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Expanding high-speed Internet access in Northern Ontario

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Combined federal and provincial investment of over $97 million will connect more than 18,600 homes to high-speed Internet

SUDBURY, ON, June 24, 2024 /CNW/ – Fairness for every generation means making sure everyone in Canada has access to reliable and affordable high-speed Internet, no matter where they live. That is why the governments of Canada and Ontario are bringing high-speed Internet access to underserved communities—including Indigenous communities—in Ontario.

Today, the Honourable Gudie Hutchings, Minister of Rural Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, and Amarjot Sandhu, Parliamentary Assistant to Ontario’s Minister of Infrastructure, on behalf of the Honourable Kinga Surma, Ontario’s Minister of Infrastructure, announced over $97 million in combined federal and provincial funding for ROCK Networks, a PomeGran group company. The project will bring high-speed Internet access to more than 60 communities along the north shore of Lake Huron between Sudbury, Huron Shores and Sault Ste. Marie, and on Manitoulin Island. It will serve 18,600 households, including over 2,500 Indigenous households. Minister Hutchings and Parliamentary Assistant Sandhu were joined by Viviane Lapointe, Member of Parliament for Sudbury; Terry Sheehan, Member of Parliament for Sault Ste. Marie and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour and Seniors; and Marc G. Serré, Member of Parliament for Nickel Belt, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Official Languages.

The project being announced today is part of an existing partnership between Ontario and Canada. On July 29, 2021, the governments announced a Canada–Ontario broadband partnership to support large–scale, fibre-based projects that will provide high-speed Internet access to nearly 280,000 households across the province. This historic agreement was made possible by a joint federal–provincial investment totalling more than $1.2 billion.

Everyone in Canada will have access to high-speed Internet by 2030, and 98% of Canadians will be connected by 2026. Canada is on track to meet its 2026 connectivity targets. These projects will contribute to reaching that goal, and the government will continue to invest in infrastructure that creates new opportunities in communities to make sure they can benefit from all of Canada’s potential. The announcement also brings the Government of Ontario closer to achieving its goal of bringing reliable high-speed Internet access to every community across the province by the end of 2025.

Quotes

“High-speed Internet is no longer considered just a luxury. The federal funding committed today will bring reliable high-speed Internet to more than 18,600 underserved homes in communities across Northern Ontario. Communities large and small need to have a reliable connection so they can grow their potential in this digital world.”
– The Honourable Gudie Hutchings, Minister of Rural Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency

“Every community deserves access to reliable and affordable high-speed Internet. Our government has been delivering on its promise to ensure every Canadian from coast to coast to coast has access, no matter where they live. As Chair of the Northern Ontario Caucus, I have heard first-hand from communities across Northern Ontario about the need for equitable service, and this investment brings us one step closer to ensuring every single Canadian has access to high-speed Internet by 2030.”
Viviane Lapointe, Member of Parliament for Sudbury

“I am proud that our government is taking action to bring high-speed connectivity to the Algoma District and Northern Ontario. In a digitally connected world, rapid and reliable access is essential everywhere. The funding announced today will help connect us for doing business, accessing health care and education, and building community.”
Terry Sheehan, Member of Parliament for Sault Ste. Marie and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Labour and Seniors

“The Universal Broadband Fund (UBF) continues to make a positive difference for Nickel Belt and Northern Ontario, significantly enhancing connectivity and supporting economic growth. Through today’s investment and past UBF projects, we’ve empowered local businesses, improved access to essential services and enriched the quality of life for residents. This is another step in ensuring no community is left behind as we build a more inclusive and connected future for all.”
– Marc G. Serré, Member of Parliament for Nickel Belt, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Official Languages

“Today’s announcement builds on our government’s unwavering commitment to bring reliable high-speed Internet access to every community across the province, including Indigenous communities, by the end of 2025. By continuing to invest in key infrastructure like high-speed Internet, we are building a stronger Ontario and helping to ensure that no one is left behind, no matter where they live.”
– The Honourable Kinga Surma, Ontario’s Minister of Infrastructure

“Thanks to a combined investment of over $97 million from the governments of Canada and Ontario, residents of Huron Shores and Manitoulin Island will have the tools they need to succeed in today’s digital world. This investment brings us another step closer to fulfilling our government’s ambitious goal of delivering reliable high-speed Internet access to every community across Ontario by the end of 2025.”
Amarjot Sandhu, Parliamentary Assistant to Ontario’s Minister of Infrastructure

“The government’s funding is a game-changer for connectivity in Huron Shores and Manitoulin Island. Beyond connecting households, it paves the way for educational opportunities, telemedicine advancements and thriving local businesses. It’s about building a stronger, more connected community for generations to come.”
Georges Bilodeau, Chairperson of H&M COFI Corporation

