Baltimore Entrepreneur, David Oros, Joins bwtech@UMBC

BALTIMORE, MD – Nov. 14, 2013 – Today the University of Maryland, Baltimore County's Research Park Corporation - also known as bwtech@UMBC, announced that Baltimore entrepreneur, David Oros, is joining the park as a Senior Executive CEO in Residence.

Oros, a leader in the successful development of high-technology businesses for more than 30 years, graduated from UMBC in 1985 with a degree in mathematics.

Ellen Hemmerly, president and executive director of the park says that Oros will provide valuable advice, “enhancing bwtech’s incubator programs and helping our companies become successful.”

Unlike the current Entrepreneurs in Residence that work in specific incubators, Oros will use his experience in a variety of technology fields to work across all the incubators in the park.

“I went to UMBC and I’m very committed to UMBC,” says Oros. “I’ve started 15 companies in Baltimore and I really just want to focus on getting technology companies up and going that will stay in Baltimore and create more jobs.”

Oros has raised more than $2.5 billion in six public offerings and has been recognized as a leader and visionary in several technology fields. His many awards and honors include acknowledgement as the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year; Mobile Computing Magazine’s Person of the Year for 2000, and the KPMG High Tech Entrepreneur of the Year.  

From 2007 to 2011, David was a founding partner of Global Domain Partners, LLC, a managed futures company that uses advanced optimization modeling as a predictive tool for worldwide markets, currencies and commodities. 

From 1996 to 2006, he was the Chairman and CEO of Aether Systems, Inc., a leading provider of wireless and mobile data solutions for the financial trading systems, transportation, and public safety industries.He built Aether Systems from a small consulting company with a handful of employees to an industry leader in high-end wireless applications.

From 1994 until 1996, David was president of NexGen Technologies, LLC, a wireless software development company. From 1992 until 1994, he was president of the Wireless Data Group at Westinghouse Electric.For a decade prior to that, he directed internal research at Westinghouse Electric, managing large programs in advanced airborne radar design and development.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Evolving Systems, Inc.  He is on the Board of Visitors for the University of Maryland Baltimore County and on the Board of Directors for Paul’s Place, a community outreach center in Washington Village.  He is Chairman of Drop Test International, Inc. (DTI), an international counter insurgency intelligence company and Chairman of Surroundart, Inc., a full service fine arts company specializing in shipping and storage.

Oros also holds a U.S. patent for a multi-function radar system.

About bwtech@UMBC:

bwtech@UMBC, www.bwtechumbc.com is a 71-acre research and technology community at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). It comprises the Life Science and Technology, Clean Energy, and Cyber Incubators, home to over 100 early-stage high-tech and life science companies, and the Research and Technology Park, with a capacity of 525,000 square feet of office and laboratory space. bwtech@UMBC offers collaboration with university faculty and students, and enjoys a strategic and convenient location, close to downtown Baltimore, BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, and Washington, D.C. bwtech@UMBC’s annual economic impact on the state is estimated to be over $300 million. 

Contact: Nicole Ruediger, nruedige@umbc.edu, 410-455-5791

Bridging the Gap, a priority initiative of the Greater Baltimore Committee

Mimar McKissick Education * Johns Hopkins Medicine and Mahogany, Inc. * TargetGov and bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park

President's Award

Bandura® Announces Partnership with Webroot® to Offer PoliWall® Customers

Most Robust IP Block List Protection Found in a Single Appliance  

Bandura, a TechGuard Company, Partners with UNICOM Engineering to Develop New Product for Overseas Market  

UNICOM Engineering’s Manufacturing, Regulatory Certification and Global Logistics Enable Security Company to Accelerate International Rollout of New Appliance

Canton, MA – October 29, 2013 — UNICOM Engineering (formerly NEI), a leading provider of application platforms, deployment solutions and lifecycle support services for software technology developers and OEMs worldwide, today announced that it is providing global expansion and manufacturing services to Bandura, a TechGuard company that provides technologies and services to protect critical networks from cyber attack. UNICOM Engineering is working with Bandura to manufacture and certify a new generation of the company’s award-winning PoliWall® appliance for the international market.

