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Chris Jutt Reviews How Minuteman Press Franchise Conversion Program Helps Independent Printers Sell Their Printing Business

Minuteman Press International Inc

Minuteman Press International Regional Vice President Chris Jutt (Pacific Northwest) shares his professional experiences in connecting sellers of independent print shops with qualified buyers who are looking to buy a printing business. Minuteman Press International, the world’s leading and #1 rated printing franchise, is continuing to expand its Minuteman Press Franchise Conversion Program to help independent printers sell their printing business. “This program is a way for independent printers to sell their business at no cost and no broker fees to them,” says Chris Jutt, Minuteman Press Regional Vice President for the Pacific Northwest Region. Chris has been supporting Minuteman Press franchises in the Pacific Northwest (including Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana) while also helping independent print companies find qualified buyers who are looking for the additional training, support, and resources that come with being part of the Minuteman Press network. Chris explains, “Everything is kept in strict confidence and we are simply there for sellers and will work with them at a pace they are comfortable with. We also help sellers by attracting a wide pool of buyers who don’t necessarily need to be in the printing industry because of the built-in training and ongoing support structure provided to them by Minuteman Press. After the sale of the business goes through, we work with the seller and buyer to help ensure a smooth, seamless transition that also best serves the client base.” How high is the demand for a printing business and how can Minuteman Press help? There is demand for buying a B2B business such as Minuteman Press because print is an essential business and Minuteman Press franchises are open and operating during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chris says, “We’ve seen high demand on our end from buyers because of what we can do for them. When selling your printing business as part of the Minuteman Press Franchise Conversion Program, we are able to expand products and services for buyers and provide benefits such as our proprietary pricing and business management software. Selling as a prospective Minuteman franchise opens up the book of buyers to anyone looking to own their own business. No experience is necessary, which boosts the demand from a whole new audience of buyers.” What does an independent printer need to get ready to sell? For sellers, Chris offers the following advice: “In order to sell, the owner needs to make sure their paperwork is in order. They will need at least three years of financials, employee information, and an asset list that shows all leases and owned equipment. With those items, we can at least begin the process together.” When is it a good time to sell a printing business? Selling a business at the right time is always important but sellers shouldn’t wait until it’s too late either. Chris states, “One thing I always try to stress is that you do not want to be selling your printing business when you absolutely have to. Instead, the best time to sell is when your sales are up, the company is doing well, and you are thinking about selling in the next few years. It is never too soon to reach out and see how we can help. It is important to keep running your business and continue to build it even while you are thinking of selling. Also, by having your financials in order and running them properly, that will only help you get a higher sale price for your business.” How does Minuteman Press help evaluate and value a print business? One of the benefits of the Minuteman Press Franchise Conversion Program is that sellers will get a free evaluation of their printing business. Chris explains, “We look at a few factors when evaluating independent printers. Earnings are very important of course, along with the assets in the business. We work with the sellers to make sure they are getting the best value for their business by reviewing their financials with them to make sure they don’t miss any add backs. The P&Ls never show the true picture or value of the printing business, and we get that. We work together with the seller to extract that, and once we have the agreed earnings together, coming up with a sale price is easy.” How long does it take to sell a printing business? Selling any business does take time and it’s not going to be an instant transaction. However, there are things that can be done to move the process along and make sure it goes smoothly. Chris says, “Like any business, selling a print shop takes time. If a seller is willing to assist with the financing for the buyer, it can potentially sell faster than if there is no seller financing. Based on my experience, I can say the most likely time frame is generally six to twelve months, but it’s not guaranteed. It can take less time when there is seller financing included in the campaign.” He adds, “Also, the business has to be priced right. If it is priced right, the business will typically sell within a small percentage of the asking price, which is why it is so important to have the right agreed upon number. Another thing to consider is that the only businesses we work with are from the printing industry, and we at Minuteman Press have been industry leaders for over 45 years. We are experts in the field, and our team will work with sellers in any way we can to help with the sale and transition.” What issues do independent printers run into when selling? Selling a business is not an easy task. If business owners can get assistance from experienced industry professionals, those experts can help the sellers overcome issues they may not have considered on their own. In his experience, Chris says, “One of the primary issues that independent owners run into is having the business correctly valued in order to sell it. Many times, we have sold a print shop after it was already listed with a business broker for well over a year. We only valuate printing, sign, and promotional businesses and we know how to price them right so that they sell for their true value. We are not about just getting the listing, and we only list a company if we feel very confident we can sell it. Once we approve an independent printing business for the Minuteman Press Franchise Conversion Program, we invest time and money into selling the business so it has to be a good fit for us and we need to be a good fit for them.” He adds, “One example that comes to mind is a sale we did for an owner who was thinking of retiring in three years. She actually placed a lower value on her printing business than what it was worth. Together, we went through her P&Ls and also looked at all additional compensation as well as one-off non-recurring expenses. Based on our review and knowledge of the industry, we found the business was more valuable than the owner thought and it ended up selling (at the right price) for more than she expected. She was able to retire and the new owner was able to come in and hit the ground running.” “We look at the Minuteman Press Franchise Conversion Program as a win-win situation that benefits the seller and the buyer, and we are glad to help.” –Chris Jutt, Minuteman Press International Regional Vice President, Pacific Northwest What concerns do independent owners normally have about selling their printing business? One of the biggest concerns that is always top of mind for business owners looking to sell is that they want to make sure these discussions are kept private until the right time. Chris says, “The biggest concern we see from independent printers is confidentiality. They want to make sure that everything will remain confidential so that employees and customers don’t find out prematurely about a possible sale, and we are happy to assure them of this. From day one, confidentiality is extremely important to all of us. The campaigns we run keep the independent printer anonymous until a qualified buyer is found. We have done this before, and we want to make sure the seller is completely comfortable with us when going through the entire process.” Employee retention and customer service are also items that owners have inquired about when selling. Chris explains, “What will happen to the current employees and clients is something we proactively discuss with sellers. We want to make sure there is a smooth transition for all involved. When we have a qualified buyer and convert the company to a Minuteman Press franchise, we are putting people into business that usually do not have a background in the industry. Therefore, the current employees can be a major asset to them.” He adds, “We go into each sale with the intention of retaining the current staff. Employees also know the client base and that helps with transition and customer retention. In most cases, the customers will get the same great quality and service from the staff they have always had, with additional services and pricing discounts they can now tap into because of the conversion into a full-service Minuteman Press franchise.” How is financing obtained for the sale of the business? For buyers, obtaining financing is one of the most vital parts of the process. It also helps sellers when buyers fully understand the importance of financing and how to best secure it. Chris states, “Financing is always a question that is asked early in the stages of research, and rightfully so. There are multiple ways for a buyer to purchase the business including but not limited to bank loans, personal loans, 401k rollovers, and seller financing. Seller financing is extremely common as it gives confidence to the buyer that the seller believes in his or her business.” Chris concludes with this advice for sellers: “Ultimately, there are many eager buyers out there who are looking to own a viable business. If you are looking at selling or retirement in the next couple years, I highly recommend you start the discussions sooner than later and see how we can help you sell your printing business at no cost or broker fees to you.” For more information on the Minuteman Press Franchise Conversion Program, visit https://bit.ly/minutemanpressconversions or call 1-800-645-3006. Learn more about #1 rated Minuteman Press franchise opportunities at https://minutemanpressfranchise.com. Contact Details Chris Biscuiti +1 631-249-1370 cbiscuiti@mpihq.com Company Website https://minutemanpressfranchise.com