“This investment is a testament to our commitment to bridging the digital divide in rural and Indigenous communities. With an open-access network, we aim to make high-speed Internet more accessible and affordable, driving economic growth and innovation in the region.”
Joe Hickey, President and Founder of ROCK Networks and President of PomeGran

Quick facts

Canada’s Connectivity Strategy aims to provide all Canadians with access to Internet speeds of at least 50 megabits per second (Mbps) download / 10 Mbps upload.The Universal Broadband Fund is a $3.225 billion investment by the Government of Canada designed to help provide high-speed Internet access to 98% of Canadians by 2026 and achieve the national target of 100% access by 2030.Today, 93.5% of Canadian households have access to high-speed Internet, compared to just 79% in 2014.In Ontario, 92.9% of households currently have access to high-speed Internet, compared to 86.9% in 2017.Since 2015, the Government of Canada has invested nearly $852 million in connectivity projects in Ontario.The Ontario government is investing nearly $4 billion to bring access to reliable high-speed Internet to every community across the province by the end of 2025. This is the largest single investment in high-speed Internet in any province, by any government in Canadian history.As of June 2024, Ontario has finalized agreements worth more than $2.4 billion for over 270 high–speed Internet and cellular projects to enable access for over 539,000 homes and businesses across the province.Ontario launched an interactive online map that shows where provincially funded high-speed Internet projects are planned, are currently under way or have been recently completed in communities across the province. Ontarians can use the map to search by address, community or municipality to learn about projects happening in their area and find out where high-speed Internet service is currently available.In 2021, Ontario passed the Supporting Broadband and Infrastructure Expansion Act, 2021 to help speed up construction of high-speed Internet projects. To build on this legislation, the Ontario government passed the Getting Ontario Connected Act, 2022, which further reduces barriers, duplication and delays.

Associated links

Rural economic developmentHigh-Speed Internet Access DashboardUniversal Broadband FundBackgrounder: Universal Broadband Fund and Telesat low Earth orbit capacity agreementCanada Infrastructure Bank: BroadbandHigh-Speed Access for All: Canada’s Connectivity StrategyNational Broadband Internet Service Availability MapOntario connects: making high-speed Internet accessible in every community

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Follow Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada on social media.
X (Twitter): @ISED_CA | Facebook: Canadian Innovation | Instagram: @cdninnovation | LinkedIn: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

Follow Ontario’s Ministry of Infrastructure on social media.
X (Twitter): @ONinfra, Instagram: @oninfrastructure and LinkedIn: Infrastructure | Infrastructure

SOURCE Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

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Black Kite and Sayari Partner to Deliver Integrated Intelligence Across Cyber, Supply Chain, and Corporate Risk

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New integration combines global corporate transparency with continuous cyber risk intelligence to help organizations uncover hidden threats across their extended enterprise

BOSTON and WASHINGTON, April 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Black Kite, the leader in third-party cyber risk management, today announced a strategic partnership and integration with Sayari, a leading provider of global corporate transparency and supply chain risk intelligence. Together, the two companies are enabling organizations to gain a unified view of third-party risk by combining deep visibility into global corporate and trade networks with continuous cyber risk monitoring.

As organizations face increasing pressure to manage risk across complex, global supply chains, many struggle with fragmented data spread across multiple tools and teams. This partnership addresses that challenge by bringing together Sayari’s unmatched insight into corporate ownership, trade activity, and hidden commercial relationships with Black Kite’s objective, standards-based cyber risk ratings and real-time threat intelligence.

Through the integration, customers can enrich third-party risk assessments with both who an entity is connected to and how exposed they are from a cyber perspective—providing a more complete and actionable understanding of risk across the extended enterprise.

“Risk doesn’t exist in silos—but most tools still do,” said Bob Maley, Chief Security Officer at Black Kite. “By combining Sayari’s global network intelligence with Black Kite’s continuous cyber risk insights, we’re helping organizations move from fragmented signals to a connected, operational view of third-party risk.”

Sayari’s platform delivers visibility into complex commercial relationships using one of the world’s largest collections of corporate and trade data, spanning over 250 jurisdictions worldwide. By integrating this intelligence directly into Black Kite’s platform, customers can more easily identify hidden ownership structures, upstream supply chain dependencies, and potential exposure to financial crime or geopolitical risk—while simultaneously assessing cyber posture.

“Understanding risk today requires more than a single lens,” said Owen Denby, General Counsel at Sayari. “This partnership brings together two critical dimensions of risk—corporate network transparency and cyber exposure—so organizations can make faster, more confident decisions in an increasingly complex global environment.”

