FileTrek Debuts Behavioral Analytics Platform for Enterprise Threat Detection at RSA Conference 2014
FileTrek, the leader in advanced behavioral analytics for threat detection, will debut its new enterprise threat detection platform at the RSA Conference 2014 Feb. 24-28. The FileTrek Platform leverages a patent-pending behavioral analytics engine and detection algorithms to proactively surface attacks against valuable data assets, alert managers to their existence and deliver immediate risk forensics, providing fast and accurate threat detection and on-demand investigations for companies of all sizes. The FileTrek solution is available as a cloud or on-premise solution.
Behavioral analytics is of increasing interest to IT and security professionals for its scientific approach to mapping data points that may seem unrelated against patterns of human or machine behavior surfacing unforeseen threats and risks. The FileTrek approach focuses on data collected at the endpoint, providing a direct view into the behavior of users and machines. The system builds relationships between users, machines, applications, and files, and creates patterns of behavior from which trends emerge. By creating behavioral baselines, normalized risk scoring and anomalous activity detection, threats can be surfaced based on quantifiable evidence and prioritized by risk. FileTrek does not rely on derivative events, such as network traffic, log files or firewall activity, to determine anomalous behavior since these are indirect events that are devoid of context and difficult to collect in real-time, making them ineffective in capturing and weighting potential threats in an operational environment. In contrast, FileTrek’s behavioral analytics engine tracks thousands of user, device, application and file events in real-time– as well as the relationship between devices, users, and files — accounting for their sensitivity and assigning risk scores to users and potential threats. This unique approach rapidly and accurately surfaces event anomalies, eliminates noise and false positives, reduces investigation time and eliminates the need for expensive analysis.
FileTrek also contrasts with existing enforcement and event management tools, which require immense configuration and classification efforts, making them too costly and complex to deploy and manage. The FileTrek platform is easy to deploy, operationalize and maintain. Initial customers are finding that, upon deployment, FileTrek immediately begins collecting event information and building relationship patterns, reporting prioritized risks, threats and supporting investigative information within 24 hours.
“Most small and mid-sized organizations have no way to effectively protect sensitive data at all, while many larger enterprises are looking to swap large footprint, costly and outmoded legacy technologies for approaches that are less complex, require fewer resources to support, and provide visibility across endpoints where the majority of today’s attacks occur,” said FileTrek CEO Dale Quayle. “Defense against the insider and targeted outsider now requires the application of analytics and machine learning. With FileTrek, companies have a solution that has the intelligence to sort through the noise to find and surface the anomalies and risks that are the precursors to actual attacks.”
According to Larry Brock, President of Brock Cyber Consulting and former Chief Information Security Officer at DuPont, “FileTrek has created a new and innovative solution to help companies identify threats to their most valuable information by integrating the power of a big data approach and the insights of risk based behavioral analytics. The result is an unprecedented capability to surface the most risky threats while minimizing resource wasting false positives.”
The FileTrek Platform is available immediately. For a demo, register at https://www.filetrek.com/schedule-a-demo/ or visit FileTrek us at booth 2414 South, RSA Conference, Moscone Center, San Francisco, Feb. 24-28, 2014.
BEST Funds Announces Investment With PitchPoint Solutions
Venture Capital firm, BEST Funds secures $2.8 million debt-deal with financial solutions company
Toronto-based venture capital firm BEST Funds announced that it secured a $2.8 million financing into PitchPoint Solutions, a leading enterprise solutions company primarily focused in the financial sector. This investment will allow PitchPoint to increase its sales and marketing initiatives, while continuing to develop new technologies to aid its diverse client base.
BEST Funds aids growing technology companies by providing funds to accelerate growth. BEST Funds is confident that with this investment, PitchPoint Solutions will continue to provide innovative solutions that help North American firms remain competitive. In response to the financing deal, BEST Funds’ CEO John Richardson said, “Our goal is to seek out innovative companies that show considerable promise for the future. PitchPoint’s unique methodology and proven delivery practises set it apart in an already aggressive marketplace, and we’re confident that with this capital they will continue to grow toward their full potential.”