January 21, 2021 12:07 PM Eastern Standard Time

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Comcast Launching WiFi-Connected “Lift Zones” in Oregon/SW Washington

Comcast West Division

As part of its ongoing commitment to help connect low-income families to the internet so they can fully participate in distance-learning and the digital economy, Comcast today announced that seven Boys and Girls Clubs across Comcast’s Oregon/SW Washington footprint have established Lift Zones. With robust WiFi access provided by Comcast, the Lift Zones are designed to designed to help lift, or elevate, the experience for students getting online, engaging in distance learning and doing their homework, providing a safe, secure location for students to connect online each day during normal school hours. This initiative provides free connectivity inside various partner community centers over the next three years. While additional Lift Zones are expected to launch in the coming weeks in Portland and Vancouver, they are currently open at the following Boys and Girls Clubs in Portland, Salem, and Eugene: • Blazers Club - 5250 NE MLK Jr. Blvd, Portland • Rockwood Club - 454 SE 165th, Portland • West Salem Club - 925 Gerth Ave NW, Salem • Swegle Club - 1711 Aguilas Ct, Salem • Knudson Club - 1395 Summer St NE, Salem • Boys and Girls Club of Emerald Valley - 1545 W. 22nd Ave. Eugene Terry Johnson, CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland Metro Area, says he’s glad to have Lift Zones as a resource. “These Lift Zones are critical for the kids who attend our Club sites. Our Club members depend on our support to help them thrive in the virtual learning environment and we are grateful to have the resources and partnerships to be able to meet their needs. We are eager to see how this improves their academic performance and helps them avoid learning loss during this challenging pandemic.” "We are proud to partner with community organizations like the Boys and Girls Clubs in the effort to enable kids to keep up with their schoolwork,” said David Tashjian, regional vice president, Comcast Oregon/SW Washington. “The COVID-19 crisis continues to put many low-income students at risk of being left behind, accelerating the need for comprehensive digital equity and Internet adoption programs to support them. We hope these Lift Zones will help those students who, for a variety of reasons, are unable to connect to effective distance learning at home.” Tashjian is personally committed to the mission of the Boys and Girls Clubs: he is joining the board of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Portland Metropolitan Area in January. In addition, Comcast recently announced that it is extending its offer of 60 days of free internet access to low-income customers through its program, and free access to all outdoor WiFi hotspots until June 30, 2021. Lift Zone sites complement Internet Essentials, which has helped connect more than 8 million low-income people to the Internet at home, including more than 52,000 families in Oregon/SW Washington. About Comcast Corporation Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company with three primary businesses: Comcast Cable, NBCUniversal, and Sky. Comcast Cable is one of the United States’ largest video, high-speed internet, and phone providers to residential customers under the Xfinity brand, and also provides these services to businesses. It also provides wireless and security and automation services to residential customers under the Xfinity brand. NBCUniversal is global and operates news, entertainment and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production operations, television station groups, Universal Pictures, and Universal Parks and Resorts. Sky is one of Europe's leading media and entertainment companies, connecting customers to a broad range of video content through its pay television services. It also provides communications services, including residential high-speed internet, phone, and wireless services. Sky operates the Sky News broadcast network and sports and entertainment networks, produces original content, and has exclusive content rights. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information. Contact Details Amy Keiter +1 503-605-6350 amy_keiter@comcast.com Company Website https://corporate.comcast.com/

