About Me

My name is Elizabeth Safran and I am the founder and principal of Looking Glass Public Relations, a high-tech public relations consultancy focused on enabling information security companies to achieve their business goals.

I've been working in tech PR for a long time - almost 15 years. Roughly two thirds of that I've spent working with information security companies. As a result, I've become more of a security person that does PR (and marketing) than a PR person in security.

There are a few others out there in security like me, but not too many, and even less that are consulting (as opposed to in house or with a PR agency.) I like it that way.

I started this blog because it gives me a forum to rant about stuff I don't get a chance to rant about over the course of my client work.

I also started it to a certain degree, because I am a joiner and all the cool people I know blog or at least have a personal site. But more than that, I started it because from a media perspective, the pendulum is still swinging as far as the role of bloggers and and how they relate to and influence the media, the IT security buying community, and other members of the IT security eco-system. I want to be front and center when the pendulum stops.

This way,I get to experience blogging from the inside (as a blogger) and the outside (as a PR person.) My hope is this will make me more useful (and valuable) to my clients -- if nothing else, it's a good way to pass the time when there's nothing good to watch on cable.

So there you have it. With that, here is my "official" bio:

Elizabeth Safran is the founder and principal of Looking Glass Public Relations a high-tech public relations consultancy focused on enabling information security companies to achieve their business goals.

Elizabeth has 14 years of public relations and communications experience. Prior to founding Looking Glass, she built and led the security technology practice at Trainer Communications, which before she departed accounted for one third of the company’s revenues. Previously, at Lutchansky Communications, she contributed to a variety of enterprise, Internet, security, and wireless accounts. As the account manager for Check Point Software Technologies, Inc., Elizabeth helped land the company cover stories in Forbes and Fortune during the same week and contributed to the agency winning the Bull Dog Reporter’s prestigious Silver Anvil award in 2001.

Elizabeth understands that successful PR is a combination of thoughtful strategy and excellent execution. Her deep domain expertise in information security has honed her ability to craft high-impact, creative strategies that map to her clients’ specific situations and objectives. Her experience as a freelance writer for contributes to her ability to drive strong, creative media relations and editorial programs that create name recognition, market and company validation, and thought leadership for clients.

Those that have been benefited from her expertise include Airtight Networks, Check Point Software Technologies (IPO in 1996), Certicom (IPO in 2000), the Center for Internet Security (CIS), CREDANT Technologies, Cydelity (acquired by Digital River), GreenBorder (acquired by Google in 2007), IPWireless, interWAVE, the Executive Women’s Forum for Information Security, Privacy, and Risk Management (EWF), the Intrepidus Group, Marimba (IPO in 1999 for $54 million), Net Objects, Securify, SenSage, Sybari Software (acquired by Microsoft) Sygate (acquired by Symantec in 2005), Thor Technologies (acquired by Oracle in 2005), TriCipher, and Uroam (acquired by F5 Networks for $25 million).