President and CEO of PitchPoint Solutions, Stephen Schrump, responded, “We’re very excited to be working with BEST Funds, as their unique, flexible approach to funding helps us grow as a company. We know that with this investment PitchPoint Solutions will advance its sales and marketing tactics while striving to lead the industry in technology developments.”
About BEST Funds
BEST Funds is a leading Venture Capital firm that focuses on funding rapidly growing Canadian technology companies by providing capital to execute their growth strategies. Primarily focused on emerging companies in the software and technology industry, BEST Funds actively deploys capital to some of Canada’s fastest growing companies. BEST Funds was established in 1996 and is based in Toronto, Canada.
For more information, visit: www.bestfunds.ca
About PitchPoint Solutions
PitchPoint Solutions is a leading solutions company with a focus on the financial services sector. PitchPoint has a well-founded and deeply profound understanding of the special needs of the financial services industry, and has successfully and economically transferred that knowledge and capability throughout the industry.
For more information, visit: www.pitchpointsolutions.com
Columbus Business Solutions Expands Recovery as a Service (RaaS) Presence in the Caribbean and Latin America
Columbus Business Solutions (CBS), the business brand of Columbus International Inc. (Columbus), and a provider of premium telecommunications services to businesses in the greater Caribbean, Andean and Central American regions, is proud to announce its expanded presence in the Recovery as a Service (RaaS) market, under its portfolio of Cloud Continuity Services.
RaaS, a business solution that facilitates cloud-based business continuity, data protection and replication, is forecasted to grow from US$642 million in 2013 to US$5.8 billion globally by 2018, according to the Global Disaster Recovery-as-a-Service Market report from TechNavio (November 2013). In Latin America and the Caribbean, the technology is increasingly viewed as a new growth area and one that is critical to business efficiency and growth.
RaaS industry leader, Geminare, which was recently designated by Gartner as the top ranked global RaaS product enabler, is the underlying technology for the Columbus Seamless Replication services offering. RaaS is ideal for mid-sized enterprises that are striving to protect their physical and cloud-based infrastructure.
Initially, only very large and specialized enterprises were able to take advantage of the product. Javier Pereira, director of product development at Columbus noted, “Extending our Seamless Replication footprint into our Curacao and Colombia data centers is an important part of our business model and once again demonstrates our commitment to our customers, ensuring that they have access to best-in-class products and services.”
Outlining the benefits of Seamless Replication, Hector L. Morales of Mueblerias Berrios, Rent Express by Berrios and Casa Pitusa furniture retailer stated, “Displacing the traditional build-it approach to disaster recovery with Seamless Replication was a no-brainer for us. This cloud-enabled solution provides tremendous flexibility and significantly reduces the risk of financial losses due to downtime at our 95 outlet locations across Puerto Rico. In addition, the solution yields hidden gains in operational efficiencies by not having to staff, monitor, refresh and manage our DR environment. We will continue to look at Cloud and RaaS as a game-changer for our technology requirements.”
CBS continues to roll out this product offering across the region. More information on Seamless Replication and Columbus Business Solutions Cloud Continuity portfolio can be found here: http://www.columbusbusiness.co/en/corporate/solutions/it-solutions/product/cloud-continuity/7
Iogen announces new drop-in cellulosic biofuel from biogas
By Sue Retka Schill
Ottawa-based Iogen Corp. announced it has developed and patented a new method to make drop-in cellulosic biofuels from biogas using existing refinery assets and production operations.
“Biogas is produced today from landfills, wastewater treatment plants, waste digestion facilities and farm digesters with well-proven technology,” said Patrick Foody, Iogen’s executive vice president, advanced biofuels. “We can now take biogas and make specification gasoline and diesel with renewable content using well-proven existing refining operations. It is a win for everybody.” Foody announced the new biofuel strategy at the U.S. EPA’s Landfill Methane Outreach Project Conference, Jan. 22 in Baltimore. The company estimates there is refining capacity in place to incorporate 5 to 6 billion gallons per year of renewable hydrogen content into gasoline and diesel fuel.
