BCN News

When a cyberattack strikes, chaos often follows. Systems shut down, communications collapse, and leadership scrambles to understand what’s happening. Yet, amid the turmoil, one fact is clear: prevention alone is no longer enough. That’s the insight that led Arvind Parthasarathi, veteran entrepreneur and founder of CYGNVS, to create a platform designed not just to prevent cyber incidents, but to help organizations respond to them with clarity, speed, and resilience. From Academia to Startup Vision After selling his previous startup, Parthasarathi turned his attention to giving back. Working pro bono, he joined Project Crossroads, a research initiative spanning nine global universities, including MIT, Stanford, Oxford, and Tokyo. Their mission: to establish a “standard of care” for boards and executives around cybersecurity oversight. What he discovered was striking. “Organizations were pouring money into prevention,” he recalled, “but when incidents actually happened, the response was total chaos.” That realization became the seed for CYGNVS (pronounced Sig-nus). Founded in January 2020 in a borrowed conference room, the company’s name draws from Cygnus, Latin for “swan.” Cyber incidents, often likened to Black Swan events, demand a new kind of preparedness—and CYGNVS was built to provide it. The Out-of-Band Advantage At the heart of CYGNVS is the idea of an “out-of-band” platform—a secure, independent command center organizations can rely on when traditional systems are compromised. Attackers increasingly target corporate communications first—email, conferencing tools, even identity systems—precisely because that’s where crisis coordination happens. If the attackers are already listening in, a company’s defenses can crumble before they’re even activated. Parthasarathi compares CYGNVS to a hurricane bunker: a place where legal teams, executives, and responders can gather safely, run playbooks, and protect privilege and confidentiality. Crucially, the system is company-owned—not tied to individual accounts vulnerable to insider threats or employee turnover. Rethinking Crisis Response Traditional incident response plans often sit buried in dusty binders or forgotten folders. In practice, they’re rarely updated, much less followed in a real emergency. CYGNVS transforms those outdated manuals into interactive, mobile-first workflows. Rather than confronting leaders with an 80-page document during a breach, the platform drip-feeds tasks step by step—adaptive, guided, and designed for how people actually behave under stress. “Human beings in crisis don’t think the same way,” Parthasarathi explained. “So we shift the paradigm: two steps now, two steps later, until the organization executes as one.” The result is muscle memory. Just as submariners drill daily for emergencies, CYGNVS clients run tabletop exercises frequently—not annually, but monthly, even weekly—building resilience into their organizational DNA. READ MORE >>

Why adaptive identity, dynamic trust, and cultural alignment are shaping the next era of enterprise cybersecurity. By Karl Woolfenden A New Era of Identity Cybersecurity has always been an arms race—attackers innovate, defenders scramble to catch up. But for Jim Alkove, co-founder and CEO of Oleria, the most critical battlefield is no longer the perimeter or even the cloud. It’s identity. “The challenge we’re seeing is that traditional identity solutions haven’t kept up with the pace of change inside organizations,” Alkove explains. “Roles evolve, responsibilities shift, and yet too often, access controls remain rigid and outdated. That creates both friction for employees and risk for the enterprise.” Identity management, once seen as a compliance function, has now become the nerve center of organizational security. In Alkove’s view, the future of digital trust depends on making identity systems adaptive, intelligent, and above all, aligned with how businesses actually operate. From Checkbox to Competitive Advantage For decades, identity was treated as a regulatory requirement—ensuring auditors could confirm that only the right people had access to sensitive systems. But as enterprises undergo digital transformation, identity has moved from the server room to the boardroom. “Companies that treat identity as strategic—not just a back-office function—are the ones that are going to move faster, innovate faster, and protect their data more effectively,” Alkove says. “We see identity as the connective tissue across the enterprise.” That philosophy underpins Oleria’s Identity Maturity Guide, a framework that helps organizations benchmark their current posture and chart a course toward adaptive trust models that evolve as roles, teams, and responsibilities shift. Quote: Jim Alkove “We see identity as the connective tissue across the enterprise.” — Jim Alkove, CEO, Oleria Building for Speed Without Sacrificing Trust In today’s enterprise, access is rarely static. A developer might join a project team one week, pivot to a new initiative the next, and transfer departments a month later. Traditional access models—granting and revoking permissions manually—create bottlenecks. Worse, they leave dangerous gaps when employees retain privileges they no longer need. “You can’t have a model where people wait weeks for access while projects stall, or worse, where they keep access long after they’ve switched roles,” Alkove warns. “We want to ensure identity management moves at the same speed as the business.” Oleria’s mission is to create dynamic identity systems that update in real time, ensuring employees have the right access, for the right duration, under the right circumstances. That agility, Alkove argues, is the only way enterprises can innovate without compromising security. Quote: Jim Alkove “We want to ensure identity management moves at the same speed as the business.”