January 20, 2021 11:00 AM Pacific Standard Time

NAMEPA’s Maritime Sustainability Passport Awarded to MSC- Mediterranean Shipping Company

North American Marine Environment Protection Association

The North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA) has awarded MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) the “Maritime Sustainability Passport” (MSP) Certificate and Seal. The MSP is awarded to companies, organizations and individuals who meet the requirements of the program which encompasses each of NAMEPA’s six Transparency Pillars in its Corporate Social Responsibility/Environmental, Social and Governance metrics. Stefania Lallai, Vice President Sustainability, MSC said: “We are proud to have received this important recognition from NAMEPA. As a global company led by strong values, MSC has a longstanding commitment to sustainability. For us at MSC, operating responsibly and supporting sustainable global trade is key. Through our business operations, we link global supply chains and facilitate access to markets. We continue investing in innovative, scalable solutions focused on creating positive impact on people, communities and environment.” MSC is the third company to be awarded the Maritime Sustainability Passport. Its global container shipping business qualified for NAMEPA’s MSP by completing all three phases of the program, including supplying supporting documentation for its claims. A team of assessors evaluated their submission to determine whether they meet the CSR/ESG program’s criteria, which upon approval, made them eligible to receive the MSP Certificate and Seal. The goal of NAMEPA’s CSR/ESG program is to evaluate an entity’s corporate governance, the environment and the human element activities. The program provides resources to the maritime industry as a whole and to specific companies and individuals who strive to engage in industry best practices and play a role in creating a sustainable global environment, society and economy. Its Six Transparency Pillars are used as a basis in which to assess the sustainable practices of an organization, company or business. “By qualifying for NAMEPA’s Maritime Sustainability Passport, MSC has demonstrated its commitment to stewardship of the environment, care for its employees, and responsible corporate governance,” stated NAMEPA’s Co-Founder/Executive Director Carleen Lyden Walker. “It comes as no surprise that MSC has qualified for our MSP, as they consistently project best practices in their operations and areas of engagement. We offer them our sincerest congratulations.” The MSP Seal is used to signify the participant met or exceeded the program’s benchmarks, which offer basic guidelines for the maritime industry along with a Tool Kit to help achieve them and develop best practices using CSR/ESG principles. Some of the program’s benefits include increased efficiency, stakeholder visibility and positive global impact and social license. MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company is a global business engaged in the shipping and logistics sector. Present in 155 countries, MSC facilitates international trade between the world’s major economies, and among emerging markets across all continents. For more information about MSC’s approach to sustainability, visit msc.com/sustainability. The North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA) is a marine industry-led organization of environmental stewards preserving the marine environment by promoting sustainable marine industry best practices and educating seafarers, students and the public about the need and strategies for protecting global ocean, lake and river resources. Visit us at: www.namepa.net Contact Details Carleen Lyden Walker +1 203-255-4686 executivedirector@namepa.net Company Website https://namepa.net/

January 20, 2021 09:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

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RADWARE RESEARCH: API ABUSE IS A LEADING THREAT; ENTERPRISES ARE UNPREPARED FOR BOT TRAFFIC

