unrivaled leadership, ingenuity, and expertise that drive the success of our people, products and Company. Our founders and advisors know every aspect of the trusted time-stamping market and its challenges. Our executives add complementary strengths and talents to deliver our leading-edge digital time-stamping software and services worldwide.

Tom Klaff brings over fifteen years of high-tech management experience to Surety, most recently as Founder and CEO of Reliacast, Inc., a leading digital media software company. Prior to Reliacast, Mr. Klaff founded College Town, Inc., the first web portal for college admission widely used by students to purchase college-related items and to apply for financial aid. After College Town, Mr. Klaff established a management consulting firm to provide contract marketing and sales services to Internet-centric businesses. In that capacity, he developed strategic marketing and sales plans, managed large projects and helped his clients build an effective sales force.

Mr. Klaff received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Brown University and a Masters of Science in Industrial Administration from the Graduate School of Industrial Administration, Carnegie Mellon University.

Tom Klaff

Jim O’Connor has over twenty years of experience managing the development of innovative software products and services. Most recently, he served as Vice President of Engineering at TruSecure Corporation, a global leader in managed security services. Prior to TruSecure, Mr. O’Connor was Vice President of Engineering and Operations at Parabon Computation, where he led the development of the Frontier distributed computing platform. Before that, Mr. O’Connor was Vice President of Software Development at CyberCash, where he managed the development and deployment of several pioneering e-commerce products. As Vice President of Engineering at Infosystems Technology, Inc., Mr. O’Connor led the development of Trusted Rubix, a high-assurance, multi-level secure database server product. He also held engineering and research positions at Software Productivity Consortium and Unisys Defense Systems, respectively.

Mr. O’Connor holds a Masters in Computer Science from the University of Maryland at College Park, and a Bachelors degree in Financial Management from The Catholic University of America. He has published numerous papers in technical journals and proceedings in the areas of software engineering, database management and computer security. Mr. O’Connor is an active member of IEEE.

Jim O’Connor

Addison Fischer is recognized as a pioneer in computer security and office automation. He is a board member of numerous IT security companies, in addition to Surety. He was also a long-time board member of RSA Data Security, Inc., a world leader in cryptographic software, until its merger in 1996 with Security Dynamics, Inc. Mr. Fischer has been involved with a number of committees that set U.S. standards for computer security and electronic commerce. He has addressed the U.S. Congress, by invitation, on various topics, including digital signature standards, proposed FBI digital telephony legislation, and global U.S. competitiveness. Mr. Fischer has degrees in mathematics, holds numerous U.S. and international patents, and is a lifetime member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers.

Addison Fischer

Stuart Haber is a researcher at HP Labs in Princeton, New Jersey. Along with Scott Stornetta, he was a co-founder of Surety, Inc., which was formed with the mission of commercializing the secure digital time-stamping technology the two of them developed. He has also worked as a researcher in STAR Lab, the research arm of InterTrust Technologies, a DRM provider. Haber received his B.A. in Mathematics from Harvard University, his M.S. in Mathematics from Stanford University and his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Columbia University. He has lectured and published several scientific articles on both the practical and theoretical aspects of cryptography, on the theory of computing, and in electrical engineering.

Dr. Haber is the co-inventor of several Surety patents. He is presently serving as a director of the International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR).

Dr. Stuart Haber, Ph.d.

As vice president and general counsel at Ikanos Communications, Mr. Mesel is responsible for overseeing all legal affairs of the company. He advises the board of directors and management on strategic matters and commercial transactions, dispute resolution and regulatory compliance issues, with particular attention to public company requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and other key SEC rules and regulations. Mesel also works with the engineering organization to manage the company's intellectual property assets. He previously served as general counsel at Legato Systems and Riverstone Networks, and was corporate counsel at Lucent Technologies, supporting their global outsourcing business unit. Mesel began his career as an attorney at the Palo Alto law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. He holds a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and a B.A. from Claremont McKenna College.

Noah Mesel, J.D.

Driving Directions

Corporate Headquarters

Surety, LLC

12950 Worldgate Drive
Herndon, VA 20170
USA

800-298-3115 [ Toll Free ]
+703-707-9901 [ HQ ]
+703-707-9910 [ Fax ]

Media Relations

SpeakerBox Public Relations

Stephanie Stadler
Account Manager
7900 Westpark Drive, Suite T410
McLean, VA 22102
USA

Tel: +703.287.7819
Fax: +703.287.7801
email:

Surety, LLC.

Kristine Jacobson
Marketing Communications
12950 Worldgate Drive, Suite 150
Herndon, VA, 20170
USA

Tel: +703.707.9946
Fax: +703.707.9910
email:

Reneé Bacherman oversees Fischer International's global operations with a strong emphasis on product development and expansion, business development and strategic third party alliances. Prior to joining Fischer, Ms. Bacherman worked in public and privately held companies of all sizes including: New England Nuclear, Digital Equipment Corporation, Rational Software, Oracle Corporation and BMC. At Oracle, Ms. Bacherman led the $350M Federal Consulting organization that experienced unprecedented revenue and margin growth during her tenure. At BMC, Ms. Bacherman was asked to take on a variety of roles including General Manager and Sales Executive. She helped BMC divest itself of non-core technology and drove major consolidation and change within the American Field Operations organization.

