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Black Kite’s Ransomware Susceptibility Index® (RSI™) Shows that Organizations with High Scores are 291 Times More Likely to Experience a Ransomware Attack

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Three years of testing against real-world ransomware attacks show RSI™ has become an increasingly reliable indicator of ransomware susceptibility.

BOSTON, Oct. 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Black Kite, the leader in third-party cyber risk management, today announced findings validating the predictive power of its Ransomware Susceptibility Index® (RSI™), which measures the likelihood of which vendors are most likely to be hit with ransomware, using real-time signals to spotlight risk. The Black Kite Research Group evaluated RSI against 7,551 publicly disclosed ransomware victims from 2025. The analysis found that organizations with an RSI above 0.8 were 291 times more likely to experience a ransomware attack than those below 0.2.

“Questionnaires can tell you what a vendor believes to be true about its security posture, but they can’t tell you everything an attacker can see today,” said Bob Maley, Chief Security Officer, Black Kite. “Organizations need evidence-based scoring, and RSI delivers it by reflecting how threat actors actually operate and calibrating against thousands of publicly disclosed ransomware victims.”

How RSI Works
RSI assesses an organization’s susceptibility to ransomware by comparing its external risk signals and characteristics against patterns from thousands of publicly disclosed ransomware victims. Scores range from 0 to 1, with higher values indicating greater susceptibility. In many cases, RSI begins to rise months before a ransomware attack, giving risk teams an early signal and more time to act.

Unlike point-in-time assessments and self-reported controls, RSI is grounded in observable evidence, providing a continuously updated view of ransomware susceptibility based on what attackers can see from the outside.

Tested Every Year since 2023. The model keeps getting sharper.
RSI has been tested against real-world ransomware outcomes for three consecutive years, and its ability to distinguish between high- and low-susceptibility organizations has strengthened each year. Organizations in the high-RSI band were 27 times more likely to experience a ransomware attack than those in the low band in 2023. That increased to 96 times in 2024 and 291 times in 2025. Importantly, the percentage of high-RSI organizations hit by ransomware remained consistently elevated, while the percentage of low-RSI organizations hit fell from 1.7% to 0.5% to just 0.14%. The result is a model that has maintained its ability to identify organizations at high risk while becoming increasingly precise at identifying those at low risk.

The Proof

Validated against real attacks: The Black Kite Research Group measured RSI against 7,551 publicly disclosed ransomware victims from 2025.Separates high-risk from low-risk organizations: Organizations with an RSI above 0.8 were 291 times more likely to experience a ransomware attack than those below 0.2.Year-over-year validation: RSI’s ability to distinguish high- from low-susceptibility organizations has strengthened across three consecutive annual calibrations, from 27x in 2023 to 96x in 2024 and 291x in 2025.Scores and real-world outcomes: 41% of the high-RSI band was hit by ransomware, compared with 0.14% of the low band.

RSI is available within the Black Kite platform. To learn more, get a free RSI™ rating for your organization or a third party at blackkite.com/free-rsi-rating.

About Black Kite
Black Kite is an AI-native third-party cyber risk management platform built for the connected world. By distilling billions of external risk signals from millions of monitored organizations, Black Kite delivers the trusted intelligence that powers a connected defense network, enabling organizations to identify risk earlier, act faster, and move from isolated defense to collective resilience. With Black Kite, organizations benefit from greater control, earlier warning, and the confidence to work safely with third parties at scale. Black Kite has received numerous industry awards and recognition from customers. Learn more at www.blackkite.com, or on the Black Kite blog.

Media Contact:
Michelle Kearney
Hi-Touch PR
443-857-9468
kearney@hi-touchpr.com

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SOURCE Black Kite

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Growth Acceleration Partners Appoints Dwayne Stoltz as Vice President of AI to Drive Global Client Transformation

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AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Growth Acceleration Partners (GAP), a leading AI transformation company, today announced the appointment of Dwayne Stoltz as Vice President of AI. Stoltz will lead GAP’s global AI go-to-market strategy, unifying its strategic consulting and hands-on engineering practices to help clients modernize software and scale long-term AI capabilities.

The appointment underscores GAP’s positioning as a best-in-class AI transformation partner, combining high-level C-suite advisory with end-to-end technical execution across generative, agentic and custom AI technologies. GAP’s leaders understand the AI market has reached a critical turning point, where companies face immense challenges around legacy architecture, governance, scaling and ROI.

“Our clients don’t just need AI advice; they need an execution partner who can translate complex technology into sustainable business value,” said GAP’s CEO and Cofounder Joyce Durst. “Dwayne’s leadership allows us to bridge the gap between executive strategy and technical execution. Having a dedicated leader driving our AI practice ensures we can move faster, innovate smarter and equip our clients with the internal AI capabilities they need to maintain a competitive edge.”

