Friday, March 10, 2006 Tulsa, OK 

Oklahoma Digital Forensics Professionals, Inc. has been approached by many clients who wanted to redact digital information from computer hard drives, so OKDFP developed E-Dact, a patent pending process of digital redaction.

Lance Watson, Vice President for Client Relations, says "we created this process and decided to seek a U.S. Patent with the University of Tulsa's help." Mr. Watson adds “We enlisted TU professors and students and they were instrumental in refining our process for redacting hard drives into a method we call E-Dact which works for all digital devices.”

E-Dact was invented by: Dr. Gavin W. Manes, President and Director of Research at OKDFP and a Research Assistant Professor at TU; Lance Watson, Vice President of Client Relations at OKDFP and a TU graduate; John Hale, Associate Professor at TU; Alex Barclay, a Ph.D. student at TU; and David Greer, a Ph.D. student at TU.

E-Dact removes all traces of privileged information from all parts of the digital device – when one creates a document on a computer, it stores that information in several places. Without this patented process of redaction, other digital forensics experts could uncover the privileged information in the hidden corners of a computer’s hard drive.

OKDFP is working with Jim McGill, a TU graduate, member of the university’s Board of Trustees, and chair of the Technology Transfer Committee, to commercialize E-Dact.

-For more information on the E-Dact patent, contact Gavin W. Manes at 918-856-5337 or .

Related News

Inventors up the inventory
By April Marciszewski World Staff Writer
Tulsa World 3/11/2006

Two TU researchers have filed for their second patent, on an electronic information device.
Scratch two tally marks in Tulsa's economic future for University of Tulsa researchers.

Gavin W. Manes and John Hale just filed for their second patent on another invention that could result in more profits and more jobs. Their first, two years ago, thwarts Internet piracy.

This could be the start of a downtown with reams of young people inventing new technologies and feeding off each others' creative energy, said Jim McGill. He leads the college trustees' subcommittee on turning TU innovations into companies and products to sell.

McGill sees Manes' and Hale's work touching off an atmosphere of innovation in Tulsa.

Manes and Hale work as TU professors, and Manes started Oklahoma Digital Forensics Professionals Inc. more than a year ago based on research he began at TU.

The company and TU jointly filed for the patent Thursday, and if it eventually sells, the five inventors -- including TU-trained company Vice President Lance Watson and two doctoral students -- will split the profits with the company and TU.

Manes said he hopes the company  sets a pace of filing two or three patents a year.

The collaborators already have thrown around ideas for their next invention, including fishing lures and a "rapid chicken defroster" to rival the microwave.

"Eventually, that idea will refine over time," Manes said, "or we'll have a lot of fun laughing about it."

For this pending patent, the men found a way to remove privileged information from electronic devices.

Courts often have to "redact" -- usually by blacking out words on copies of documents -- information that is considered confidential under attorney-client, spousal, doctor- patient or penance privileges, Manes said.

But more and more, documents are electronic. When a person creates a text document, for example, the computer creates a temporary file and any number of other files, Manes said.

When the person deletes the text file, it's more like removing the card from the card catalog than taking the book off the shelf.

Even if the file is written over on the hard drive or if the computer is beaten with a hammer, computer experts can retrieve the file, Manes said.

That's a problem when someone requests court files but the owner can't redact the privileged information. The requester simply doesn't get the files, Manes said. But with the inventors' technology, redaction is possible.

McGill wants to start marketing the technology to local law firms, make it user-friendly, and then go national with marketing.

For "every litigator in the United States, this will be a must-have piece of software," he said.

Al Soltow, TU's vice president of research, said participation in research is a given at TU.

Undergraduate through graduate students chip in, earning academic credentials and occasionally profits.

With Hale's and Manes' success comes incentive for TU faculty members and students to continue inventing, Soltow said.

With this bunch, innovation never ends, he said.

April Marciszewski 581-8475 

Two University of Tulsa (TU) computer science professors have designed and applied to patent software for removing digital information from computers and other devices such as cell phones.

Gavin W. Manes, TU research assistant professor, says that he and John Hale, TU associate professor, developed the idea for the software in response to consumer demand. As the founder and president of Oklahoma Digital Forensics Professionals (OKDFP), Manes had several clients request a method for removing digital information from computer hard drives and other devices such as cell phones, BlackBerries, iPods and PDAs. 

“It became clear that no one had developed a digital process for what is known as ‘redacting’ information,” says Manes, who teaches classes in digital forensics.

Manes describes “redaction” as a process used primarily by legal professionals to remove privileged information from documents. Traditionally, this process has consisted of nothing more than covering portions of documents using a black marker. In the digital age, however, such a technique is clearly outdated.

Assisted by TU doctoral students David Greer and Alex Barclay and OKDFP Vice President and TU graduate Lance Watson, the two professors invented a method for scrubbing privileged information from digital devices.

“We called our product ‘E-Dact,’” says Manes. “Most computer users don’t know that documents they create are automatically stored in a number of different places on a computer hard drive. Commercially available ‘evidence elimination’ tools can’t locate all temporary files that accompany an original document. E-Dact uses digital forensic methods to find these traces of evidence.”

E-Dact’s inventors are optimistic about the potential applications for their software. “We envision our technology used in law firms nationwide,” says Hale. “We believe it will also have application in corporate mergers and acquisitions and in government document declassification.”

The E-Dact patent was nurtured by TU’s Technology Transfer Committee, a group of students, faculty members, and entrepreneurs committed to strengthening the partnership between research and industry. Jim McGill, a TU graduate, member of the university’s Board of Trustees, and chair of the Technology Transfer Committee, is spearheading a commercialization strategy for E-Dact.

Manes and Hale have a track record for success. In 2004, they secured their first patent, for a software product designed to flood peer-to-peer networks with bogus files preventing illegal MP3 downloads. That patent sold to a California-based company in 2005.

For more information on the E-Dact patent, contact Gavin W. Manes at 918-631-3560 or , or John Hale at 918-631-2745 or .

Good for business
Staff Reports
(Final Home Edition), Page A18 of Opinion 

Tulsa World 04/01/2006

The University of Tulsa demonstrates why continuing the trend toward a technology- and innovation-based economy is the blueprint for Tulsa's and Oklahoma's economic success ("INVENTORS UP THE INVENTORY," March 11).

TU's support of these two inventors allowed them to turn ideas into profitable products. The benefits of these home-grown ventures will extend beyond the university and into the Tulsa community, helping to create a healthier entrepreneurial economy.

In a global economy where American businesses find it increasingly difficult to compete as low-cost producers, many experts agree that innovation and technology are key competitive advantages for future economic success.

Many of these entrepreneurial ventures are born in or adjacent to the incubator-like environment found in research facilities on college campuses such as TU. We are fortunate to have such a university in Tulsa that understands the implications of global competition and the need to support young, innovate entrepreneurs.

Tom Walker, Tulsa