October 1, 2003

Introducing Caveon—New Company Formed to Detect and Prevent Test Fraud
Testing Experts From Galton, Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard
Join Forces To Launch the First Multi-Industry Test-Protection Powerhouse

DRAPER, UTAH—October 1, 2003—Pervasive, sophisticated  test cheating and piracy schemes are the catalyst for today’s introduction of Caveon, the first end-to-end testing security services and technology company providing detection, remediation, and prevention to combat cheating and piracy of test information.

Test development costs a testing program up to a hundred thousand dollars and six to twelve months of development time. Piracy of test information and its subsequent publication alone can jeopardize the accurate measurement of knowledge and skills, and poses an economic threat to testing programs and the organizations that rely upon tests for hiring and admissions decisions.

Caveon opens its doors today as the first test security services consulting firm focusing on the burgeoning problem of test security and offering organizations protection from the unauthorized disclosure and use of their valuable test information. Caveon is armed with the experience and proprietary technology to help organizations protect their tests with barriers to the piracy and sharing of copyrighted materials; web patrolling tools to locate and defeat attempts to disseminate test information; and proprietary technology which uses test data to identify the cheaters.

Founded by testing industry luminaries David Foster, Ph.D and Jerry Christensen, who started Galton Technologies, Inc., a computerized assessment and certification services company recently purchased by Thomson Learning, the team not only brings decades of experience and a wealth of knowledge of the testing industry, but also a unique understanding of how tests are being compromised.  Additional Caveon principals include: Dennis Maynes, previously with Intel and Wicat, who brings statistical data analysis expertise; Lane Brewer a technology infrastructure specialist who previously held positions at Galton Technologies and Novell; and Robert Hunt, Ph.D., a veteran attorney with long experience in the design, development and management of certification exams for Microsoft.

Caveon Security Consultants review testing program’s existing test security measures against industry-endorsed Caveon security standards.  Besides reviewing and recommending prevention and response strategies, consultants will also provide access to services such as Caveon Data Forensics and Legal Support Services. The security consulting staff is comprised of top names in the testing industry including: Cyndy Fitzgerald, Ph.D., formerly directed psychometric efforts at Microsoft; Jamie Mulkey, Ed.D., previously led the Certified Professional Exam Design department at Hewlett-Packard; James Impara, Ph.D., a veteran educator with an extensive record of research and publication on testing issues; John Fremer, Ph.D., former Senior Development Leader for the revision of the SAT
and Director of School and College Test Development at Educational Testing Service (ETS); and Robert Pedigo, the executive director of the Information Technology Certification Security Council, the IT certification industry’s anti-piracy trade association.

“ Caveon’s mission is to provide testing programs with some new defenses in the fight against test cheating and piracy,” stated David Foster, CEO and co-founder of Caveon.  “It takes creative technology and focused service to detect and deter cheating, attack the problems forcefully, and prevent its occurrence in the future.”

Key Markets

Caveon is focusing its anti-fraud and piracy efforts toward four specific industry sectors, Clinical, Educational, Industrial/Organizational and Licensure/Certification.

“ The introduction of Caveon represents the beginning of the end for test cheaters and thieves,” said Ron Hambleton, distinguished  professor and chairperson of the Research and Evaluation Methods Program and  co-director of the Center for Educational Assessment at the University of  Massachusetts at Amherst.  “ Test fraud and piracy are major concerns in our industry. The introduction of computerized tests and the Internet, while improving the quality and convenience of testing, have also escalated the amount and varieties of cheating. Caveon will address this need by helping organizations design secure testing programs which extend the life-cycle of their tests, and by providing the means to protect the integrity and value of  existing tests for decision making.”

Services

Caveon offers a full range of detection, remediation and protection consulting services including:

• Investigative Services to confirm identified instances of test compromise,
• Security Audits to review and certify as “Caveon Secure” the security measures of testing programs,
• Data Forensics to monitor test data, via proprietary statistical methods, for anomalies and response patterns that indicate test fraud,
• Web Patrol including Web crawling and other proprietary techniques to identify unauthorized disclosures, and disclosers, of sensitive test information,
• Secure Services to assist testing programs in the development of legally sound, market tested, scientific methods for the design and administration of tests, and
• Legal Support to provide the legal means for testing programs to respond to confirmed instances of test abuse.

“Testing security is complex to administer and difficult to manage. Testing programs typically lack the time, personnel and resources necessary to investigate or otherwise respond to test fraud and piracy,” said Foster.  “Now with Caveon, testing programs will have access to the tools, talent and technologies to protect the security and integrity of their tests and end the wasteful cycle of investing time and money to develop and issue replacement tests likely to meet a similar fate.”

Pricing

Caveon products and consulting services are available now. Pricing is based on a subscription model that provides ongoing security consulting, detection and remediation.

About Caveon

Caveon is the first test security firm to offer comprehensive services to combat test fraud and piracy with detection services to identify security breaches, remediation services to confirm suspicions and leverage legal processes to halt abuses of sensitive test information, and prevention services to secure tests from compromise.  Caveon is derived from the Latin word Caveo, meaning “to keep safe,” “to guard” and “to protect,” and was founded by psychometric and testing experts who also founded Galton Technologies, Inc. Caveon does not provide test development, delivery, or data management services.

Press Contacts:

Paulette Brown, Brown Communications, Inc., browncom@bellsouth.net, 770-577-3881
Jerry Christensen, VP of Marketing at Caveon, jerry.christensen@caveon.com, 801-208-0103