Radware

Radware ® (NASDAQ: RDWR), a leading provider of cybersecurity and application delivery solutions, today released its 2020-2021 State of Web Application Security Report. The report revealed that global organizations are struggling to maintain consistent application security across multiple platforms, and they are also losing visibility with the emergence of new architectures and the adoption of Application Program Interfaces (APIs). A major factor in these challenges was the need to adjust rapidly to a new remote working and customer engagement model that resulted from the pandemic, leaving decision-makers little or no time to conduct adequate security planning. According to Michael Osterman of Osterman Research, “With 2020’s rapid cloud migration, we were surprised to see the pervasiveness across organizations of dangerous levels of insecurity in mobile and cloud-based apps, as well as APIs.” “With more than 70% of respondents reporting that their production apps have already left the data center, ensuring the security and integrity of these data and applications is becoming more challenging, particularly in multi-cloud environments,” said Gabi Malka, Chief Operating Officer for Radware. “This migration, in combination with an increased reliance on APIs and the addition of unsecured mobile apps, has been a boon to criminals, leaving them ahead on the cybersecurity curve. While respondents who have already moved to the public cloud and have several apps exposed to APIs seem to understand the risks, those that haven’t seem perilously complacent.” Among specific findings in the report are the following: API’s Are the Next Big Threat There is a growing dependence on, and increased reliance on, web-enabled applications in the form of APIs. A wide variety of sensitive data types are processed by APIs, such as user credentials, payment information, social security numbers, etc. API abuses are expected to become the most frequent attack vector. As such, API security is the most critical hole enterprises should patch in 2021. Nearly 40% of organizations surveyed reported that more than one-half of their applications are exposed to the internet or third-party services via APIs. Some 55% of organizations experience a DoS attack against their APIs at least monthly, 49% experience some form of injection attack at least monthly, and 42% experience an element/attribute manipulation at least monthly. Enterprises Unprepared for Bot Traffic Bot management is also a major concern because enterprises are not prepared to properly manage bot traffic. While web application firewalls offer important defensive capabilities to detect and prevent attacks against APIs and the like, bot management tools offer a robust defense against sophisticated bot attacks. And they give security teams a better grasp on dealing with a variety of threats and attacks. The report revealed that only 24% of organizations have a dedicated solution to distinguish between a real user and a bot. Moreover, only 39% of those surveyed have confidence in their understanding of what’s going on with sophisticated bad bots. Mobile Apps Far Less Secure Mobile apps played a critical role during 2020 as most information workers were shifted to at-home work, and as most use mobile apps for entertainment, social interaction, education, and shopping. However, mobile app development is highly insecure. This is true, in part, because mobile apps are more commonly developed by third parties. This research found that only 36% of mobile apps have security fully integrated, and a large proportion have either minimal or no security (22%). As a result, until mobile apps security is treated seriously, we expect to see more – and more serious – incidents that use the mobile channel for attacks. That in turn will likely put more pressure on enterprises to secure mobile apps and not leave consumer data exposed to hackers. Security Staff Is Not the Prime Decision Maker Despite the threats outlined in the report, security is not a first priority in application development practices. In approximately 90% of surveyed organizations, security staff is not the prime influencer on application development architecture nor the budget. Some 43% of companies surveyed said security should not interrupt the end-to-end automation of the release cycle. This creates a situation in which the very people responsible for security have little control over how apps are developed. DDoS Attacks Aren’t Going Away The most common Bot attack is Denial-of-Service, taking different shapes. Some 86% said they have experienced such an attack, with a third of them reporting weekly occurrences and 5% seeing them daily. Denial-of-service at the application layer is frequently in the form of HTTP/S floods. Nearly 60% of organizations experience an HTTP flood at least once per month or more. To read the full report, please visit https://www.radware.com/resources/complete-protection/ METHODOLOGY Radware engaged Osterman Research to conduct a survey with 205 decision-makers and influencers in organizations that have a minimum of 1,000 employees. The median number of employees at the organizations surveyed was 2,200. The primary job functions of the individuals surveyed included network security, DevOps/DevSecOps, network operations, and related roles, application development, application security, and various other IT and related roles. The majority of those surveyed are either in senior management or management roles. including in executive positions. About Radware Radware ® (NASDAQ: RDWR), is a global leader of cybersecurity and application delivery solutions for physical, cloud, and software-defined data centers. Its award-winning solutions portfolio secures the digital experience by providing infrastructure, application, and corporate IT protection and availability services to enterprises globally. Radware’s solutions empower enterprise and carrier customers worldwide to adapt to market challenges quickly, maintain business continuity and achieve maximum productivity while keeping costs down. For more information, please visit www.radware.com. Radware encourages you to join our community and follow us on: Facebook, LinkedIn, Radware Blog, Twitter, YouTube, Radware Mobile for iOS and Android. ©2021 Radware Ltd. All rights reserved. Any Radware products and solutions mentioned in this press release are protected by trademarks, patents and pending patent applications of Radware in the U.S. and other countries. For more details please see: https://www.radware.com/LegalNotice/. All other trademarks and names are property of their respective owners ### Safe Harbor Statement This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements made herein that are not statements of historical fact, including statements about Radware’s plans, outlook, beliefs or opinions, are forward-looking statements. Generally, forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “estimates,” “plans,” and similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “should,” “would,” “may” and “could.” For example, when we say that “we expect to see more – and more serious – incidents that use the mobile channel for attacks. That in turn will likely put more pressure on enterprises to secure mobile apps and not leave consumer data exposed to hackers”, that is a forward-looking statement. Because such statements deal with future events, they are subject to various risks and uncertainties, and actual results, expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, could differ materially from Radware’s current forecasts and estimates. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: the impact of global economic conditions and volatility of the market for our products; natural disasters and public health crises, such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic; our ability to expand our operations effectively; timely availability and customer acceptance of our new and existing solutions; intense competition in the market for cybersecurity and application delivery solutions and in our industry in general and changes in the competitive landscape; outages, interruptions or delays in hosting services or our internal network system; our dependence on independent distributors to sell our products; undetected defects or errors in our products or a failure of our products to protect against malicious attacks; the availability of components and manufacturing capacity; the ability of vendors to provide our hardware platforms and components for our main accessories; our ability to attract, train and retain highly qualified personnel; and other factors and risks over which we may have little or no control. This list is intended to identify only certain of the principal factors that could cause actual results to differ. For a more detailed description of the risks and uncertainties affecting Radware, refer to Radware’s Annual Report on Form 20-F, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the other risk factors discussed from time to time by Radware in reports filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and, except as required by applicable law, Radware undertakes no commitment to revise or update any forward-looking statement in order to reflect events or circumstances after the date any such statement is made. Radware’s public filings are available from the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or may be obtained on Radware’s website at www.radware.com. Contact Details Deborah Szajngarten +1 201-785-3206 deborah.szajngarten@radware.com Company Website https://radware.com/