Foody explained that the new approach would require no capital expenditures for those biogas producers already cleaning biogas to pipeline specifications, nor would it require capital expenditures for refineries already using natural gas. Essentially, the biogas with its renewable hydrogen content (RHC) receives RINs credits (the renewable identification numbers used for compliance with the renewable fuels standard, RFS) as it enters the pipeline, which are then sold under contract to a refiner already using natural gas to make hydrogen in steam methane reformers for use in hydrogenation in oil refining. EPA already has criteria in place for how to validate such contract flows, as opposed to an actual physical flow of molecules. Foody added that the company learned in December that its patents were approved for the use of renewable hydrogen in refineries to make renewable content and fuel credits.
The company is in negotiations with several California landfills and oil refineries to employ the approach, but first, the EPA must approve the pathway, Foody said, “and I can’t forecast that.”
Several pieces of the regulatory puzzle are in place, however. The EPA currently recognizes biogas used in transportation for the generation of advanced biofuel (D5) RINS and has proposed that biogas converted into certain transportation fuels can earn D3 RINS (for cellulosic biofuels). Iogen is also seeking regulatory approval for RHC under California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard. Foody added that receiving RINs credits for biogas production would be a higher-value use. The company is projecting premiums to natural gas should range between $12 to $17 per MMBtu.
Iogen developed the biogas-to-cellulosic fuels approach as it examined sending the tail end of fermentations to an anaerobic digester as a way to increase the efficiency of its cellulosic ethanol process. The technology would increase the overall cellulosic biofuel yield per unit of feedstock, lower unit capital costs and lower water usage per unit of biofuel production.
The company is planning to use the biogas technology in association with two large-scale cellulosic ethanol projects under development in the U.S. “We’re looking at wheat straw and corn stover as feedstocks for projects in Kansas and North Dakota,” Foody said. “This approach ups the total yield of cellulosic biofuel,” he said. “We not only get RINs out of ethanol but we get them out of the biogas, too.”
Iogen Corp. has operated a demonstration-scale cellulosic ethanol plant in Ottawa for nearly 10 years. Its first commercial-scale plant is under construction in Brazil and is expected to begin operations later this year. The $100 million project is a joint venture between Iogen Energy and Raízen Energia Participacoes S/A. The 10 MMgy plant is being built adjacent to Raizen’s Costa Pinto sugar cane mill in Sao Paulo. Raizen, Brazil’s leading manufacturer of sugarcane ethanol, is a $12 billion joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell and Brazilian ethanol company Cosan S.A
Bell Selects ERMS to Support Their 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Broadcasting Team
Bell Canada has selected ERMS Corporation to again support their 400+ team in Sochi, Russia during the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, as they did for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
“Providing a broad range of live and on-demand content to smartphones, tablets, TV and computer screens for Canadian customers means the Bell team in Sochi will be very mobile and highly active throughout the Olympic venue, “ says Sylvain Rollin, President of ERMS Corporation. “With heightened security concerns, the ERMS Advantage notification system will provide Bell, and its team, with the reassurance and reliability they need to communicate anywhere, at any time, on any device,” he added.
EMRS Advantage will provide Bell with easy-to-use mission critical tools for real-time team communication. Advantage allows the large Bell Olympic coverage team to report their status on a regular basis which in turn enables Bell’s security team to quickly determine who may need assistance and focus their attention on employees who have not reported their status. In the event of an emergency, the emergency notification system can be used to rapidly notify Bell’s team to help ensure their safety, to poll recipients, or to automatically have recipients transferred to a conference call or support personnel. All while helping to speed recovery with real-time reporting and crisis management collaboration tools.
BEST Funds Finalizes Investment With Skura Corporation
Canadian Venture Capital Firm Finalizes Investment into Oakville, Ontario Technology Solutions Company
Toronto-based venture capital/private equity firm BEST Funds has just announced that it will be investing $3 million in leading sales technology solutions company, Skura Corporation. This investment will allow the company to expand its global footprint, increase sales and marketing efforts and consistently work toward improving customer service across its diverse client base.