Stoltz brings over three decades of operational, execution and technology leadership experience, with a proven track record of building enterprise AI practices, commercializing advanced consulting services and delivering high-impact executive advisory.

At the core of GAP’s strategy is a modernized delivery engine that pairs human engineering pods with autonomous engineers and proprietary AI-driven development tools. This hybrid methodology enables clients to accelerate product velocity, automate complex workflows, and modernize core software at unprecedented speed while upholding strict security standards.

“The AI landscape is moving from experimentation to execution, and companies need clear, reliable roadmaps that yield measurable outcomes,” Stoltz said. “By combining deep engineering discipline with strategic consulting, GAP is uniquely positioned to remove the friction from AI adoption. My goal is to build a market-leading practice that gives our clients both the custom solutions they need, along with the internal muscle to stay ahead. And my focus will be on delivering practical, scalable AI solutions today, while helping our clients build autonomous capabilities that power their growth tomorrow.”

In his role, Stoltz will oversee four primary strategic pillars:

AI Services Portfolio: Scaling enterprise-ready service offerings, from agentic AI workflows and autonomous software engineering tools, to generative models and emerging technologies.Executive Advisory: Delivering AI readiness assessments, strategic roadmaps and custom, hands-on acceleration workshops.Practice & Talent Leadership: Expanding GAP’s global technical bench strength to scale specialized AI delivery capabilities.Internal Innovation & Governance: Leveraging GAP’s own internal delivery efficiencies as client-facing proof points, while upholding rigorous AI governance standards.

“Since early 2024, we have taken intentional steps to lay the groundwork for our next phase of growth,” Durst added. “AI is central to how we operate internally and what we build for our clients. Dwayne brings the ideal combination of technical credibility and commercial vision needed to help C-suite executives navigate their AI journeys, build lasting internal capabilities and capture long-term value.”

Stoltz officially assumed his role on Oct. 1, 2026.

About Growth Acceleration Partners

Growth Acceleration Partners (GAP) is an AI transformation company that combines strategic consulting with hands-on engineering to help companies transform their products, processes and people. Our autonomous engineers modernize software, automate business operations and build intelligent products that deliver valuable, measurable outcomes and lasting business capability. Learn more at www.WeAreGAP.com.

Media Contact:

Jocelyn Sexton
VP of Marketing
512- 243-5754 

Email: 424818@email4pr.com 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/growth-acceleration-partners-appoints-dwayne-stoltz-as-vice-president-of-ai-to-drive-global-client-transformation-302909445.html

SOURCE Growth Acceleration Partners

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Intelligence Veteran Brings Real-Time Deception-Risk Alerts to Smart Glasses

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Coyote XR is available to select clients following its showcase at DEFSEC Atlantic 2026

VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 15, 2026 /CNW/ — Prodigy Intelligence Inc. announced that Coyote XR is available to select clients paired with discreet XR glasses, bringing real-time deception-risk alerts into live conversations. The company showcased the technology at DEFSEC Atlantic in Halifax, October 6–8, 2026.

Founded by former Canadian military intelligence officer Matthew Kane, Prodigy develops communication-analysis tools already used by investigators and Canadian regulators. Coyote XR brings that technology into a wearable format, helping users identify statements that warrant follow-up while maintaining eye contact.

“We’re building a smoke alarm for deception,” said Kane, CEO and founder of Prodigy Intelligence. “Coyote XR draws your attention to something that deserves scrutiny and helps you decide where to look more closely.”

Coyote XR provides:

Discreet alerts: A gentle vibration draws the wearer’s attention to a statement that warrants closer examination.Heads-up analysis: The relevant statement and analysis appear in the glasses’ display during the conversation.Support for follow-up questions: Real-time indicators help users decide when to seek clarification or investigate further.

Potential applications include investigators probing inconsistent accounts, directors examining management presentations and legal professionals assessing prospective clients’ statements.

Coyote XR analyzes communication patterns associated with potential deception risk. An alert does not establish deception or intent; the system supports human judgment and independent verification.

Details of compatible smart glasses and supported features will be published shortly.

“Canada has a reputation for being polite,” said Kane. “But polite shouldn’t mean easy to fool.”

For more information, press materials or to request a demonstration, visit www.prodigyintel.com.

About Prodigy Intelligence Inc.

Prodigy Intelligence develops AI-assisted tools for analyzing human communication. Its Coyote platform examines text, audio and video for deception-risk indicators.

SOURCE Prodigy Intelligence Inc.

