HotSkills, Inc. Announces that Merrill Corporation's DataSite Receives ISO 27001 Certification

    /24-7PressRelease/ - MINNEAPOLIS, MN, January 13, 2008 - HotSkills, Inc., a Minneapolis-based company specializing in Information Security Management Systems (ISMS), today announced that Merrill Corporation, a leading provider of technology-enabled services for the financial, real estate, legal and other corporate markets, has received international certification to ISO 27001 for its premier virtual data room solution, Merrill DataSite .

HotSkills worked with Merrill Corporation to develop and implement an ISMS and prepare the operations for ISO 27001 certification.

Merrill DataSite is a virtual data room (VDR) solution that is used for the organization and exchange of sensitive information between buyers and sellers during transactions such as mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, secondary offerings, credit facilities and bankruptcies. Clients benefit from shortened deal times, reduced expense, greater access to qualified bidders and the confidence that Merrill DataSite meets the industry's most stringent standards for security.

"We are very ideally suited to work with companies like Merrill that offer a service or product that require secure transactions and data privacy," says Kim Sassaman, HotSkills' managing director. "An ISMS framework gives a company a competitive advantage and demonstrates to its customers that they have taken steps to ensure best practices in security management."

"As a global company and leading provider of virtual data rooms for the financial industry, Merrill Corporation continually applies the best practices and technologies available to protect our clients' data," says Rolando Galvez, Merrill's vice president of security and compliance. "We couldn't be more pleased with HotSkills and the end result. At this point, we believe Merrill DataSite to be the first and only VDR solution to earn ISO 27001 certification, the industry's highest standard for information security."

Sassaman adds, "Developing an ISMS demonstrates an organization's commitment to protecting their future with IT risk management. Our experienced consultants, unique methodology for implementation and frameworks specific to ISMS and quality management help clients to prepare for and achieve this distinction."

In addition to helping Merrill achieve ISO certification, the ISMS framework that HotSkills developed for Merrill DataSite provides a security foundation throughout the entire enterprise. HotSkills worked closely with the individuals at Merrill to develop a solution specific to the organization's needs and to facilitate successful implementation.

Armed with a staff possessing proven ISMS industry experience, HotSkills provided the Merrill DataSite team with specific experts for each stage of the process - assessment, implementation and pre-certification.

About HotSkills
Editor's note: In September 2007, HotSkills created a new division, named Orange Parachute, to lead the firm's management consulting, training and audit services for Information Security Management Systems (ISMS). HotSkills continues to operate as a technical security consulting services firm, providing subject matter experts in a variety of security capacities.

HotSkills' Orange Parachute provides clients with proven solutions and innovative approaches to information security management, compliance management, risk assessment, audit and training. Orange Parachute specializes in compliance and security management systems, ISO 27001 certification, program evaluation, design, implementation and training. For more information, please call 800-841-9329.

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