By Karl Woolfenden | BCN.news Cloud adoption has transformed modern enterprises, but it has also introduced unprecedented complexity. As organizations scale across multiple providers and hundreds of services, the promise of agility often collides with the realities of misconfigurations, compliance demands, and overstretched DevOps teams. For Ian Amit, Founder and CEO of Gomboc, the gap between finding problems and actually fixing them is where the industry has been falling short. “We never had a find problem,” Amit emphasized during our BCN.news interview. “Finding is easy. Fixing and remediating is the problem.” With more than 25 years in cybersecurity—spanning roles at Rapid7, Amazon, and ZeroFox—Amit has witnessed the same cycle play out: tools excel at surfacing alerts, but engineers are left drowning in tickets. Gomboc, founded to break this cycle, applies a deterministic AI model that transforms misconfigurations directly into actionable code-level fixes. From Complaints to Solutions Amit admits that Gomboc started as his “way of complaining” about the state of cloud security. “I was raised on the premise that you are not allowed to complain unless you can do something about it,” he explained. “So, Gomboc became my way of doing something.” What makes the problem so acute? Consider the landscape: most enterprises now operate across at least two or three cloud providers, each offering hundreds of continuously evolving services. Infrastructure as Code (IaC) frameworks help teams manage this sprawl, but they also create a widening knowledge gap. “Cloud providers continuously update and release new services,” Amit said. “That growing knowledge gap is exactly where AI should be applied—as a force multiplier that helps humans ingest and process massive amounts of data more effectively.” Deterministic vs. Generative AI Much of the industry conversation around AI focuses on generative models. But Amit cautions against this “shiny new hammer” approach. “Generative AI is probabilistic, not accurate. In engineering, we can’t afford hallucinations,” he explained. “You might produce 10 times the code faster, but you’ll also produce 10 times the bugs.” Instead, Gomboc leans on deterministic AI. Unlike generative models, deterministic AI ensures repeatability, precision, and trustworthiness. “Without those three elements, you’ll lose the trust of engineers,” Amit said. The distinction is critical: where generative AI might flood teams with draft fixes, deterministic AI provides verified, contextualized solutions that engineers can confidently deploy. The DevOps Pressure Cooker DevOps professionals often find themselves caught between competing metrics: speed and reliability. A flawless deployment can be undone overnight by a policy change from a cloud provider, forcing teams into reactive manual patching. “That human at the other end of all those tickets is bogged down, and it slows everything down,” I observed during our conversation. Amit agreed: “Finding issues is easy. But when you’re opening more tickets and creating more alerts, you’re just adding work. The engineer still has to stop what they’re doing and fix it. We focused Gomboc on the most annoying, repetitive parts of that process—figuring out the actual fix.” Instead of producing another queue of alerts, Gomboc delivers fixes directly into developer workflows. The platform’s dashboard, which Amit describes as a “reverse dashboard,” doesn’t just measure risk—it shows hours saved.

