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National Cybersecurity Voices Headline SBS CyberSecurity’s First Converge Cyber + AI Conference

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MADISON, S.D., June 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Organizations are rolling out AI faster than they can govern it, and some of the sharpest minds in financial security are about to gather in one room to do something about it. SBS CyberSecurity has named the featured speakers for its inaugural Converge Cyber + AI Conference, headlined by KnowBe4 CISO advisor Erich Kron and social-engineering expert Brian Brushwood. Set for October 6–7, 2026, in Omaha, Nebraska, the two-day event will feature 23 planned sessions across governance, technical, and AI tracks. It’s designed for the security teams, executives, and governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) leaders ready to move from AI experimentation to secure implementation.

Built for financial institutions, fintechs, and other regulated organizations, Converge trades lecture-first programming for workshops, panels, and interactive formats. Attendees can join AI labs, a live capture-the-flag (CTF) tournament, and a lockpick village where they explore physical security. It’s open to any organization working to build a secure, AI-enabled business.

“The lineup tells you what Converge is really about,” said SBS CyberSecurity President and Co-Founder Jon Waldman. “We brought in some of the best security practitioners, from a national leader in human risk to a former FDIC executive to the engineers writing the code, because they are living in this space right alongside us. But Converge isn’t just about listening to great talks. It’s about the experience. We’ve built it to be interactive, whether that’s engaging directly with speakers, collaborating with peers, working through hands-on sessions, or spending time in our AI labs and CTF challenges. The goal is for people to leave with real connections and a clearer sense of how to apply what they’ve learned when they get back to work.”

Among the featured speakers, two will anchor the program with keynotes. Kron, a CISSP-ISSAP and former security manager for the U.S. Army’s 2nd Regional Cyber Center, opens the conference with a human-centered look at why security’s hardest problem is the people using the technology. Brushwood, host of the YouTube channel Scam Nation and a longtime translator of cons and social engineering for mainstream audiences, closes it.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be speaking at Converge,” Brushwood said. “From the moment I heard about it, I was excited both by the focus on cutting-edge, boots-on-the-ground topics and by the commitment to usable takeaways. This is a must-not-miss event!”

Additional featured speakers bring firsthand experience setting policy and responding to incidents:

Michael Benardo, a 35-year FDIC veteran and former head of its Anti-Money Laundering and Cyber Fraud Branch, on cyber governance and where boards still fall shortTim Leonard, CIO of Commercial Bank of Texas, on wiring a personal AI command center from off-the-shelf partsChad Knutson, SBS CEO and co-founder, on executive decision-making during live incidents, deepfake and voice-cloning fraud, and AI governance that doesn’t stall innovation

The conference arrives at a useful moment for banks and credit unions. Examiners are starting to build AI into their expectations, yet many institutions still lack a clear picture of where AI is already in use across their environments and how to govern it. Previewed sessions, such as “From FFIEC to AI: What Examiners Will Expect Next,” are designed to close that gap with guidance leaders can defend.

Additional speakers and the full session schedule will be announced in the coming weeks. Registration is open at converge.sbscyber.com, where attendees can view the agenda and reserve a seat. Passes are $599, and a discounted room block is available at the DoubleTree by Hilton Omaha Downtown.

About SBS CyberSecurity: SBS CyberSecurity is focused on empowering your cybersecurity decisions. We provide robust risk management programs, IT audit services, and cybersecurity testing solutions, enabling you to protect your organization. For more information, visit sbscyber.com.

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SOURCE SBS CyberSecurity

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PestPac by WorkWave® Extends Field Capabilities with Door-to-Door Sales Integration

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Identify, quote, sign, and schedule services in as little as 3.5 minutes with a single native workflow

HOLMDEL, N.J., June 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — WorkWave®, a leading provider of software and solutions that help mobile service companies thrive, today announced the launch of PestPac’s fully integrated Door-to-Door (D2D) sales engine, designed to improve the field sales experience by moving beyond manual data entry and fragmented workflows. The solution helps business owners support sales activity, better manage their field sales teams, and provide a more modern sales experience, while offering homeowners a professional customer experience.

In high-intensity sales environments, seconds can be the difference between a closed deal and a missed opportunity. Many pest control companies experience a “toggle tax” from switching between disconnected sales apps, paper contracts, and back-office systems. PestPac’s native D2D workflow is designed to reduce this friction, enabling representatives to identify, quote, sign, and schedule services in as little as 3.5 minutes. By staying focused on the customer rather than the technology, reps can better maintain the momentum needed to close deals efficiently.