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Reshaping Network Value for New Growth in the AI Era

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VIENNA, Oct. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — During Network X 2026, the World Broadband Association (WBBA) hosted the Broadband Development Congress (BDC) in Vienna. At the congress, Bob Chen, President of Huawei Optical Business Product Line, delivered a keynote speech titled “Reshaping Network Value for New Growth in the AI Era.” He emphasized the necessity of shifting network construction concepts in the AI era based on three “R”s—Rebuilding network architecture, Reshaping business model, and Redefining network O&M—to reshape network value and achieve new growth.

Bob Chen mentioned that, looking back over the past three decades, every boom in services—from voice and the Internet to video—has relied on network support. Today, AI is developing at a rapid pace. Large AI models now feature nearly 10 trillion parameters, and token consumption has surged nearly 50-fold over the past year. In the AI era, the objects, frequency, and quality of network connections have all undergone dramatic shifts. The entire industry must rethink how to reshape network value.

Chen pointed out that the most crucial element in reshaping network value is shifting network construction philosophy: network planning and building must center around AI service demands and AIDC layouts, while AI technology should be adopted to elevate O&M capabilities. This can be summarized into three “R”s. Rebuild network architecture: transitioning from traditional administrative region-centered networks to AIDC-centered networks. Reshape business model: for enterprise, upgrading from selling bandwidth alone to selling “bandwidth + latency + reliability”, along with integrated computing-network services; and for home broadband: evolving from providing pure broadband connectivity to whole-home networking, and ultimately smart home experiences. Redefine network O&M: evolving from traditional semi-automated operations toward full-lifecycle intelligence.

Rebuild Network Architecture

In the past, networks were structured around administrative regions, divided into national backbone, provincial backbone, and metro networks. With the rise of AI, the number of AIDCs has grown nearly 10-fold, and traffic volume is no longer determined by population, but by computing power.

Take Zhongwei, China as an example: in the past, its traffic accounted for only about 0.1% of China’s total. Today, Zhongwei has become one of China’s eight national computing hubs, with its intelligent computing traffic accounting for over 10% of the country’s total bandwidth, making it a core node in the AIDC interconnect network. Similar cases are taking place worldwide.

Therefore, network architecture must shift from being administrative region-centered to AIDC-centered. Networks should be organized into hierarchical layers around Core DCs, Regional DCs, and Edge DCs. Direct one-hop mesh connections between DCs enable deterministic 1-5-20 ms latency circles and rapid time-to-market.

Reshape Business Model

For enterprise segment, as AI accelerates, enterprise production models are transforming. For instance, an AI industrial design firm in China uses AI rendering to drastically shorten production cycles, and real-time AI rendering demands latency below 2 milliseconds. To capitalize on such opportunities, operators can upgrade private lines from a single dimension of bandwidth to multi-dimensional offerings: “Bandwidth + Latency + Reliability.” Powered by OXC, ASON, and Quantum Encryption, networks can deliver deterministic latency, high reliability, and top security, significantly boosting private line value. Furthermore, leveraging computing platforms, operators can evolve from selling networks to selling “Network + Computing + Model/Application”, delivering integrated computing-network services.

For home broadband segment, operators can upgrade from providing basic broadband connections to the “One Fiber, One Network, One Home” strategy: One Network refers to delivering high-quality whole-home Wi-Fi with FTTR or Wi-Fi Mesh. One Home means providing rich smart applications powered by home AI terminals and AI agents. In addition, home AI agents are reshaping home broadband interaction models—allowing users to interact in real time, and control home networks through simple voice commands.

Redefine Network O&M

In the AI era, end-to-end intelligence across planning, construction, maintenance, optimization, and operation must be realized through network element intelligence, network intelligence, and service intelligence. For example, most home network complaints stem from Wi-Fi issues. Today, AI Wi-Fi tuning automatically identifies interference sources and types, making real-time adjustments to transmit power and other parameters—boosting Wi-Fi speeds by approximately 20% in interference environments.

Second, for AI energy saving, previously, network equipment ran at full capacity regardless of traffic levels, consuming unnecessary substantial power. Now, intelligent traffic analysis enables smart dynamic power adjustments for OLT chassis and line cards, reducing total device energy consumption by over 20%.

Last, for intelligent fault self-healing, home broadband troubleshooting is categorized into three tiers. Self-Healing: Air-interface issues like roaming failures are automatically fixed by O&M AI agents. Remote O&M: Configuration parameter issues are processed remotely at the NOC with AI agent assistance. On-Site Visits: Physical fiber connection issues are precisely localized with O&M Copilot assistance.

“Facing the AI era, we must shift our philosophy to Rebuild network architecture, Reshape business model, and Redefine network O&M,” Bob Chen concluded. “Through these three ‘R’s, we can reshape UBB network value and jointly move towards new growth in the AI era!”

SOURCE Huawei

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