Bandura’s PoliWall is a network security device that sits between firewalls and edge routers to stop threats at the network perimeter by blocking malicious traffic. The PoliWall rapidly determines the country of origin and IP reputation for all incoming packets using HIPPIE® (High-speed Internet Protocol Packet Inspection Engine) and DCEL™ (Dynamically Compiled Exception Lists) technology. Packets are filtered according to customer-defined policies and unique exceptions that are bound to resource groups for specific network addresses and protocols.  

Having already achieved success in the U.S. market, Bandura decided to expand internationally with a next-generation version of the PoliWall product.  This required a faster appliance with higher throughput, greater availability, and a smaller footprint. Given their past connection with UNICOM Engineering, Bandura knew that the company’s proven experience with appliance manufacturing and expertise in international regulation certification could help them achieve their goal. UNICOM Engineering delivered with a pre-integrated solution with global certifications, further accelerating time to market for the product.

“UNICOM Engineering had the platforms we needed to be able to support our new high-throughput product up to 20G per second,” said David Maestas, chief technology officer at Bandura.“The fact that the platforms were already pre-certified for export and for sale in the U.S. was a huge bonus for us.”

UNICOM Engineering provides a broad range of products backed by value-add services to deliver solutions to companies like Bandura. With a comprehensive approach to solution design and application deployment, UNICOM Engineering uses standard technologies to build appliances that meet specific application requirements,accelerate time to market, and reduce total cost of ownership. Throughout the design process, the company considers all aspects of the solution lifecycle, including component life, energy efficiency, and regulatory requirements, among other factors.

“We have partnered with very small companies and very large companies in the past, and feel like UNICOM Engineering offers the best of both worlds,” said Bandura CEO Suzanne Magee. “They are big enough that we know we are getting the support we need in the U.S. and global markets, and yet they’re small enough that we get personal attention. It feels like we really matter to UNICOM Engineering.”

About Bandura, LLC

Bandura® is a wholly owned subsidiary of TechGuard Security, founded in February 2000 in direct response to Presidential Decision Directive 63, provides trusted and innovative Critical Infrastructure Protection to the Department of Defense, Homeland Security, Federal agencies, and the US Critical Infrastructure. The TechGuardians® research, develop, and rapidly prototype, cutting-edge security technologies, including the patent and patent-pending PoliWall® with HIPPIE® and PCELs® technologies; and provide expert consulting services.  PoliWall is marketed under Bandura, LLC.

About UNICOM Engineering, Inc.

UNICOM Engineering is a leading provider of server-based application platforms and lifecycle support services for software developers and OEMs worldwide. Through its expertise and comprehensive suite of solution design, system integration, application management, global logistics, support and maintenance services, UNICOM Engineering is redefining application deployment solutions to provide customers with a sustainable competitive advantage. More than a decade of appliance innovation with the ability to provide physical, virtual, and cloud-ready solutions makes UNICOM Engineering one of the most trusted software deployment partners in the industry. Founded in 1997, UNICOM Engineering has facilities in Canton, Massachusetts, Plano, Texas, and Galway, Ireland. For more information, visit www.unicomengineering.com.

For additional information, contact:

Jill Colna or Laura Nelson
SVM Public Relations
401-490-9700
jill.colna@svmpr.com
laura.nelson@svmpr.com

UMBC students turned entrepreneurs sell mobile app to Hanover company

Talk about a hands-on experience. What started as a class project in entrepreneurship has turned into a real-life business opportunity for a handful of University of Maryland, Baltimore County students.

The group of students, who were part of a fall 2012 freshman seminar class on entrepreneurship and innovation, have sold the intellectual property rights for their class creation — a campus navigation mobile application — to Hanover’s Tecore Networks. The goal of the class was for students to work together to develop an idea for a product or service, then work together to bring their idea to market.