January 20, 2021 06:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

TeamSnap Health Check COVID-19 Screening Tool Receives 2021 Big Innovation Award

TeamSnap

TeamSnap announced today its industry leading Health Check COVID-19 screening tool has been named a winner in the 2021 BIG Innovation Awards presented by the Business Intelligence Group. This annual business awards program recognizes organizations, products, and people that are bringing new ideas to life in innovative ways. TeamSnap has also confirmed the expansion of the popular Health Check platform with teams and organizations now able to customize screening questions to better align with regional health requirements. TeamSnap Health Check debuted in August 2020 free to all users as part of the company’s ongoing effort to support sports organizations and teams in the safe return to team play. TeamSnap users can easily access COVID-19 screening questions on any iOS or Android mobile device. Overall, almost 10 million Health screenings have been performed on TeamSnap. “Like many companies and organizations, TeamSnap has evolved and innovated in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We designed and quickly launched Health Check to help teams, clubs, leagues and associations manage a daunting COVID-19 screening process,” said Dave DuPont, Founder and CEO, TeamSnap. “It is gratifying to know that so many sports organizations are taking the necessary precautions and are trusting TeamSnap Health Check to manage the continuous screening process to help ensure a safe return to play.” TeamSnap Health Check is the first COVID-19 screening tool to be fully embedded into a sport management platform. While maintaining user privacy, administrators can track reports and notify members of any possible COVID-19 exposure. TeamSnap Health Check is being used extensively across all sports with soccer, hockey and football clubs ranking as the top users. Health Check is part of TeamSnap’s comprehensive strategy to help sports organizations navigate the pandemic while keeping athletes and their families, and everyone involved in sports safe. TeamSnap has been tracking live engagement data for the return to play across North America. The company has also created a resource hub that gives families access to the necessary information to Return to Sports with Confidence. #YouthSports #HealthCheck About TeamSnap Since our formation in 2009, TeamSnap has been single-mindedly focused on taking the work out of play. 24 million coaches, administrators, players and parents rely on TeamSnap's powerful and easy-to-use tools for communication, scheduling, payment collection and registration, organizing every sport and group activity in the world. For more information, visit www.TeamSnap.com. Contact Details Greg +1 416-458-3591 greg.mcisaac@teamsnap.com Company Website https://www.teamsnap.com/

January 19, 2021 12:00 PM Eastern Standard Time

CMMC Center of Excellence & CMMC COE EU Announce Memorandum of Understanding with Gerico Security SRL of Italy

Interoperability Clearinghouse

The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Center of Excellence ( CMMC COE ), hosted by the Information Technology Acquisition Advisory Council (IT-AAC), a public-private partnership serving the public and private sectors for more than 15 years, in collaboration with the UK’s Parava Security Solutions representing the CMMC-COE in Europe, is excited to announce a partnership with Gerico Security SRL through a Memorandum of Understanding to expand presence across Italy and Europe. This unique partnership represents an agreement to jointly drive education, awareness, and adoption of the CMMC standard and other cybersecurity measures to improve protection and resilience of the global supply chain that supports the Defense Industrial Base network of contractors, partners, vendors, and suppliers around the world. Through this bold collaboration, the parties will pursue initiatives that are mutually beneficial and deemed critical to the broad adoption and embrace of the CMMC, NIST standards, and cybersecurity best practices including: Sourcing of Senior qualified CMMC/Cyber professionals (both DoD and industry) serving as distinguished guest lecturers in selected events and seminars. Co-sponsorship of selected/approved webinars to gain a prospective on technology and business trends and giving insight to help propagate innovation that leads to crafting better industry proposals in response to DoD requirements. Co-Developing CMMC/Cyber Training and Education programs that will accelerate CMMC certification AND improved cyber protection and resilience “This is exciting opportunity for us”, said Mr. John Weiler, Chairman of the Board at CMMC Center of Excellence, “This new partnership will further help advance the goals and objectives for improving the supply chain security and resilience of the US Department of Defense (DoD)”. “This is a great moment for the deployment of cyber security and CMMC for the European Defense Industry Base. said Andy Watkin-Child of Parava Security Solutions, who also leads the CMMC COE EU. Having Gerico as a Partner in Italy brings their unique cyber security skills to support companies within one of Europe’s Largest Defense Partners deploy CMMC and cyber Security”. “We are proud of the strategical and cultural relationship between our Countries within which this agreement can be considered to be a missing peace. In an era of asymmetric cyber warfare, cybersecurity is the primary defense tool of the western industrial systems and, we believe that the CMMMC model will be used within both the defense and civilian sectors”, said Mr. Giustino Fumagalli, CEO of Gerico Security. Gerico Security SRL is the CMMC’s reference point in Italy. Through the CMMC-COE and PARAVA agreement, Gerico is aimed at supporting the main defense parties on both sides of the Atlantic and is aimed at defining and achieving high levels of cybersecurity both on large and small Italian companies belonging to the DoD’s Defense Industrial Base. Gerico Security is an Italian center of excellence in advisory on information & cyber security, business continuity, internal and third-party audit and security inspection activities. Gerico supports private organizations in business process certifications through the provision of turn-key projects of Governance Risk & Compliance. For more information on the CMMC COE, please visit http://cmmc-coe.org email info@cmmc-coe.org or call 703-863-3766 For more information on the CMMC COE EU, please visit https://cmmc-eu.com/ For more information about Parava Security Solutions, please visit https://www.parava.org/ For further information about Gerico Security, please visit www.gerico-sec.it or send an email to info@gerico-sec.it About Us ---------- CMMC-COE.ORG is a unique non-profit public-private partnership, with a vision to accelerate Cybersecurity Maturity Model (CMM) adoption, and reduce time & cost for security compliance for our partners by leveraging commercial best practices, CMMC standards, and innovative solutions for a measurable success. Our mission, focused on DOD mission objectives, cost containment and expeditious CMMC compliance, is to help the DIB improve cyber posture and resilience, and simplify its acquisition. The CMMC-COE is hosted by the Information Technology Acquisition Advisory Council (IT-AAC), a public/private partnership (P3) chartered in 2007 as an honest broker to reach outside the confines of the Federal IT advisories that lack dynamic reach into the Global IT Market, and dedicated to the adoption of commercial IT management standards of practice and innovations emanating from the Global IT market. Team IT-AAC has already demonstrated the value of its decade long investment, and provides a unique value to agencies seeking to achieve accelerate the transformation of legacy processes and systems. Our Just-in-Time SMEs apply an innovative suite of Technology Business Management and Agile Acquisition Processes needed to assure the business value of commercial IT. The Interoperability Clearinghouse (ICH), is the managing partner that make up the 24 NGO/SDO organizations that make up the IT-AAC. ICH provides the contract vehicles, clearances, and critical resources proven to guide sustainable, measurable and repeatable processes needed to drive better investment decisions as the speed of mission need, while aligning existing processes, methods and workforce with IT reform mandates contained in Clinger Cohen Act, FITARA, IT MGT Act, EO13838. Contact Details Bob Dix +1 703-975-6633 bob.dix@it-aac.org Company Website https://cmmc-coe.org

