An Interview with Andrew Reisman, ELIJAH CEO: ‘We have earned the trust of our clients to deliver best-in-class digital forensic, cybersecurity, and IT solutions’

“ELIJAH is second-to-none at collecting and investigating digital evidence, and devoted to presenting it in the clearest possible manner.”

Data often is a company’s most valuable asset. Who is entrusted with access to that data, and to safeguard it, can be one of the most important decisions a company can make. Although many companies provide digital forensic, cybersecurity and information technology services, ELIJAH has created a corporate culture rooted in confidentiality, integrity and expertise that stands alone. For those reasons, The Silicon Review is pleased to recognize ELIJAH as among the 50 Most Trustworthy Companies of the Year.

The company provides computer forensics and electronic discovery services for law firms, corporate clients, large institutions, small businesses, local firms, sole practitioners, and Fortune 500 clients worldwide. It offers preservation, filtering, processing, predictive coding, hosting, backup tapes, document review, and consulting services.

ELIJAH was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois with additional offices in Weston, Florida; Detroit, Michigan; Grand Rapids, Michigan; and Champaign, Illinois.

Proud Moment

Despite ELIJAH’s work often flying under the radar, its track record of success has been noticed within the industry. The team at ELIJAH has earned numerous industry recognitions, including 2018 recognition as “Computer Forensic Investigations Provider of the Year – USA”, “Technology Solutions Provider of the Year (Legal) – USA”, and as “Leading Data Security Provider of the Year” in both Florida and Illinois. The CEO Andrew Reisman is routinely invited to speak at conferences and events regarding issues in digital forensics and data security and has been recognized in previous years as the Information Systems Forensic Expert of the Year, and Gamechanger of the Year in Legal Technology.

Andrew Reisman, ELIJAH CEO, spoke exclusively to The Silicon Review. Below is an excerpt.

ELIJAH focuses on client confidentiality and discretion flow from the top down, while permeating the corporate culture. Andrew Reisman and Rick Weber, CEO and President of the company respectively, both have a background as litigation attorneys who started their careers together at one of the world’s largest law firms, where they were entrusted with handling sensitive client legal matters.

“At every stage of our careers, the importance of safeguarding client confidences has been emphasized, both as a matter of professional ethics and as vital to maintaining the full trust of those with whom we work. We have carried that ethos into ELIJAH and emphasized the importance of safeguarding client confidences in our employee training, which is one reason our clients feel a high level of comfort working with ELIJAH,” said Andrew Reisman. “We feel we have earned the trust of our clients to deliver best-in-class digital forensic, cybersecurity, and IT solutions,” he said.

Integrity is also a key component of ELIJAH’s reputation and success. “As careful as we are to guard client confidences, we are equally transparent when it comes to sharing information about our own company,” said Reisman.

“For example, ELIJAH routinely shares alternative approaches with our clients that can save them money on our services. Although this can reduce our profitability on specific projects, it earns us repeat business that minimizes our need to maintain a large sales staff, creating a win-win for ELIJAH and our clients,” he said.

ELIJAH’s integrity also extends to its commitment to the larger community, offering services on a pro bono basis for matters in the public interest and for indigent clients.

In addition to its emphasis on confidentiality and integrity, the company’s expertise is another key reason that The Silicon Review identified ELIJAH as among the 50 most trustworthy companies, as mentioned above. ELIJAH has a staff of industry experts who are at the top of their fields in digital forensics, cybersecurity, and information technology. ELIJAH personnel routinely are called upon to serve as expert witnesses in those areas and to speak at conferences as the industry thought leaders. “Our employees are top-notch, and it shows in our results,” said the CEO. “In the digital forensics field, for example, our clients often come to us because they suspect wrongdoing, but don’t have the expertise to identify concrete evidence. Our team is able to identify key evidence that others miss, which can be vital in helping clients understand the facts and make their cases.”

ELIJAH’s team of digital forensics experts performs data collection, investigation, consulting and testimony services relating to electronically stored information. The company has substantial experience testifying in federal and state courts on a wide range of issues, including data misappropriation, data recovery, document authenticity and evidence spoliation among others. In addition to serving as a retained expert, ELIJAH serves as a forensic neutral to facilitate the efficient discovery and production of data.

As part of its digital forensics services, ELIJAH has developed the capability to collect and analyze a wide variety of devices and accounts, including PCs, laptops, servers, smartphones, tablets, external media, email, social media and cloud storage, among others. With rapid response capabilities, the company quickly can put boots on the ground to address any incident and has pioneered advanced secure approaches for remote data collection and analysis to remove geographical barriers to engagement. The team at ELIJAH has performed expert digital forensic investigative services in thousands of cases on behalf of companies, law firms, governmental agencies, and non-profits.

ELIJAH also provides clients with expert cybersecurity services, including incident response, vulnerability assessments, penetration testing, and consulting. Although the company often provides these services on a reactive basis as client needs arise, it has developed a managed services offering that affordably helps clients maintain cybersecurity readiness, reducing their overall risks and costs.

To help automate certain data security functions, ELIJAH has developed a proprietary SaaS-based solution, eCollect,that balances organizations’ needs to manage the risk of employee data theft against privacy concerns. Using eCollect, organizations that choose not to employ intrusive employee monitoring technology quickly can assess upon an employee’s departure; what files the employee had been opening, and whether the employee had used external storage devices to potentially copy files in connection with a planned departure. Organizations now can get rapid, on-demand insight into the most common ways to assess potential employee data theft, without having to employ an intrusive and expensive employee monitoring solution.

ELIJAH also has developed a specialty offering in cybersecurity M&A due diligence, helping clients on the buy-side evaluate potential cybersecurity risks in a merger or acquisition, and helping clients on the sell-side maximize their cybersecurity readiness in preparation for potentially being acquired. Assessing cybersecurity risks can be as important in evaluating the deal value and terms as more commonly investigated factors, such as the quality of earnings, customers, and employees. Properly performed cybersecurity due diligence can help minimize risk, reduce costs, and identify potential deal-breakers, and ELIJAH is well-positioned to assist clients with these needs.

Many of ELIJAH’s clients have asked what they could have done better in their information technology environment in order to improve their environments, and as a result, ELIJAH began offering IT consulting services to meet that need. ELIJAH’s mission when providing expert information technology services is simple – to help clients increase efficiency and profitability by successfully leveraging technology. One of ELIJAH’s differentiators is providing white glove service using IT experts who have developed interpersonal communication skills to complement their technical expertise. The company emphasizes getting to know its clients and their businesses and provides guaranteed in-person response times to ensure boots are on the ground when needed

“ELIJAH has an amazing group of talented digital forensic, cybersecurity, and IT experts on our team who are dedicated to providing clients with the highest levels of judgment, responsiveness, and value.”