BEST Funds is confident that with this investment, Skura Corporation will continue to pioneer innovative applications and grow as a leader in the mobile sales technology space. Of the new debt-deal, CEO of BEST Funds John Richardson, said, “We are excited about this new investment and are happy to support an organization that is helping sales teams around the globe to be more effective and interconnected with colleagues, partners, prospects and clients.”
In response to the deal, CEO and Founder of Skura Corporation, Chris Skura, said, “With the astounding adoption of mobile technologies in recent years, there is a significant opportunity to help field sales teams to better leverage this technology in the sales process. At Skura, we are proud to be at the forefront of these changes and this investment will help us continue to drive true innovation in the industry.”
About BEST Funds
BEST Funds is a leading Venture Capital/Private Equity firm that focuses on funding rapidly growing Canadian companies by providing them with the capital needed to execute their growth strategies and fully develop their Intellectual Property. Primarily focused on companies with recurring revenue streams in the technology, healthcare and financial services industry, BEST Funds is actively deploying capital to some of Canada’s fastest growing companies. BEST Funds was established in 1996 in Toronto and works with companies across Canada. For more information, please visit: www.bestfunds.ca.
About Skura Corporation
Founded in 1996, SKURA has grown into an international company with satisfied customers around the globe. At SKURA our mission is to improve the EFFECTIVENESS of sales teams by ENABLING their digital collateral to reach customers across all channels of ENGAGEMENT. Our next generation technology helps sales professionals do more, work smarter and better their productivity through the enablement of their digital devices. The SKURA SFX platform is the preferred Mobile Sales Enablement solution for over 36,000 sales professionals supporting over 120 top brands in 34 countries around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.skura.com.
BEST Funds Closes $4 Million Debt-Deal With Intelligent Mechatronic Systems Inc.
Canadian Venture Capital firm invests $4 million into Waterloo technology company
Leading Canadian Venture Capital firm, Toronto-based BEST Funds, invested $4,000,000 (CAD) into Waterloo, Ontario technology company, Intelligent Mechatronic Systems Inc. (IMS). The investment will allow IMS to further pioneer innovative solutions in vehicle safety and intelligence through a continued focus on research and development.
BEST Funds invests in emerging companies that are creating necessary and cutting-edge technologies, and the company believes that IMS is entering a pinnacle moment of rapid advancement. John Richardson, CEO of BEST Funds, said, “in today’s fast-paced economy, consumers are looking for a way to optimize every moment of their day, whether they are at work, home or on the road. We believe that IMS’ Connected Car™ technology is a breakthrough that will enhance people’s lives greatly – which is exactly the type of innovation we seek out.”
In response to the investment deal, Dr. Otman Basir, IMS’ CEO, President and technology visionary, said, “Our goal at IMS is to add more purpose to every journey by allowing drivers to safely receive and manage information in a comprehensive and intuitive manner. This investment will greatly aid us to continue to produce award-winning technologies, and to further develop solutions that put people first.”
About BEST Funds
BEST Funds is a leading Venture Capital firm that focuses on funding rapidly growing Canadian technology companies by providing them with the capital needed to execute their growth strategies. Primarily focused on emerging companies in the software and technology industry, BEST Funds is actively deploying capital to some of Canada’s fastest growing companies. BEST Funds was established in 1996 and is based in Toronto, Canada.
For more information, please visit: www.bestfunds.ca
About IMS
Intelligent Mechatronic Systems Inc. (IMS) is a leader in telematics and infotainment technologies and pioneer of the intelligent Connected Car™ solution. Its innovative, award-winning technologies allow drivers to safely access location-based information and online content while on the road. IMS is dedicated to adding more purpose to every journey by making drivers smarter, safer and greener. IMS was founded in 1999 and is based in Waterloo, Canada.
For more information, please visit www.intellimec.com