Illumio for Azure Firewall visualizes and secures traffic between Azure resources and simplifies firewall rule management with Zero Trust Segmentation

Illumio, Inc., the Zero Trust Segmentation company, today announced the general availability of Illumio for Microsoft Azure Firewall. This integrated solution makes it easier than ever to use Azure Firewall as a Zero Trust enforcement point to visualize and secure all traffic between Azure resources connecting through the Azure Firewall. Illumio for Azure Firewall builds resilience to ransomware and other cyberattacks while also maximizing the impact and value of Azure Firewall as a security investment.

As organizations look to reduce their risk from breaches and build cyber resilience, the Azure Firewall plays a strategic role in securing and protecting enterprise cloud environments by serving as the entry and exit point for data as it traverses the hybrid cloud ecosystem. Illumio for Azure Firewall allows users to protect different parts of their cloud environment by enabling one-to-one mapping between a resource and its metadata in Azure and its associated workload and labels in Illumio. Benefits of Illumio for Azure Firewall include:

• Simple policy creation. Organizations no longer need to worry about writing firewall rules tied to an IP address or a host name that will change in a dynamic cloud environment. Illumio for Azure Firewall offers easy authoring of context-based, modern security rules that automatically adapt with Azure deployments and are simple to understand and manage. 
• Improve application uptime. Organizations can operate and innovate at scale without fear of breaking critical applications once they apply policy. Security teams can test and validate the outcome and impact of their security policies before fully enforcing them using a simulation mode, which protects applications and workloads. Once security teams are confident in the policy, they can deploy it to Azure Firewalls directly from the Illumio for Azure Firewall console.
• Zero Trust at scale. Zero Trust Segmentation controls minimize the impact of cyberattacks, reducing organizations’ risk and increasing their resilience. Illumio for Azure Firewall gives organizations simplified context-based visibility of any communication across Azure Firewall and Azure network security groups, helping them prioritize and implement the most impactful security policies. And Illumio for Azure Firewall makes it easier to achieve and maintain least-privilege access on the Azure Firewall, bringing Zero Trust at scale to any organization.

"Illumio for Microsoft Azure Firewall is a modern and efficient approach to traditional firewall management. It brings native public cloud metadata into rule management. Traffic visualization now informs traffic management, and this might change the way we operate so that we open only required and more specific ports for designated traffic," said Markus Lintuala and Mika Vilpo, Senior Technical Consultants at Elisa.

“Illumio for Microsoft Azure Firewall helps modernize firewall policy management by making it easy to enforce Zero Trust,” said Narayan Annamalai, General Manager, Microsoft. “Illumio for Azure Firewall extends Zero Trust Segmentation capabilities to the firewall and helps ensure that Azure users can incorporate the right protections into dynamic security policies at scale.”

“As the world around us becomes increasingly dynamic and hybrid, organizations must have agile Zero Trust policies in place to help them achieve a more resilient security posture,” said Mario Espinoza, Chief Product Officer at Illumio. “By partnering with Microsoft Azure, Illumio is extending the visibility and agility of Zero Trust Segmentation to anyone using Azure Firewalls. This allows organizations to reduce their risk and get even more impact from their security strategy by implementing security policy more easily and quickly. We are excited to see further validation of the growing importance of Zero Trust Segmentation controls specifically.”

The signature tune signals the sound of opportunity that Infosys creates for people, businesses and communities

Infosys, a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, today unveiled its sonic brand identity, the auditory equivalent of its blue visual identity and logo. As a strategic brand asset, the signature Infosys tune will serve to reinforce the company's core identity and brand purpose – 'to amplify human potential and create the next opportunity for people, businesses and communities', when stakeholders interact with the brand. The unique melody, the sonic landscape will be integrated across Infosys' many platforms used by employees, and across brand assets, ranging from videos to signature events that the company's clients and the broader community engage with.

"As more of our stakeholders interact with brands through digital channels, and more brands continue to crowd digital spaces, the Infosys tune will serve as an auditory reinforcement of our unique brand identity. It will also help deepen the emotional connection our stakeholders have with Infosys by cueing in the promise of opportunity creation that is integral to our brand purpose," said Sumit Virmani, EVP and Global Chief Marketing Officer, Infosys. "We aspire for the sound of Infosys to signal and be recognized as the sound of opportunity for all our stakeholders, across markets," he added.