As external pressures like rising labor and material costs threaten the bottom line, software efficiency has become the primary lever for protecting profit margins. The PestPac D2D workflow is designed to deliver immediate ROI by focusing on:

Sales Enablement and Experience: Support sales activity and enable sales reps with the best-in-class technology and insights they need to make every knock count, and succeed in the field. The native workflow improves the time-to-quote experience, allowing representatives to quickly identify, quote, sign, and schedule services, all from one single screen.System Consolidation: Support tech consolidation and reduced overhead. Because Sales Center is integrated directly into PestPac, rather than using a third-party app, it supports real-time data syncs that help reduce manual entry errors, save time, and lower overhead software costs.Actionable Intelligence: Evaluate ROI and make proactive business decisions with access to dashboards. These insights help turn field data into strategic moves that can support margins and long-term business value.

“Our mission is to provide our customers with sophisticated tools to compete effectively in their local markets,” said Kevin Kemmerer, CEO of WorkWave. “With our integrated D2D engine, we are providing actionable intelligence designed to help turn field data into decisive moves that support margins and long-term business value.”

Whether a company runs high-volume summer programs or a specialized outside sales track, PestPac helps representatives arrive at the door prepared, turning every doorstep into a potential business opportunity.

For more information on PestPac and Door-to-Door, click here.

About WorkWave:

WorkWave is on a mission to deliver innovative software and fintech solutions to the dedicated service professionals who ensure the world remains safe, clean, and beautiful. Powering millions of services every year, leading companies in lawn care, pest control, commercial cleaning, and security guarding rely on WorkWave’s comprehensive SaaS solutions, including its core offerings PestPac®, RealGreen® & TEAM Software®, to manage and grow their businesses. Backed by decades of experience, passionate teams, and an unwavering commitment to its customers, WorkWave’s vision is to empower the world’s mobile service workers to build a brighter future.

For more information, visit workwave.com.

Media Contact:
Brittany Boyle
bboyle@workwave.com

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SOURCE WorkWave

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Convoy of Hope Responds to Deadly Venezuelan Earthquakes

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SPRINGFIELD, Mo., June 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Global disaster relief organization, Convoy of Hope, is already on the ground responding to last night’s catastrophic earthquakes which shook Venezuela and left more than 180 individuals dead and more than 1,500 injured. Officials expect these numbers to rise.

Convoy of Hope’s teams are currently providing life-sustaining immediate relief, including food, water, and hot meals from mobile kitchens.

“Images of the devastation in Venezuela are heartbreaking,” said Ethan Forhetz, Convoy of Hope’s national spokesperson. “The loss of life is staggering. Convoy of Hope is currently working to deliver much needed essential relief supplies to survivors. As we distribute those life sustaining items, we give hope to people who are walking through unthinkable tragedy.”

Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodríguez declared a national state of emergency as her country’s infrastructure is compromised and the capital city of Caracas in crisis, the need for immediate humanitarian aid is critical. Seismologists classified the disaster as a “seismic doublet,” an extremely rare phenomenon where two major earthquakes occur almost simultaneously, resulting in increased damage to housing and structures. These catastrophic tremors with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, rank among the strongest earthquakes to hit Venezuela in more than a century.

Survivors are still being pulled from the debris, families with missing loved ones are clinging to hope as rescue teams work around the clock, and Convoy of Hope is committed to help for the long haul.

Convoy of Hope is a global, faith-based organization that serves vulnerable communities. By partnering with local churches, businesses, civic organizations, and government agencies, Convoy has strategically offered help and hope in more than 130 countries around the world. Since its founding in 1994, Convoy of Hope has served 350 million people and counting.

Media Contact:
Fabiana Boyce, Public Engagement Specialist
(417) 831-7955
fboyce@convoyofhope.org

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SOURCE Convoy of Hope

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University of Maryland Expands Landmark Research Program to Address Society’s Most Pressing Challenges

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The Grand Challenges Grants Program channels the university’s research power across 40+ disciplines to advance solutions for the public good

COLLEGE PARK, Md., June 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The University of Maryland today announced the launch of 11 high-impact research projects funded by nearly $15 million over three years through its Grand Challenges Grants Program, the university’s signature initiative to mobilize research across disciplines in service of society’s most pressing needs.

The newly funded projects draw on the expertise of more than 40 disciplines from across campus, reflecting the university’s commitment to tackling complex challenges — from expanding access to mental health services and heading off future pandemics to reducing educational disparities.

It’s the next step in an ongoing commitment to channel the university’s research power into advancing solutions for the public good. In 2023, the first round of Grand Challenges Grants committed $30 million to 50 projects spanning every college and school — the largest investment of its kind in UMD’s history, resulting in an additional $55 million in external funding.