January 19, 2021 10:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

Hankook Tire Partners with Tableau Software for Next Generation Business Intelligence

Hankook Tire America Corp.

- Advancing office digitalization through innovative data analysis platform and reporting systems - Furthering digital transformation as a leading technology company of the fourth industrial revolution Global leading tire company Hankook Tire is further driving its digital transformation by partnering with the leading analytics platform, Tableau Software. Through this partnership, Hankook will be equipped with advanced data analytics and agile user interface platform for next generation business intelligence. Taking the initiative to further develop its digital capabilities, Hankook is pursuing a digitalization of its office through Tableau’s data-driven analytics platform. Known for its easy to use functions such as the Tableau Prep (intuitive data handling through drag-and-drop) and the calculated field function which helps user to process the data into a more usable form, Tableau enhances data based decision and visual analysis. Based on Tableau’s software platform, Hankook created a standard database processing algorithm which enabled accumulation of globally-scattered data, expediting the decision-making process. As a result, analyzing and reporting tasks has been minimized and more time can now be allocated to deriving valuable insights from a business perspective Hankook is also looking to make developments more sophisticatedly and quickly while reflecting the modification and upgrade requests from relevant teams in real-time. An actual case where the development time has been reduced 75% has already been reported for Hankook – this is based on the time it takes to create the dashboard UI from Tableau after developing a prototype model for standardized reporting to final usage. “Through the partnership with Tableau Software, Hankook is redefining the way we work by bringing a whole new level of efficiency to data analysis and reporting,” says Sooil Lee, President of Hankook Tire America Corp. “We are one step closer to securing a leading position in digital transformation. We will continue innovative changes to be fully ready for what future beholds.” Hankook plans to strengthen its standing as a global premium brand by innovating the way it operates as well as enhancing its digital capabilities. Hankook has been developing the Virtual Compound Design (VCD) system, a predictive model for tire compound properties using artificial intelligence (AI), as well as the Automatic Inspection Process based on AI and digital sensor. Most recently, Hankook has jointly developed the Road Hazard Prediction & Detection Solution with SK Planet and the company is working closely with KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology), one of the top science and technology universities in Asia, on future technologies and industry-academic cooperation to accelerate digital transformation. About Tableau Tableau helps people see and understand data. Tableau’s self-service analytics platform empowers people of any skill level to work with data. From individuals and non-profits to government agencies and the Fortune 500, tens of thousands of customers around the world use Tableau to get rapid insights and make impactful, data-driven decisions. See how Tableau can help you by downloading the free trial at www.tableau.com/trial. About Hankook Tire America Corp. Hankook Tire America Corp. is a growing leader in the U.S. tire market, leveraging investments in technology, manufacturing and marketing to deliver high-quality, reliable products that are safer for consumers and the environment. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, Hankook America markets and distributes a complete line of high-performance and ultra-high-performance passenger tires, light truck and SUV tires as well as medium truck and bus tires in the United States. Hankook Tire America is a subsidiary of Hankook & Company Co., Ltd., a Forbes Global 2000 company headquartered in Seoul, Korea. Contact Details Mollie Holman +1 646-746-5611 mholman@brodeur.com Company Website https://www.hankooktire.com/us/