As organizations prepare for the challenges of the coming year, cybersecurity continues to dominate boardroom agendas. At the forefront of this discussion is identity hygiene—a discipline that ensures enterprises understand, monitor, and protect every human and non-human access point across their systems. Rita Gurevich – CEO/Founder – SPHERE In the latest edition of Race to the Start Line, I spoke with Rita Gurevich, CEO and founder of SPHERE, a company transforming how enterprises approach identity security. With a background forged in the complex aftermath of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, Gurevich has built SPHERE into a recognized leader in identity governance and automation. From Crisis to Innovation Gurevich’s career began at Lehman Brothers during its 2008 collapse. Tasked with mapping and redistributing technology assets across multiple buyers, she quickly identified a universal problem: organizations lacked a reliable inventory of systems, identities, and entitlements. “Without visibility, you can’t protect anything.” – Rita Gurevich This realization became the foundation of SPHERE. What began as a consulting practice evolved into a software company delivering scalable solutions for identity hygiene. Defining Identity Hygiene Identity hygiene refers to the ongoing process of maintaining clean, accurate, and secure identity data across an organization’s environment. It goes beyond traditional access controls by continuously auditing users, machine identities, entitlements, and system integrations. The need is urgent. For every employee, Gurevich noted, there are 85 additional identity-related entry points—including service accounts, machine-to-machine connections, and third-party integrations. “For every employee, there are 85 additional identity-related entry points.” SPHERE’s platform automates both discovery and remediation. It not only identifies dormant or risky accounts but also ties them to responsible business units and executes corrective actions. “We’re the only platform that doesn’t stop at telling you where the risks are—we clean them up.” Overcoming Organizational Roadblocks Implementing identity controls often faces resistance. Employees are accustomed to established login routines, and additional layers of security can create friction. However, heightened awareness has shifted attitudes. “Cybersecurity is no longer abstract. Boards, regulators, customers, and even insurers are demanding stronger identity safeguards.” Sector-Wide Implications While financial services remain a core client base, identity hygiene is increasingly critical across healthcare, utilities, and manufacturing. “In hospitals, compromised credentials can prevent doctors from accessing patient records, delaying procedures and putting lives at risk,” Gurevich noted. “In energy and utilities, attackers target infrastructure with the potential to disrupt national operations. The threat landscape extends far beyond banking.” Automation, AI, and the Next Frontier Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping identity management. Non-human “agents” are executing business tasks, inheriting entitlements, and creating new vulnerabilities. Gurevich views this as both a challenge and an opportunity. “The future of cybersecurity is inseparable from AI security.” SPHERE’s roadmap reflects this shift, with capabilities designed to manage both human and non-human identities in hybrid and cloud-native environments.

The new season of Business Class News’s Race to the Start Line podcast launched with a conversation that was both deeply personal and profoundly forward-looking. Host Karl Woolfenden sat down with two leaders from Caris Life Sciences—Dr. David Spetzler, President and Chief Scientific Officer, and Dr. James Hamrick, Chairman of the Caris Precision Oncology Alliance —for a discussion on how Caris is transforming the future of cancer care. Woolfenden framed the conversation with personal reflections, sharing how recent losses in his own circle to cancer heightened his awareness of the need for innovation in oncology. “It tightened my awareness,” he said, “of how important it is to spotlight the companies and individuals driving meaningful progress.” Tackling the Complexity of Cancer Caris Life Sciences is a leader in molecular profiling and precision medicine, advancing how oncologists understand and treat cancer. Dr. Spetzler emphasized just how complicated this mission is: “Yeah, so I think what the patents demonstrate is that we’re really on the cutting edge of trying to understand cancer. And the complexity of cancer is really quite staggering, because there are no two diseases that are the same.” He explained that Caris has built one of the world’s largest datasets in cancer biology. “One of the things that we’ve been able to do is amass an enormous data set. We’re approaching having profiled a million patients, and one of the great advantages that gives us is we can start to understand—from previous patients—new patients’ status, and direct them towards the better drugs that are going to help them live longer.” From Science to the Patient Bedside Where Spetzler focused on the science, Dr. James Hamrick provided a clinical lens on the company’s work. He reflected on his journey as both a practicing oncologist and now a leader at Caris. “The founder of Caris, and Dr. Spetzler who has been there since 2009, was always that connection point between the science and the patient. And that’s where I focus—making sure what we’re doing actually makes a difference in the clinic.” Hamrick highlighted the importance of ensuring that breakthroughs aren’t confined to research institutions but are accessible to patients everywhere: “Too often, patients in community hospitals don’t benefit from the latest advancements available at large academic medical centers. At Caris, we’re working to close that gap.” Humanizing the Science The conversation underscored the human stakes of the work. Both leaders emphasized that the mission isn’t just about data or discovery—it’s about outcomes. Dr. Spetzler summed it up: “Science is only as valuable as the difference it makes in the real world. That’s what drives us every day.” Scaling Innovation for the Future For Caris, growth means more than company expansion—it means scaling the reach of its technology so that physicians everywhere have the tools to personalize cancer care. This, Woolfenden pointed out, is a different kind of “race to the start line”: one where the finish line is measured in lives saved and futures extended. As the first episode in the series, the dialogue with Caris Life Sciences set a high standard for Race to the Start Line. It showcased how innovation, when combined with purpose, can shape industries—and in this case, save lives.