The combined solution supports a wide range of use cases, including:

Enhanced due diligence through enriched corporate ownership and cyber risk insightsSupply chain risk management with visibility into N-tier suppliers and their vulnerabilitiesFinancial crime and compliance by correlating beneficial ownership with cyber postureGovernment and national security applications requiring both transparency and cyber resilienceM&A and third-party onboarding with faster, more comprehensive risk assessments

By reducing manual research and connecting previously siloed data, the Black Kite and Sayari integration enables organizations to prioritize risk more effectively, accelerate investigations, and strengthen resilience across their third-party ecosystem.

The partnership reflects a shared commitment to helping organizations navigate the growing complexity of global risk with greater clarity, speed, and confidence.

Bob and Owen did a webinar together in April: From Fragmented Signals to Connected Risk Intelligence, available to watch on-demand.

About Black Kite

Black Kite is the AI-native third-party cyber risk management platform trusted by over 3,000 customers to manage every supplier and every risk across their extended ecosystem. Powered by the industry’s highest-quality risk intelligence, spanning over 40 million companies, Black Kite is differentiated by the accuracy, transparency, and actionability of its data. The platform automates vendor monitoring and risk assessments, surfacing reliable insights into ransomware susceptibility, regulatory gaps, financial exposure, and more. With Black Kite, security and risk teams gain always-on visibility and trusted intelligence to act early, reduce exposure, and stay ahead of third-party threats. Black Kite has received numerous industry awards and recognition from customers. Learn more at www.blackkite.com, or on the Black Kite blog.

About Sayari

Sayari is the leader in Agentic Systems of Work for economic security and risk. Powered by the Sayari Commercial World Model – a digital twin of global commerce resolving 10.6B+ primary-source records from 250+ jurisdictions – Sayari transforms risk and investigative teams from manual data gatherers into decisive mission leaders. By unifying corporate ownership, trade data, and risk intelligence into a single graph, Sayari uncovers connections and typologies that legacy watchlist, adverse media, and point solutions miss, enabling prescriptive execution at scale. Trusted by the world’s most demanding regulators, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Treasury, and Fortune 500 enterprises, Sayari delivers the evidence-based transparency needed to prove decisions, satisfy regulators and protect global commerce. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Sayari is used by thousands of professionals across 35+ countries to secure supply chains and dismantle illicit networks. To learn more, visit sayari.com.

Media Contact

Danielle Ostrovsky
Hi-Touch PR
Ostrovsky@Hi-TouchPR.com

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/black-kite-and-sayari-partner-to-deliver-integrated-intelligence-across-cyber-supply-chain-and-corporate-risk-302750979.html

SOURCE Black Kite

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Chronograph Expands Middle East and Asia Presence With Hire of Former Abu Dhabi Investment Council Technology Leader

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NEW YORK, April 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Chronograph, leading provider of portfolio monitoring solutions for institutional private equity limited partners and general partners, today announced the hiring of Benjamin Humphrey-Gaskin as Client Development Director based in the United Arab Emirates.

Benjamin joins Chronograph from the Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC), where he served as Head of Investment Technology for nine years. In that role, he led end-to-end ownership of a multi-asset investment technology portfolio spanning front, middle, and back office systems. Prior to ADIC, he was a Senior Manager at EY advising sovereign institutions and asset managers on technology and operating models, and earlier served as a Senior Business Analyst at eFront delivering customized private equity solutions.

This expansion of the Client Development team in the Middle East reflects Chronograph’s continued growth across the region. With 5 of the 10 largest LPs in the world and 8 of the 10 largest GPs leveraging Chronograph, the solution is increasingly selected by the world’s most sophisticated private capital investors – including sovereign wealth funds navigating complex portfolios.

Benjamin commented, “I am delighted to be joining Chronograph at such a pivotal moment. This is a company I have followed closely for many years, watching its reputation grow from strength to strength. Investors in the region are demanding best-in-class systems, and the ability to truly understand their portfolios and access the highest quality data is one of the foremost challenges they are looking to solve. Chronograph is perfectly positioned to meet exactly that need. I look forward to helping build the firm’s presence and driving real impact for clients.”

Michael Santos, Global Head of Sales at Chronograph, added, “Benjamin is exactly the kind of leader we need as we deepen our presence in the Middle East and Asia. His experience deploying investment technology at one of the world’s most sophisticated sovereign wealth funds gives him a rare understanding of the challenges institutional investors in the region face. He’s spent his career advising CIOs, CTOs, and COOs on private capital technology transformation and he knows what it takes to turn portfolio data into actionable insight at institutional scale.”