Reneé Bacherman

Mike Battaglia has served as SmartDisk's President and Chief Executive Officer since the Company's inception in January 1998, and as a director since October 1998. From 1992 to 1995, Mr. Battaglia was President of Mosler, Inc., a provider of electronic security systems and security equipment. For the 25-year-period prior to his Mosler tenure, Mr. Battaglia held various senior management positions in the computer and information systems industry. He spent most of his professional career at Sperry Corporation in New York City and Philadelphia. Mr. Battaglia also serves on the Board of Directors of Fischer International, which is privately held.

Mike Battaglia

Randy V. Sabett, CISSP, is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP, where he is a member of the Information Security & Internet Enforcement and Intellectual Property & Technology Practice Groups. He counsels clients on information security, privacy, IT licensing, and patents , dealing with such issues as Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), digital and electronic signatures, federated identity, HIPAA, Gramm-Leach-Bliley, Sarbanes-Oxley, state and federal information security laws, identity theft, and security breaches.

Prior to joining Sonnenschein, Mr. Sabett was a Special Counsel at Cooley Godward Kronish LLP, where he founded the Information Security and Cybercrime practice group. He has also served as Senior Technology Counsel for a Silicon Valley information security company. He began his legal career as an associate at Venable, Baetjer, Howard & Civiletti, LLP in Washington, DC. In addition, he has several years of engineering experience in the information security marketplace, including as a crypto engineer with the National Security Agency, and has worked in active noise cancellation. He holds two U.S. patents, one in the area of information security (U.S. Patent No. 6,981,149) and the other in the area of active noise cancellation (U.S. Patent No. 5,440,642).

Mr. Sabett holds a B.S. in Computer Engineering from Syracuse University and a J.D. from the University of Baltimore. He also teaches Information Policy as an adjunct professor at George Washington University and is on the faculty of the Institute for Applied Network Security. He is also Co-Chair of the Information Security Committee of the Section of Science and Technology Law of the American Bar Association

Randy Sabett, J.D.

Practicing in the firm's Intellectual Property/Information Technology (IP/IT) Group, Mr. Merrill concentrates his practice on the transactional side of information technology, particularly web-based electronic commerce, Internet and computer law, information security, and privacy in healthcare, financial and international transactions. Mr. Merrill is experienced in negotiating and drafting software and computer-based information transactions for licensees in a wide variety of industries, and also represents a number of licensors.

Through his professional experience and more than 100 presentations and published articles during the last decade, Mr. Merrill has developed an international reputation as an authority on the emerging legal issues of public key infrastructure (PKI) and secure time-stamping technology that provide confidentiality and privacy in e-commerce, and resolve WHO-WHAT-WHEN questions as to electronic evidence and digital contracts formed online. Mr. Merrill frequently advises professionally on the legal issues of secure e-commerce applications and collaborates with technical and business consulting firms in the drafting, interpretation and enforcement of PKI documentation.

Charles Merrill, J.D.

A partner in the Firm's business law department, William A. McComas counsels clients ranging from entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 corporations on commercial transactions across all industry sectors. He concentrates on assisting companies in creating, protecting, acquiring, developing, and commercializing technology, as well as in distributing, servicing, and marketing products and services. Mr. McComas represents clients on complex business transactions such as joint venture, strategic alliances, research and development, electronic commerce, complex procurement, endorsement, outsourcing, and the general management and disposition of intellectual property. An experienced corporate attorney, Mr. McComas also counsels clients on financing, mergers and acquisitions, sales of assets, venture capital investments, and other general corporate matters.

Extensive business and technology management experience enhances Mr. McComas' value to the Firm's clients. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Mr. McComas worked for one of North America's largest book manufacturers and one of the world's largest ocean carriers. In these positions, Mr. McComas developed software, negotiated and managed major vendor contracts, and enacted cost reduction and internal control programs. His deep understanding of the law, business, and technology is invaluable to clients navigating the convergence of these sectors.

William A. McComas

As Vice President of Marketing, Kristine Jacobson oversees Surety’s marketing strategy and operations, including the company’s product and industry marketing efforts, and communications efforts. She is additionally responsible for the ongoing development and promotion of Surety’s branded products, go-to-market strategy and corporate positioning.

Ms. Jacobson has more than 17 years of technology marketing and communications experience with notable corporate leaders such as Perot Systems Innovation Labs (formally Delphi Group), Current Analysis, Digicon Corporation and Concert Technologies.

Ms. Jacobson graduated with honors from Stonehill College, received an international marketing certificate from The London School of Economics and participated in the MBA program at Harvard University.