January 19, 2021 09:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

Minuteman Press Franchise in Fairfield, CT Empowers Local Businesses to Grow Sales During COVID-19

Minuteman Press International Inc

“We are busier than ever and that is becoming true for those we serve. Everything is coming back and people are enthusiastic to move forward and grow.” Minuteman Press in Fairfield, CT is a locally owned design, marketing, and printing franchise that has remained open as an essential business during the COVID-19 pandemic. Owners Cheryl Camarato and Susan Wybiral have worked hard for nearly ten years as business owners to get where they are today, and they weren’t going to let anything get in their way. Cheryl explains, “Over the last four years we took our sales to incredible heights. We have mentored businesses of all sizes and we are proud of our operations and business growth both before the pandemic and during it.” Cheryl continues, “The beginning of COVID-19 was a scary time for everyone, but we made fast moves to remain open and strengthen our clients’ connections so they could survive and eventually resume growth.” From her words to real world actions, her full staff was hard at work within weeks. A grateful community of entrepreneurs, graduates and families were well on their way developing new ways for keeping life and prosperity in Fairfield. “What I did was shut the door and worked,” Cheryl explains. A lot of people were very happy Minuteman Press in Fairfield was still working on their behalf while they were under unbelievable pressure. “We got an email that said, ‘Thank God you are still working!’ and it was from a large landscaping customer with 90 locations. We take care of design and print, advising on strategy for all of them. I’d say we do postcard mailings for them to the amount of 40,000 per week, give or take.” Cheryl’s reputation for meeting complex situations head-on empowers her capabilities as a problem-solver. “Challenging times are opportunities for us to utilize our full-range of technology. We help our clients by leveraging our products and services as well as the combined years of experience Susan and I have rerouting businesses into success stories, even against the odds.” They are unmatched when it comes to taking calculated risks and they share this talent with everyone who entrusts them with projects. As it turns out, Cheryl has an uncanny ability to come out on the winning side of tough decisions during a time when it’s difficult to calculate because facts are still developing. As the world opens back up, she and Susan are part of the reason the local economy is becoming revitalized. “We bought our center with skillsets perfectly matched to make it all work and developed a healthy relationship with our franchise family over the years, too.” She adds, “My wife and I went to our system-wide World Expo in Las Vegas and I met so many great people from headquarters as well as other franchise owners from around the world. We knew we would never have a slow time because our industry is filled with options that we can extend to our customers. We have recently added another large format machine, a heat press and have been printing floor graphics and doing vehicle wraps. So, while the holidays were bonkers around here with orders as might be expected, we are also busy right now. Our restaurants, small business owners, local government and non-profits are coming to us for help and we have them all covered. We do not have slow periods and we can see the good effects of our work in action all around the area.” Cheryl reduced spending immediately and used her innate and earned business intelligence to bolster her bottom line. She called and visited her customer base to check on their welfare and help them strategize. “We remained open and busy because print is an essential business, so we did a great deal of work for the town, including the parks department which needed health and safety signage without delay. Then, we were sensitive to local families hoping to celebrate graduations. So, we designed printed options like lawn signs and put them online, including Esty as a way to create a special tradition and help our area preserve this rite of passage.” The thoughtful designs were met with $15,000 worth of sign orders and happy families. “It was a strong sales month for us in the middle of lockdowns. We remained positive and somehow, we pulled it off. We took care of signage for between six and eight grammar schools, the same number of middle schools plus public works and the board of education. People really needed help preserving monumental moments and businesses needed help adjusting to unusual hours. Signage was in high-demand and our business never slowed down.” Cheryl is humble about her role as mentor, but her reputation for being there for clients grows even as she models how to handle emergencies. Susan is a production master and takes care of the latest technology their modern printing center houses. Cheryl says, “I am on the money end of our business and with that came the decision to diversify years ago. We made wise equipment decisions that allow us to take care of clients in-house the majority of the time and we never stop devising new ways to make real connections with target audiences. The response is a stronger, more enduring business no matter which industry our client represents.” Four years ago, Cheryl and Susan took an A-frame sign and cut it into the shape of a t-shirt, advertising customized apparel. “Within an hour people came in asking if we could print customized t-shirts. We knew we would work to make sure our clients’ options in marketing was not limited, so we provided things some people might not expect from a ‘print shop.’ During the COVID-19 challenge our efforts really paid off as we are able, for instance, to welcome our construction and landscaping customers into much more than they realized they could use to grow business.” Today there are still uncertainties but Cheryl keeps her finger on the pulse of each brand under her care. She has helped them all make swift adjustments. “We move and groove an go on to the next thing while a lot of other printers just print basics. For example, we have a ton of construction companies and when their owners come in, they come in asking for work orders. We then show them how we can letter their trucks and provide A-frame signs, branded facemasks and an entire marketing strategy to take them around hurdles reaching customers.” “Every time I provide a freshly printed, branded facemask as a sample, I get an order for up to several hundred,” she says. It is how Minuteman Press in Fairfield meets the reality of what her community faces and helps make it possible to keep buying and selling. She adds, “We move quickly and when people were working from home and under stress, we used our status as an essential business to create a bridge between their restricted activity and the message they need to keep in front of target audiences.” Her commitment is firm and her approach to sales is no-nonsense but Cheryl’s devotion to the success of every project entrusted to her staff at Minuteman Press in Fairfield is deeply personal. This is met with lasting gratitude as she concludes, “We are busier than ever and that is becoming true for those we serve. Everything is coming back and people are enthusiastic to move forward and grow.” For more information on Minuteman Press in Fairfield, CT, visit https://www.fairfield-ct.minutemanpress.com. To learn more about #1 rated Minuteman Press franchise opportunities, visit https://minutemanpressfranchise.com. Contact Details Chris Biscuiti +1 631-249-1370 cbiscuiti@mpihq.com Company Website https://minutemanpressfranchise.com