Read more at http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2013/10/14/umbc-students-turned-entrepreneurs.html

SOURCE: DB Networks

October 23, 2013 08:17 ET

DB Networks Introduces Industry's First Behavioral Analysis-Based Core IDS to Detect Advanced and Zero-Day SQL Injection Attacks

IDS-6300 Leverages New Technology Approaches of Behavioral Analysis and Continuous Threat Monitoring to Identify Highly Obfuscated Attacks and Protect Organizations' Databases

Contact:
Dan Spalding
408-960-9297
Email Contact

Anne Arundel County’s cwist, Inc., and four other companies based in Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Howard County to receive loans totaling $1.05 million

Annapolis, Maryland – (October 22, 2013) – Today, the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation announced that it has approved more than a million dollars in loans to five early stage technology companies in central Maryland.  The VOLT Fund, AAEDC’s loan program administered in conjunction with bwtech@UMBC and the Chesapeake Innovation Center,  aims to distribute a total of $3.36 million in loans to assist small, minority, veteran, and woman-owned businesses around the state.  Particular to the VOLT Fund is a set aside of loans for distribution to entrepreneurs of innovative technology.

“The VOLT Fund’s focus on assisting emerging technology start-ups is truly unique and will help put Anne Arundel County and the State of Maryland in a stronger position to cultivate young technology companies,” said county executive Laura Neuman. “These loans are key to helping these companies reach that next stage of product development and leveraging additional investment.”

“Supporting our entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses is a top priority for Maryland as we grow our Innovation Economy,” said Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development Secretary Dominick Murray. “The high-tech companies we invest in today will help to create the jobs of tomorrow. We are pleased to work with our partners in Anne Arundel County to fund the most promising companies and give them the support they need to grow.”

The goal of the VOLT Fund technology loans is to help promising early stage companies attract follow-on funding from venture capital firms, angel investors and other sources.  Loan recipients include the following:

•             cwist, Inc., of Annapolis: cwist is a free digital library of learning activities for kids K-5th crowd-sourced from parents and educators, designed to help kids make a healthy connection between the things they want and the effort it takes to get them

AWARD: $100,000

•             Light Point Security, LLC, a member of the bwtech@UMBC Cyber Incubator: Light Point Security protects businesses from malicious software spread through web browsers by moving the employee's web browser into the cloud so none of the websites they visit ever touch their computers.

AWARD: $250,000

•             Milestone US, Inc., a company based in Clarksville, Maryland: Milestone combines low cost sensors and big data tools to offer retailers a new method for targeted advertising.

AWARD: $200,000

•             SameGrain, Inc., a member of the Emerging Technology Center (ETC) in Baltimore City: SameGrain is a privacy-first social discovery platform that helps people locate, connect with and grow new friendships with others that share similar backgrounds, interests, beliefs, concerns, habits and more.

AWARD: $250,000

•             Biomedica Management Corporation, a member of the bwtech@UMBC Life Sciences Incubator: This research and development company is currently developing novel treatments in coagulopathy-related conditions with civilian and military applications.

AWARD: $250,000

Several factors were taken into consideration in the VOLT Fund technology loan application process.  Applicants must be high potential early stage technology companies with a clear path to follow-on funding.  Also, teams must be led by an experienced entrepreneur or demonstrate a willingness to acquire needed management talent.  Companies must also be at a stage in product development where the cash flow break-even point is expected within 24 months.

The announcement of these technology loan awards is just the latest by the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation after its designation in May as a loan fund manager by the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development.  AAEDC serves as one of three managers of the state’s $7.8 million small, minority and woman-owned business loan fund.  The state fund receives 1.5 percent of video lottery terminal revenue from Maryland casinos.