As a means to mark the debut of their sonic identity, Infosys activated a digital metaphor to demonstrate how the sound of Infosys can signal the sound of opportunity. The company has extended an invitation to all its stakeholders to unlock opportunities by engaging with its sonic brand here. Response, from the audience, will trigger transformative digital learning experiences for underprivileged students and graduate jobseekers in India.

For over 4 decades, brand Infosys has sought to truly live its purpose. Infosys has been recognized in BrandZ's prestigious Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands list, ranked at #66. Infosys is also ranked among the top three most valuable IT services brands globally by Brand Finance, with a growth of 84 per cent in its brand value since 2020, as per Brand Finance Global 500 2023 report.

Novacap's TMT VI Fund announces its fourth acquisition, investing in Cadent, a foundational player in the converged TV advertising technology sector.

Novacap, one of North America's established private equity firms, is delighted to announce the successful acquisition of Cadent, a leading provider of platform-based converged TV advertising solutions. This partnership marks the fourth investment under Novacap's TMT VI Fund. Cadent has rapidly transformed from an early leader in cable and broadcast aggregation to one of the largest independent platforms for unified audience targeting across connected television (CTV), traditional TV, and digital advertising.

The company’s blue-chip roster of customers includes global agency holding companies and media buying agencies, over 70 of the Ad Age Top 100 advertisers, and scaled global publishers and content distributors. Cadent Aperture Platform boasts nearly 300 partner connections in its ecosystem, and holds numerous technology patents for identity management, audience targeting, and advertising monetization.

The Novacap-Cadent partnership emerges in a time of rapidly shifting audience viewing habits, marked by a pivot towards digital streaming platforms and devices. As audience consumption becomes increasingly fragmented, the technology solutions Cadent provides become critical for advertisers seeking to maintain and amplify their reach and audience targeting capabilities across any TV device or service.

Pascal Tremblay, Managing Partner in TMT, and CEO at Novacap, states, "Cadent, as a pioneer in converged TV advertising, embodies the kind of innovative, growth-focused company we aim to partner with. Our extensive capabilities in accelerating high-growth technology companies make us an ideal partner to support Cadent.”

“The completion of this transaction marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Cadent,” added Nick Troiano, CEO at Cadent, “Our customer focus and dedication remains unchanged, and we expect that our partnership with Novacap will only accelerate our vision of the future of advertising – one that is audience-first, data-infused, and activated seamlessly across all converged media."

"The Cadent Leadership Team successfully transformed the company into a leader of converged TV solutions. We are at the beginning of a fundamental shift in TV advertising, and with strategic investments and acquisitions we believe Cadent will continue to propel forward as an innovator in the converged marketplace,” said Samuel Nasso, Principal at Novacap.

Evercore served as the lead financial advisor, Stifel served as co-advisor, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP served as the legal advisor to Cadent and Lee Equity Partners.

RBC Capital Markets, TD Securities and Scotiabank acted as financial advisors and provided financing to Novacap and Baker Botts L.L.P acted as legal advisor to the firm.

Acquisition will bolster Convergint’s presence in Australia and APAC, expands audio-visual service capabilities to meet growing global demand

Convergint, a global leader in service-based systems integration, today announced plans to acquire Peace of Mind Technology (POMT), a leading, Sydney-based provider of audio-visual, workspace and communications technology solutions. This acquisition marks Convergint’s entry into the audio-visual (AV) market in Australia, greatly expanding the company’s vertical expertise and key service capabilities in Australia.

Founded in 1996, POMT provides innovative audio-visual and workspace design, strategy, and technology solutions to customers across Australia. The company’s solutions bring together property, facilities, and information communications technology teams to create a seamless and unrivalled experience for the modern workplace. As global demand for scalable, user-friendly, and fully integrated audio-visual solutions continues to grow, this acquisition brings over 130 colleagues to Convergint, extending the company’s reach within this critical growth sector.