January 18, 2021 10:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

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IT Partners Security Chooses Comodo Solutions Over All Other Cybersecurity Solutions to Stop Zero Day Threats

Comodo

IT Partners Security, a distributor based in Poland that services the central and eastern European markets, has been featuring Comodo, the world’s leader of next-generation cybersecurity to its customers, helping it become a market leader in its space. “There are no other solutions on the market with functional capabilities like Comodo’s. We believe that it cannot be compared with any other solutions.” Said Kamila Bachowska, Marketing Manager. “Previously, we did not have a solution that would have all the most important things for an IT specialist in one place. So we [became] interested in solutions from Comodo, which is exactly such a comprehensive solution. Antivirus protection management, remote desktop, procedures, WakeonLAN, MDM and many other tools simply facilitate the work of administrators”, Kamila continues. IT Partners Security dropped a competitor’s solution and chose Comodo’s Dragon platform with Advanced Endpoint Protection (AEP), which is a complete cloud-native framework that delivers a zero-trust architecture to protect and defend endpoints. Its patent-pending auto containment technology has active breach protection that neutralizes ransomware, malware and cyber-attacks. The auto containment runs an unknown executable in a kernel API virtualized mode, thereby offering attack surface reduction (ASR) which neutralizes ransomware attacks. The Dragon Platform also utilizes a Default Deny security posture with Default Allow usability to provide a most comprehensive protection against zero-day threats, while having no impact on end-user experience or workflows. “…We gave up our competitive solution and switched to Comodo solutions because we lacked effective protection with unknown executables. Thanks to Comodo's solutions, we can be sure that we will not be infected…. Comodo‘s solutions are constantly being updated and improved” Said Kamila. Comodo’s Valkyrie analyzes and gives a trusted verdict for every file – no other company will analyze and give trusted verdict for 100% of the files on a network. “Unlike other antivirus offerings, which have false positives, Comodo provides that extra level of protection and prevents an unknown file from damaging anything on the system. Comodo is always there for my business, and their team is always available when we have questions or require technical assistance. They truly care about their partners.” About IT Partners Security IT Partners Security is a member of a group of IT companies. As a result, They have extensive experience in such areas as telecommunications, data center construction and management, it security, it outsourcing, development. It partners security is an experienced provider of network and computer systems security solutions. They currently operate in three countries in Central and Eastern Europe, cooperating with leading IT producers and having a portfolio of their products. They provide the market with modern solutions for trading partners, while ensuring the highest quality of support through technical support services, both before and after sales. For more information visit https://zabezpieczenia.it/ About Comodo Comodo delivers next generation cybersecurity solutions to protect businesses, schools, and government organizations in today’s risk filled business environment. Headquartered in Clifton NJ, Comodo’s global development team and threat intelligence laboratories deliver innovative, category leading, solutions for a company’s endpoints, network boundary, and internal network security. Thousands of companies and organizations rely on Comodo’s technology to authenticate, validate, and secure their most precious asset—information—and to combat constant cyberattacks and threats like ransomware from wreaking havoc on a global scale. For more information visit https://www.comodo.com About Comodo Comodo is the world’s leader of next-generation open source cybersecurity, with the industry’s most disruptive innovations. We help customers stop breaches with groundbreaking auto containment technology that neutralizes ransomware, malware and cyber-attacks. Our complete cloud-native framework delivers a zero-trust architecture with active breach protection for the most comprehensive defense against zero-day threats. Comodo’s cybersecurity products maximize intelligent sharing between every component of the platform, therefore providing superior security. We are the only company that analyzes and gives a trusted verdict for 100% of files on a network. Comodo leverages innovation to celebrate and support the cybersecurity community by offering the very first open source endpoint detection and response (EDR). We believe that an open source model using community-powered collaboration will ensure that every organization has access to the industry’s most sophisticated EDR. Headquartered in Clifton NJ, Comodo’s global development team and threat intelligence laboratories deliver innovative, category leading, security solutions for thousands of companies’ endpoints, network boundaries, and internal networks. For more information visit https://www.comodo.com/ Contact Details Kobi Meir Kobi.benmeir@comodo.com Company Website http://www.comodo.com

January 15, 2021 07:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

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