Kristine Jacobson

Bill Thornton brings more than 27 years of sales, marketing and business development experience to his new role as vice president of business development where he will be responsible for driving new business and managing Surety Partner Program.

Mr. Thornton was most recently with Transaction Network Services (TNS) where he was director of business development. At TNS, Thornton led the development of a $12 million per year product line and led the company’s acquisition efforts, including a strategic acquisition of VoIP peering services provider InfiniRoute Networks, Inc. Prior to TNS, Mr. Thornton was vice president of business development and marketing for Internet infrastructure software company Reliacast, Inc. At Reliacast, he created and led the company’s partner program, signing numerous strategic partners and developing a comprehensive business development strategy. Mr. Thornton has also held high-level business development and marketing positions with Oracle, Amdahl and IBM.

Mr. Thornton received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Connecticut.

Bill Thornton

Patents and Seminal Research

• Surety Patents and Seminal Research
• A Content Integrity Service For Long-Term Digital Archives
• The Sedona Conference® Commentary on ESI Evidence & Admissibility

Product Datasheets

• AbsoluteProof ® | Proven Data Integrity Mitigates Corporate Risk
• AbsoluteProof ® | Protect Your Intellectual Property
• AbsoluteProof ® | Litigation Readiness for Your Electronic Records
• AbsoluteProof ® | Protect the Integrity of Your Email Archives

Corporate Datasheets

• Surety Fast Facts

Wall of Shame Datasheets

• Wall of Shame | Best Buy Lacks Best Practices
• Wall of Shame | Corroding Pipelines Expose Corroding Data Management Practices at BP
• Wall of Shame | Tech Company Brocade Burned by Lack of Technology
• Wall of Shame | Courts Cast Wary Eye on Evidence Gleaned From Cell Phones
• Wall of Shame | Don’t Clone Hwang’s Data Protection Mistakes

Whitepapers

• The Importance of Authenticating Electronic Evidence
• Data Integrity Assurance
• Record Authentication and Integrity for Electronic R&D
• Securing Electronic Records in an Electronic Content Management Environment
• Technical Whitepaper: Ensuring Record Integrity with AbsoluteProof®

Case Studies

• Surety Protects E-mail Integrity with Absolute Proof®
• Certipost Meets Challenge of 10-year Archiving of Electronic Invoices via Time-Stamping
• RealLegal Provides Tamper-Proof Security for Electronic Court Transcripts with Surety Data Integrity Solution
• Leading Global Semiconductor Manufacture Relies on Surety's AbsoluteProof® to Help Validate and Protect its Intellectual Property
• For Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Surety, KineMatik, and Open Text Pool their Strengths to Provide a Litigation Ready Electronic Records Solution

Webinars & Podcasts

• Patent Evidence Creation in an Electronic R&D Environment
• Building a Business Strategy for Intellectual Property Protection
• Electronic R&D Readiness: Preserving the Evidentiary Strength of Your Electronic IP
• Preserving the Evidentiary Strength of Your Electronic Business Documentation
• The Importance of a Timestamp
• Leverage and Protect Your Organization’s Intellectual Property

Presentations

• Corporate Overview

Image Library

• Surety Logo

A partner in Howrey’s antitrust and global litigation practice groups, John Rosenthal focuses his practice on antitrust, trademark and complex commercial matters. He currently serves as co-chairman of Howrey’s E-discovery Committee and as an Advisory Board Member of the Georgetown University Continuing Legal Education E-Discovery Institute. As one of the country’s most respected e-discovery practitioners, Mr. Rosenthal has extensive experience counseling companies on records retention programs, e-discovery compliance and e-discovery risk management practices. He is a participant in the renowned Sedona Conference on Best Practices for Electronic Discovery and Records Management and has lectured across the country on the issues of e-discovery and records retention.

John Rosenthal

Tim Carroll, a partner in Vedder Price’s litigation practice group, specializes in commercial and intellectual property litigation. A member of Vedder Price’s Electronic Discovery Task Force, he has written numerous articles on e-discovery and records retention and has presented on those topics for several clients. Mr. Carroll has counseled many organizations, including a Fortune 5 company and a major defense contractor, on electronic communications and records management policies.

Timothy Carroll

A managing director in the Washington DC office of LECG, a global expert services and strategic advisory firm, Dan Regard leads the firm’s electronic discovery practice. He is a nationally recognized consultant, expert witness and speaker on electronic evidence and case management with more than 20 years experience consulting for legal and corporate entities in electronic evidence and litigation technology. A participating member of the Sedona Conference working group, Mr. Regard is trained as both an attorney and computer programmer and has extensive experience testifying about e-discovery across the country. Mr. Regard also serves as a director in the Georgetown Advanced Institute for e-Discovery, a board member for the Institute for Computer Forensics Professionals and a member of the High Tech Computer Crimes Association.

Daniel Regard