“We are thrilled to soon welcome the Peace of Mind Technology team to Convergint. POMT’s dedication to delivering excellent service aligns perfectly with Convergint’s commitment to always being our customers’ best service provider—and its cutting-edge solutions help to significantly strengthen our presence and vertical expertise across Australia and APAC,” said Tony Wang, CEO, APAC, Convergint. “POMT’s outstanding expertise will help Convergint benefit more customers in new corners in Australia and across Asia.”

“As demand for audio-visual solutions from Convergint continues to grow, this is a natural next step in expanding our capabilities to meet customers’ needs,” said Dean Monaghan, Managing Director, Oceania, Convergint.

Since 2021 and Convergint’s acquisition of Seal Telecom, Convergint has been working to build a global AV offering and has seen tremendous growth in the AV market. Convergint is able to offer an expansive range of solutions and capabilities positioning Convergint as a premier global partner for security, audio, video, and unified communication solutions.

“By joining forces with Convergint, we look forward to greatly expanding our combined reach both locally and across the APAC region. Integrating security, AV, and workplace technologies will create even more value for our clients—united with our shared commitment to delivering outstanding service and results”, said Jason Levine, Founder and CEO, POMT. “Leading POMT alongside Jeremy Pollak, we have ensured that culture, values and beliefs are at the foundation of our company, and we’re excited to now partner with Convergint—their unique and empowered culture aligns perfectly with ours.”

“This acquisition marks a significant milestone in Convergint’s ongoing commitment to building a fully global and industry-leading audio-visual service offering. We will continue to expand our AV expertise across the world—aligning with organizations that share our dedication to service and maintaining a dynamic culture”, said Denis Pozigun, Executive Director of Global AV, Convergint.

The company aims to revolutionize the healthcare industry with its cloud-native analytics acceleration platform

Kyvos Insights, the next-gen cloud analytics acceleration platform, today announced its strategic OEM partnership with Merative, a leading data, analytics and software technology partner for health and social care organizations. The partnership intends to deliver a modernized analytics architecture to healthcare service providers that will transform healthcare analytics with deeper and faster insights, while handling extremely complex business logic against sensitive data.

Kyvos' cloud-native analytical acceleration platform and universal semantic layer deliver multidimensional and unified analytics, along with the ability to drill down into granular details. With Kyvos, Merative aims to accomplish a complete modernization of its Health Insights product, with unlimited scalability and unmatched speed. Kyvos allows instant analytics on any scale, which will help Merative run complex queries on high data volumes for its customers and keep cloud costs under control. 

"We are elated to forge a partnership with Merative to revolutionize BI and analytics with our innovations," said Rajesh Murthy, COO, Kyvos Insights. "We are eager to transform healthcare analytics with our AI-based Smart Aggregation technology and state-of-the-art visualization capability on any cloud data warehouse."

"Health Insights users are looking to solve complex healthcare program challenges to make sure their employees and members are getting the best quality care at a cost-effective price. Our mission is to deliver accurate, timely insights so they can address healthcare quality, delivery and costs more effectively," said Casey Graves, General Manager, Health Insights. "Kyvos is the right partner to help us meet our goals. They stood out for their ability to deliver a high-performance and scalable analytical query engine — an essential requirement in healthcare analytics — and a unified semantic layer to make our insights reliable and consistent. We see Kyvos as an essential partner to help us meet customer needs." 

Fusion of DSPM and CSPM Enables Proactive Identification and Resolution of Misconfigured S3 Buckets at Cloud Scale

BigID, the leading platform for data security, privacy, compliance, and governance, today unveiled its Bucket Configuration Management capability. By enhancing BigID's industry-leading Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) with essential Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) capabilities, Bucket Configuration Management redefines cloud data security by proactively identifying and resolving misconfigured Amazon S3 buckets, at the cloud scale.

Key Takeaways:

• Leverage Data-Centric, Risk-Aware Policies: Detect and pinpoint misconfigured S3 buckets holding sensitive data with customizable policies and timely notifications.
• Streamline Risk Management: Prioritize alerts based on data risk and streamline the investigation and remediation through a single pane of glass.
• Mitigate Cloud Data Exposure and Insider Risk: Elevate cloud data security posture, and prevent unauthorized access internally and externally.