Be Different: Escape the Competition, Create Value, and Change the Game by Marty Strong is a business and leadership guide that challenges conventional thinking and encourages individuals and organizations to embrace innovation and creativity. The book draws on the author’s extensive experience as a retired Navy SEAL, business leader, and entrepreneur. Key Themes and Insights: Differentiation as a Strategy Creative Problem-Solving Resilience and Adaptability Empowering Leadership Customer-Centric Innovation Practical Tools and Techniques: The book provides actionable strategies for adopting a "be different" mindset, including ways to shift company culture, develop unique value propositions, and inspire teams to embrace innovation. Audience: Be Different is ideal for entrepreneurs, business leaders, and anyone looking to escape mediocrity and redefine success on their terms. It combines practical advice with inspirational anecdotes, making it both insightful and motivating. If you're looking to rethink your approach to leadership and business growth, this book offers a roadmap to create value and redefine the game. Get the book

Karl spoke to Thomas Noh, the Founder of Sociable AI and they have an indepth conversation about his journey to founding the company and his vision of how his technology is enhancing social media engagements for brands and companies. Sociable.AI: Revolutionizing Digital Communication and Engagement In an age where digital interactions dominate, the quest for more meaningful and impactful connections has never been more pressing. Enter Sociable.AI, a groundbreaking platform that is reshaping the landscape of communication through artificial intelligence. By integrating advanced technology with human-centric design, Sociable.AI aims to transform how businesses and individuals interact online, bridging the gap between personalization and scalability. What is Sociable.AI? Sociable.AI is a cutting-edge artificial intelligence platform designed to enhance digital engagement. It combines natural language processing (NLP), machine learning, and sentiment analysis to craft tailored interactions that resonate with users. Whether it’s a business looking to strengthen customer relationships or individuals seeking more intuitive digital connections, Sociable.AI provides tools to make online communication as effective as in-person exchanges. Key Features of Sociable.AI Hyper-Personalized Communication Scalable Human-Like Interaction Advanced Sentiment Analysis Versatile Applications How Sociable.AI is Changing the Game Enhanced Customer Experiences Streamlined Team Efficiency Inclusive Communication Data-Driven Insights More Information Sociable AI

Last year (2023) a conversation about creativity and innovation around art started about a great artist. The Picasso Celebration 1973-2023: 50th anniversary of the death of Pablo Picasso. This celebration triggered the desire to bring the amazing art of Picasso over to the United States to stimulate interaction with businesses and education and encourage creativity. Karl talks to Andy Martinez, the President of the TECC (Texas European Chamber of Commerce) and their plans to bring over to Texas some wonderful pieces of art by Picasso. LEARN MORE: The Business of the Art - Creativity and Innovation Inspiration - BCN News Pablo Picasso from Malaga (10/25/1881 - 04/08/1973), as loved in Spain as in France, and internationally. Pablo Picasso was a multiple creator, he equally dominated the classical painting of his early years, as well as engraving, lithographic printing and other pictorial techniques. He painted from ceramics to an allegorical mural to peace, such as his 'Guernica'. And he was not alien to sculptural creation. His work is that of a complete creator. His inspiration always found him working on a new work. He placed the cubist avant-garde ahead of his contemporary fellow artists. He was a tireless worker. He played all the styles and had time to dance, go to the bullfights and surround himself in very Spanish parties with his best friends. He was also a skillful negotiator of his art.