“The inaugural program demonstrated extraordinary impact due to the breadth of expertise and collaborative spirit across our research enterprise,” Senior Vice President and Provost Jennifer King Rice and Vice President for Research Patrick O’Shea said in an email to the campus community. “Through Grand Challenges 1.0, faculty developed innovative approaches to issues from climate resilience to food insecurity to educational equity and more, strengthening partnerships across disciplines, engaging students in new opportunities, and positioning the university for greater external funding, scholarly impact and public engagement.”

The projects funded this year by Grand Challenges Grants 2.0 were selected from nearly 80 proposals from every college and school involving 400 researchers. The projects will also receive a 50% matching in-kind and/or cash investment from their college or unit.

“These projects exemplify the power of interdisciplinary collaboration to generate new ideas, accelerate discovery and address the grand challenges facing communities in Maryland, across the nation and around the world,” Rice and O’Shea said. “We are inspired by the vision and innovation reflected in these projects, and grateful to everyone who submitted proposals.”

Institutional Awards

IN-PLACE: Interdisciplinary Network for Place-Based Learning, Action and Community-Engaged EnvironMental Health connects time spent in nature with evidence-based mental health care through community partnerships, research and campus programming to simultaneously address the interconnected challenges of mental health, environmental health and health disparities.

Women’s Health Interdisciplinary Research Collaborative advances translational research, workforce development and evidence-based policy to close critical knowledge gaps in women’s health across the lifespan, leveraging AI and community-engaged approaches to drive real-world improvements for a historically underrepresented population in medical research.

Impact Awards

Predictive Biology Hub for Human and Environmental Health develops new predictive tools to mitigate pandemics, improve human health outcomes, and sustain vital ecosystems in the face of emerging global threats across biological scales, from pathogens and ecosystems to brain networks and bioinspired design.

Sustainable and Ethical AI Infrastructure integrates engineering, economics and policy analysis to help Maryland and the nation balance the surging power and water demands of AI data centers with sustainability, affordability and national security goals, while identifying near- and long-term technological solutions for sustainable infrastructure.

Team Awards

Maryland Initiative Against Superbugs focuses on the discovery and engineering of bacteriophage: viruses that infect and kill bacteria. It will combine AI, computational modeling and experimental validation to identify and optimize bacteriophage, or phage, therapies capable of precisely targeting and killing drug-resistant superbugs.

Gut-Healing Smart Pill develops a smart, swallowable capsule that precisely targets and activates the gut’s natural repair mechanisms to heal damaged intestinal tissue, aiming to reduce surgical interventions, improve patient outcomes and lower the enormous costs of inflammatory bowel disease care.

Belonging for Immigrants and Refugees with Disabilities partners with grassroots organizations to provide culturally tailored support services, workforce training and policy advocacy for immigrants and refugees with disabilities to reduce systemic barriers and improve access to education, healthcare and community resources.

AI for Precision Cancer Treatment integrates quantum computing and machine learning to design single-atom catalysts. The emerging approach for improving early cancer detection and treatment efficacy offers a faster, more cost-effective path to safer therapies that minimize damage to healthy tissue.

The Air We Share: A Public Health Revolution for the 21st Century aims to radically improve indoor air safety by advancing the science of airborne infection transmission, demonstrating interventions in homes and healthcare settings, and building the research infrastructure and next-generation leadership needed to make safe indoor air a universal public health standard.

Land-Sea Exchange Network for Salinity: An Early Warning System for Detecting and Managing Salinity Risks tracks salt levels from land to coastal waters and will develop an early warning system to help policymakers and communities identify, manage and reduce the environmental and economic impacts of saltwater intrusion and road salt pollution.

Sustainable Precision Aquaculture Network for Shellfish aims to transform oyster farming into a precision, data-driven industry that addresses global food security, restores water quality and revitalizes coastal economies. It will leverage robotics, AI, big data and Internet of Things technologies to modernize shellfish aquaculture in the Chesapeake Bay.

About the University of Maryland

The University of Maryland (UMD) is the state’s flagship university driven by a community of more than 50,000 fearless Terrapins. As a leading research university and top 20 public institution, UMD is proud to be part of the Association of American Universities. Dedicated to excellence and impact for the public good, the university is propelled by a $1.4 billion joint research enterprise. UMD is the nation’s first Do Good campus, and is consistently ranked for its innovation, research and top-tier academic programs. Located in the National Capital Region, the university offers an unparalleled student experience with federal internship opportunities, hundreds of academic programs and study abroad options, and top-ranked living-learning programs. Spurred by a culture of innovation and creativity, UMD’s faculty are global leaders in their fields and include Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners and members of the national academies. For more information about the University of Maryland, College Park, visit umd.edu.

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SOURCE University of Maryland

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