Securing cloud services like Amazon S3 is crucial to safeguard sensitive data from unauthorized exposure and potential data breaches. Configuring buckets incorrectly can lead to severe data vulnerabilities. However, limited visibility, lack of scalable control, and human error have persisted, contributing to data exposure risk.

"With the growing complexity of AWS and other dynamic cloud environments, it is essential to address the security challenges surrounding misconfigured S3 buckets," said Tyler Young, CISO at BigID. "Bucket Configuration Management marks a significant step forward in strengthening cloud data security. By seamlessly integrating our industry-leading DSPM capabilities with crucial CSPM features, BigID empowers organizations to identify, investigate, and remediate misconfigured S3 buckets efficiently and effectively."

Company sees 1,200 to 2,500 new members joining Habytat daily

New users receive free NFT deeded properties and houses; mobile app now available in the Apple App Store and Google Play

DatChat, a private messaging, social media and metaverse company, is pleased to announced that it has published its daily landowner statistics on the Habytat.com website to provide a transparent view of the community’s growth and progress. For the month of August 2023, the Company’s Habytat, reached over 45,000 users as of 08/08/23, adding between 1,200 to 2,500 new members daily. The Company launched Habytat version 1.0 in May 2023 and its soon-to-be-launched Version 2.0 will include a full VR experience, AI Pets with an interactive dog park, and a Music District.

Habytat is an open mobile metaverse that offers users free NFT-deeded properties and houses in Geniuz City, the first residential area modeled after Miami’s Wynwood arts district. Users can visit art galleries, explore the town, interact with others, take selfies with famous landmarks, customize their properties and enjoy the experiences that its community has to offer.

Habytat's metaverse offers an experience for first-time users and average consumers—the ability to step into the metaverse and experience the value it has to offer. Currently, the Company has provided free NFT-deeded properties to all users, with other releases soon to be launched.

“The growth of our community is a testament to the allure of our immersive digital landscape, the value proposition to our members, and the easy access to our metaverse straight from your mobile device,” said DatChat CEO Darin Myman. “Our developers are ramping up the offerings in Habytat and we know this will serve as a solid foundation as we see foresee mass adoption, which will allow us to capitalize on the growth by adding additional products in the coming months.”

Birmingham, Alabama-based company INMO launches scoreboard with giveaways on its new social media app for creators.

INMO, a new social media platform, has officially launched its app, available for download on the App Store and Google Play. INMO was made for creators to showcase and be rewarded for their original content—and if you've never heard of it, it's probably because other social media apps aren't allowing INMO to advertise on their platforms.

The INMO app brings something new to the market, with a more transparent algorithm and users dictating the market. "INMO is doing something that's never been done before, as it's made for creators by creators, and we're looking to drive competition and collaboration while leveling the playing field," said INMO Founder Blake Patterson. "The INMO Scoreboard (patent pending) allows creators to see where they rank in real time, so we're operating with a transparency that's never been seen before."

Patterson is a serial entrepreneur, formerly founding Simpeo, a professional employee organization (PEO) provider. Simpeo was acquired by Group Management Services, the largest privately-owned PEO in the United States, in January. While Patterson suspects the in-app competition will enthrall users who feel more control, he also recognizes INMO will likely become a competitor to existing social media platforms like Meta, which, at the time of this press release, isn't allowing INMO to run ads on its platform.

A large part of INMO's continuous tech expansions is built on the blockchain (Web3), meaning any data, including interactions, achievements, and content, is securely stored to enhance user experience and transparency. Uploaded content is owned by the users themselves rather than the application or platform, and in the near future, these users will be rewarded with special badges showcasing creators' dedication and involvement.

Adelaide Matte, co-founder and CEO of AMD Creative, a branding and design agency in Birmingham, expressed her desire to create an app that rewards creators for their originality and pays them what they're worth.

"As a creator myself, it's discouraging to see creators become burned out when they don't see the growth and engagement they want or they're regurgitating the same content because it has gone viral," Matte stated. "We're really excited about the new methods we've come up with for creator compensation like the upcoming giveaways we're offering to the leaders on the INMO Scoreboard."