Karl spoke to Matt Frankenbery, CEO of Pitsco Education and Eric Simmons, Director of Sales of Pitsco Education in our continuing series of segments with STEM in Schools and Eduardo Galindo. Learn More: https://www.bcn.news/stem-in-schools/ Pitsco Education: Inspiring Innovation in Education Pitsco Education is a leading provider of innovative educational resources and solutions that aim to engage students in hands-on learning experiences. Founded in 1971 by a former teacher, Pitsco has grown from a small company into a significant player in the field of educational products, particularly in the realms of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education. Mission and Vision Pitsco Education's mission is to help educators inspire students to learn by providing engaging, hands-on experiences that develop critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and creativity. Their vision is to create a world where all students can achieve their potential through innovative learning experiences that are both meaningful and enjoyable. Product Offerings Pitsco offers a wide range of products and solutions designed to enhance educational experiences for students of all ages. These include: 1. **STEM Kits and Curriculum**: Pitsco's STEM kits are designed for various grade levels and cover a range of topics, from robotics and engineering to environmental science. These kits provide educators with the tools to facilitate hands-on learning and help students apply their knowledge in real-world situations. 2. **Maker and Tinkering Supplies**: Recognizing the importance of creativity in learning, Pitsco provides a variety of maker supplies that encourage students to build, invent, and explore. These resources support the maker movement in education, allowing students to engage in design thinking and iterative problem-solving. 3. **Robotics and Coding**: With the increasing importance of technology in education, Pitsco offers a variety of robotics and coding products. These resources help students develop essential skills in programming, engineering, and teamwork. 4. **Professional Development**: Pitsco Education is committed to supporting educators through professional development opportunities. They offer training and workshops designed to equip teachers with the skills and knowledge to effectively implement hands-on learning in their classrooms. Educational Philosophy At the heart of Pitsco Education’s approach is the belief that students learn best when they are actively engaged in the learning process. Their educational philosophy emphasizes experiential learning, where students are encouraged to explore, experiment, and collaborate. By fostering a learning environment that prioritizes inquiry and hands-on activities, Pitsco helps students develop a deeper understanding of complex concepts and prepare for future challenges. Impact on Education Pitsco Education has made a significant impact on education by transforming traditional teaching methods and promoting a more interactive and engaging approach to learning. Their products have been implemented in schools across the United States and beyond, enabling educators to create dynamic learning environments that inspire curiosity and innovation. Through partnerships with schools, educators, and community organizations, Pitsco continues to champion the importance of STEM education. Their commitment to making learning accessible and enjoyable has helped to spark interest in STEM fields among students, encouraging them to pursue careers in these vital areas. Conclusion Pitsco Education stands at the forefront of the movement to enhance educational experiences through innovative, hands-on learning solutions. By providing educators with the tools they need to inspire and engag

We are proud to be a partner with STEM in Schools and Summa Caussa to help educate you on the ULTIMATE Ecosystem that is available to organizations and corporations to participate in. We have spoken to hundreds of corporate executives and they told us of the challenges they face trying to understand what STEM and educational programs are best for them, and that meet their objectives. STEM in Schools has developed a network of amazing partners that complement each other and deliver results.

BCN News has partnered with STEM in Schools and in our first in our series of conversations Karl speaks with STEM in Schools president Eduardo Galindo, Dee Memon, from Kids Robotics Academy and Max Ringleheim of Infento, North America. They talk about their partnership together and how they are developing programs that are going to help shape the students of the future.

Karl is always talking to subject matter experts about how they can help companies grow. Karl had a great conversation with Jim Buffington, a leading expert in future-ready tax software and innovative accounting technology with Intuit, and gave some amazing insights on how ProConnect Tax, is the ONLY professional tax software with built in-tax advisory and insights, that empowers the industry with digital tax strategies and compliance solutions for new laws. Tax firms are currently encountering significant challenges, including ongoing staffing shortages and the complexities of preparing for 2025 tax policy changes. These combined pressures not only affect tax professionals' sense of accomplishment but also negatively impact their job satisfaction and career opportunities. Tax professionals and CPAs are working long hours to manage tax reform and compensate for workforce shortages. A solution that not only enables them to offer clients significant savings with customized tax plans but also leverages automation to fill resource gaps and offers cloud-based flexibility to work from anywhere at any time is crucial—these advantages help busy tax professionals streamline tax workflows and adapt to tax law changes. Despite these hurdles, optimism prevails as Intuit’s ProConnect Tax software pioneers new paths in tax compliance and strategic tax planning for 2025. Here are some great resource links to learn more: QBOA for Accountants: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/accountants/products-solutions/accounting/online/ ProConnect Tax: https://accountants.intuit.com/tax-software/tax-online/ Education Center: https://accountants.intuit.com/training/