As mandated by the state, half of the fund’s investment is targeted to small businesses located within a ten mile radius of the three Maryland casinos open at the time fund managers were designated, Maryland Live in Anne Arundel County, Hollywood Park in Cecil County and Ocean Downs in Worcester County.  The other half is available to businesses located across the state.

To date, AAEDC has approved more than $2.5 million in loans to 18 conventional small businesses and technology companies in six counties around Maryland.  More information on the VOLT Fund is available on AAEDC’s website www.aaedc.org.

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The mission of the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation is to support business and serve as a catalyst for business growth in Anne Arundel County thereby increasing job opportunities, expanding the tax base and improving quality of life.

MEDIA CONTACT

Rosa Cruz

Director of Communications and Marketing

Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation/

Chesapeake Innovation Center

2660 Riva Road, Suite 200

Annapolis, MD  21401

(p) 410-222-7410  (f) 410-222-7415  (c) 410-212-4150

Integrata nabs deal with NSA on wireless security system

Mike Geppi saw firsthand how banks couldn’t give in to the flexibility of wireless networks for fear of cyber attacks.

The former banker turned techpreneur joined with his fellow MBA students at University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business to create Integrata, a company that focuses on securing wireless networks. In just one year since launching Integrata — Italian for integrated — Geppi and his colleagues have signed an exclusive license agreement with the National Security Agency to commercialize its patented Wireless Intrusion Detection System (WIDS) technology.

Geppi expects testing for the product to begin soon and that it will likely go to market in the next year.

The startup is one of numerous emerging in Maryland’s fast-growing cyber security industry. But many of those companies focus on cyber security services rather than products, so Integrata has turned some heads.

At the CyberMaryland 2013 conference last week investors talked about how Maryland needed to boost the product side of its commercial cyber sector. Integrata, now a resident in University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s tech incubator is just the type of company that was touted at the forum.

It’s connections to NSA are especially appealing to those looking for the next big thing.

Geppi said his eight-member team worked closely with NSA in developing the WIDS system. The startup will focus on selling its product to government agencies, the financial services and health care industries.

“There’s a tremendous amount of trepidation in the banking industry about using wireless,” said Geppi, a former banker at BB&T Corp. and M&T Bank. “The only thing that keeps them from taking advantage of wireless is that security problem.”

So far, Integrata has received $100,000 from Maryland’s Tedco commercialization fund and money from private investors. Geppi is seeking more capital from investors as Integrata prepares for the market.

The eight-person company is also in search of new employees, including software developers, engineers and marketing and business development staff.

Geppi, a Bel Air resident, looks forward to growing the company in both employees and eventually revenue. He’s especially excited about being in Maryland’s cyber security scene.

He said that’s why he decided to leave banking to pursue his own business.

“I saw this exciting entrepreneurial ecosystem that was almost under the radar but very robust,” he said.

Alumni Award Winners

Each year, the UMBC Alumni Association presents awards to honor alumni for their professional and personal achievements and service to the University.

The 2013 awards will be presented on Thursday, October 10, 2013, at an awards ceremony in the Albin O. Kuhn Library on the UMBC campus. If you’d like to attend the ceremony and celebrate with us, please register through the Homecoming website.

Congratulations to the  2013 Outstanding Alumni of the Year Award Winners!

The UMBC Alumni Association proudly honors these distinguished alumni for their accomplishments and dedication to UMBC:

Engineering and Information Technology
Jeehye Yun ’97, Computer Science
CEO, Secured Sciences Group, LLC

Humanities
Ricardo Zwaig ’77, Spanish
Judge, District Court, Howard County

Natural and Mathematical Sciences
Dr. Mary Loeken, M.S. ’80, Biological Sciences
Research Investigator, Joslin Diabetes Center
Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School

Social and Behavioral Sciences
Dr. Sherece West-Scantlebury, P.h.D. ’07, Public Policy
President and CEO, Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation

Visual and Performing Arts
Brigitte Pribnow Moore ’05, Acting
Executive Director, Young Playwrights’ Theater