About Chronograph

Chronograph was founded in 2016 to bring differentiated technology solutions to private capital markets. The firm’s products help institutional limited partners and general partners – including many of the world’s largest private equity and private credit investors – streamline and automate portfolio monitoring, valuations, analytics, and reporting. The firm is backed by Summit Partners, The Carlyle Group, and Nasdaq, Inc. For further information, please visit: www.chronograph.pe

Fred Bower
Chronograph
New York, New York
fred.bower@chronograph.pe

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SOURCE Chronograph

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Command Zero Accelerates SecOps Pipelines with APIs and MCP Server

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New endpoints let Security Operations teams build their own tools and embed autonomous investigations into existing pipelines.

AUSTIN, Texas, April 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Command Zero today released a broad set of API endpoints and a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for its Autonomous & AI-Assisted SOC platform. Customers can now drive threat hunts, investigations, manage business context, and trigger remediation programmatically by connecting to Command Zero’s LLM-based agents.

“With aggressive growth in the availability of agentic SecOps capabilities, security leaders and architects are at an architectural juncture – facing a decision to either adopt agentic feature sets being added to existing security tools and platforms, or to instead invest in net-new autonomous SOC platforms – further increasing complexity to an already overwhelming SecOps tools environment. Command Zero is solving this architectural challenge, adding APIs and MCP server access to powerful autonomous investigation capabilities that can be woven into existing tools, workflows, and UI.”
— Dave Gruber, Principal Analyst, Cybersecurity, Omdia

SOCs consist of dozens of separate tools and need seamless connectivity between tools to overcome complexity. With API endpoints and MCP servers, customers can wire the Command Zero platform into their SOAR playbooks, orchestration pipelines, and internal tooling without waiting on vendor roadmaps. Technical alliance partners can build integrations in minutes.

“Opening Command Zero’s advanced investigation engine to developers changes what’s possible. Teams can now use advanced capabilities of the platform as the substrate for custom threat hunting frameworks, CTI-driven analysis, and bespoke tooling. The MCP server extends that to AI agents — which matters as agentic SecOps moves from pitch decks to day-to-day practice.”
— Richard Stiennon, Chief Research Analyst at IT-Harvest

What’s in the release

Investigation APIs. List, start, extend, update, and retrieve investigations against any investigation template.Business context APIs. List, upload, and retrieve context at scale. Pull data in from ServiceNow, CTEM platforms, HR systems, and other sources — no manual console entry.Catalog and schema APIs. Query entity types, data sources, and investigation templates to align external systems with the platform’s data model.Remediation APIs. List remediation templates and execute remediation actions from external systems.MCP server. A wrapper around the APIs that lets Claude and other MCP-compatible agents query Command Zero directly. Analysts can run health checks, list investigations, triage open cases, and build custom dashboards from an AI chat interface.

What customers can build

SOAR playbooks that start a Command Zero investigation the moment an alert fires, then feed upstream response data back into the case as it develops.Custom threat hunting frameworks that ingest threat intelligence, generate hypotheses, deploy them as questions in Command Zero, and run autonomous hunts on a schedule.Internal SOC dashboards built in Claude that summarize weekly activity, automation rates, and open investigations in natural language.MSSPs syncing client business context across tenants automatically, instead of populating each environment by hand.

“The best security platforms are the ones teams can build on. This release puts Command Zero’s investigation engine in the hands of our customers and our technical alliance partners. They can wire us into their pipelines, extend us with their own flows, and connect us to the AI agents working collaboratively with their analysts. That is how a platform earns its place in the SOC. These APIs and MCP servers unlock a new class of joint solutions with our partners.”
— Dov Yoran, Co-founder and CEO, Command Zero

What’s next

The current release covers the core surface customers need to start building. More API endpoints will follow, shaped by anchor customers’ and partners’ feedback. Command Zero will also publish sample integrations and reference implementations in the weeks following the launch.

About Command Zero

Command Zero is the Autonomous & AI-Assisted SOC platform, built to transform security operations in complex enterprise environments. The platform accelerates threat hunting, triage, analysis and response. Command Zero enables all users to perform at the highest level by ensuring consistent, repeatable, auditable investigations with automated reporting.

Command Zero was named a Top 10 Finalist in the 2025 RSA Innovation Sandbox and serves some of the largest organizations in the world. The company is headquartered in Austin, TX with presence in Calgary Alberta, Canada.

Learn more at https://www.commandzero.ai and follow the Command Zero LinkedIn page.

Media contact: press@cmdzero.io

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/command-zero-accelerates-secops-pipelines-with-apis-and-mcp-server-302755893.html

SOURCE Command Zero

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