With inflation coming in hot in the last PCE report, the outlook for Fed cuts in the second half of 2024 is getting more bleak by the minute. Rather than selling, homeowners are rethinking their money-making strategies and are entering the Short Term Rental market heading into the Summer. Homeowners need to know how to maximize profits and exactly what they need to do to comply with local regulations. Pam Knudsen, senior director of compliance at Avalara MyLodgeTax discusses how owners can to set themselves up for success using AirBnB and other Short Term Rental market platforms with an actionable list of best practices. About Pam Knudsen Pam Knudsen is Senior Director of Compliance at Avalara MyLodgeTax, leading the Lodging tax team and Returns Experience/Reconciliation team for Sales & Use. She serves as a leading voice in vacation rental tax compliance and regulation, in addition to bringing in-depth experience across software/SaaS technology as well as ERP systems. Pam joined Avalara in 2012.

Whimstay is dedicated to offering the best deals on last-minute vacation rentals. We offer the biggest discounts on bookings made within 30 days of check-in, but we also ensure great deals year-round compared to other major booking sites. We do this by partnering with professional property managers to offer exclusive discounts on properties that might otherwise remain unrented. On average, guests save nearly 25%, and over $200 per booking. Featuring an extensive selection of vacation rental homes, condos, cabins, villas, and resorts, Whimstay is becoming the go-to choice for savvy travelers.

Whimstay recently emerged as the industry leading travel site for booking last-minute vacation rentals at fantastic rates. If of interest I can look into getting a media rate discount if you (or someone else from your team) if you want to try Whimstay to book a getaway yourself. US based start-up Whimstay announced last month that bookings are up 400% last year compared with 2022 and that it attracted 1.2 million unique users to its site in 2023. The improved growth is attributed to new features, functionality, doubling its number of listings and forming several strategic partnerships. Whimstay has significantly outperformed other online travel agencies and booking sites, emerging as the marketplace leader for bookings made within 30 days of check-in.

Creating fun and accessible chemistry stories has been a labor of love for Colleen as a retired University of Arizona chemistry professor and author of a series of kid’s chemistry comic books. In 2023, the PBS short documentary, “Comic Book Chemistry” was awarded an Emmy. This documentary centered around Colleen’s vision, chemistry comic book series and her success with teaching college-level chemistry concepts to kids. During Colleen’s 30 years of teaching chemistry, she became aware that her students were struggling with basic concepts, including fluency with the symbols for the elements themselves. These comic books, videos, and activities are Colleen’s gift to all future scientists – one that will help them succeed in college chemistry. Colleen holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from Penn State University, was awarded a Chateaubriand Fellowship to conduct research at the Universite Pasteur in Strasbourg, France under the direction of Nobel Prize Winner, Jean-Marie Lehn. Colleen was a tenured faculty member with research expertise in environmental toxicology, medicinal chemistry, and chemistry education. She has published four chemistry textbooks, over 30 peer-reviewed articles, and has presented her work globally.

Karl talks to Michael Steiner, Marty Strong and Dr. Jens Hartmann in our NEW series Masters of Disruption, which was the brain child of Marty Strong who is a Board Member of BEST Robotics. Our spotlight shines on Dr. Jens Hartmann who is an award winning executive focusing on change management and culture change. Dr. Jens Hartmann talks about the science of culture, and how the brain has a huge part to play in preparing individuals and organizations for changing the dynamics of the future performances.

In this new series from BEST Robotics, Masters of Disruption, we bring some of the greatest minds from Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) to hear their take on how students, and the future workforce are working together to drive innovation and learning environments. Karl spoke to Michael Steiner, Marty Strong and Vinay Kunwar and they had an insightful conversation about this subject to start the series off. Vinay, the CEO of India First joined the conversation from his office in India and he talked about the collaboration with his organization and BEST Robotics.