MD lacks ‘funding opportunities for really early-stage companies’

While Maryland is lauded by state politicians as a cybersecurity hub, the state falls short with respect to the amount of venture capital available for small companies, said Zuly Gonzalez, cofounder of cybersecurity startup Light Point Security

If Maryland wants a bigger, richer cybersecurity industry, it’ll need younger companies with new ideas — and that’s going to take more early-stage money.

That slightly more specific, but altogether familiar, call for more cash came from Zuly Gonzalez, cofounder of cybersecurity startup Light Point Security, speaking at Technically Baltimore’s cybersecurity-focused Meetup on Tuesday.

And while Maryland is lauded by state politicians as a cybersecurity hub, the state falls short with respect to the amount of venture capital available for small companies.

“One area we’re lacking is funding opportunities for really early-stage companies,” Gonzalez said during her five-minute “lightning talk” at Growing Maryland’s Cybersecurity Industry.

Watch the video and read the rest of the article at http://technical.ly/baltimore/2013/08/02/md-lacks-funding-opportunities-for-really-early-stage-companies-light-point-security/

Cyber standouts: Finding Maryland's next Sourcefire

It was a true technology fairy tale, the kind plucky entrepreneurs everywhere dream about.

After years of hard work and local reputation-building, Columbia cyber security firm Sourcefire Inc. got its big break — a $2.7 billion sale to software giant Cisco Systems, Inc.

But a story like Sourcefire’s may be more attainable than it seems for some cyber entrepreneurs. The company’s success is a sign of the potential for companies in Maryland’s cyber industry.

“What this is about is the ability for Maryland to highlight that we have companies that have phenomenal potential, not just because of where they ...

Continue reading http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/print-edition/2013/08/02/cyber-standouts-finding-marylands.html

Cyber standouts: Light Point Security LLC

Location: bwtech@UMBC, 5520 Research Park Drive, Baltimore

Leadership: Zuly Gonzalez, co-founder and chief operating officer; Beau Adkins, co-founder and CEO

Year founded: 2010

Total employees: 2

Total funding: $15,000

Beau Adkins and Zuly Gonzalez know a thing or two about how to protect sensitive information — both worked in national security before launching Light Point Security. Gonzalez is a former information assurance engineer and security vulnerability analyst for the federal government. Adkins used to work as an information security specialist for the defense department. The two quit their day jobs to focus on their company last year.

Light Point offers ...

Continue reading http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/print-edition/2013/08/02/cyber-standouts-light-point-security.html

Finding Maryland's next cyber security darling

Sarah Gantz
Reporter - Baltimore Business Journal

Maryland may have sold its shares of Sourcefire Inc. years ago, but the state still stands to win big from the Columbia cyber security firm's $2.7 billion sale.

Industry analysts say software giant Cisco’s willingness to pay more than ten times Sourcefire’s revenue is a sign of the potential for cyber companies growing up in Maryland. Industry leaders consider the sale validation of their efforts to promote cyber here.

Read more at http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2013/08/01/finding-marylands-next-cyber-security.html

For the average user there’s little difference between products offered by Yahoo! and by market leader Google. Yahoo!’s position is largely dictated by brand; or rather by Google’s superior brand.

There has long been debate over Yahoo!’s identity. Long before Marissa Mayer moved into the big office, questions were asked about the longevity of Yahoo!’s branding.

Amongst Mayer’s considerable achievements with Google, it’s probably her oversight of the legendarily minimal layout of the Google homepage that convinced Yahoo! to recruit her. It seems that the Yahoo! board has been eyeing a redesign for some time.

Shortly after Mayer’s installation as CEO, Yahoo! tried out a rebrand. In retrospect it appears that Mayer was engaged in some kind of power struggle over whether or not to redesign the company logo because a year later, following a successful redesign of their homepage, Yahoo! have announced that a new visual identity will be launched on the 4th September.

[We] want to preserve the character that is unique to Yahoo! — fun, vibrant, and welcoming — so we’ll be keeping the color purple, our iconic exclamation point and of course the famous yodel. After all some things never go out of style. — Kathy Savitt, Yahoo! CMO.

To celebrate Yahoo! are running with a different logo every day, for 30 days. Their new “Yahoo! 30 days of change” video hints at some of what’s to come.

Kathy Savitt, Yahoo!’s Chief Marketing Officer, has said that the 30 logos are “our way of having some fun while honoring the legacy of our present logo”. And one can’t help but wonder if these 30 logos are rejected designs from the rebrand process — a couple look similar to the beta-redesign from 2012; in which case it’s a fascinating look at how a corporate behemoth perceives itself.

Yahoo!’s homepage featuring the first of 30 logo redesigns.

Reportedly a “modern redesign that’s more reflective of [Yahoo!'s] reimagined design and new experiences” the new logo will be revealed on September 4th. In the meantime you can view all of the temporary logos, a new release every day, on the Yahoo! Tumblr site; or simply head over to yahoo.com for the latest iteration.

Do you think Yahoo! needs to rebrand? What approach do you think the new logo will take? Let us know in the comments.

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UMBC is pleased to announce the call for proposals for the Hrabowski Fund for Innovation Award 2013-14 competition.

For Academic Year 2013-2014, a total of approximately $100,000 will be  available through this competition to support initiatives to enhance  teaching and learning at UMBC, with specific emphasis on innovative  approaches to increase the success of our undergraduate and graduate  students. Such approaches may include, but are not limited to, redesign  of courses or other learning experiences, innovative course and/or  curriculum development, and other projects designed to improve or  understand student-learning outcomes at UMBC. In this  round of the competition we have expanded the submission eligibility  requirements to include full-time staff as well as faculty.

The competition is open to all tenured and tenure-track faculty, clinical  instructional faculty, lecturers and instructors, and staff with  full-time appointments. Proposals for funding may be made by individuals or by collaborative groups. The Faculty Development Center is available to work with faculty or staff as they develop their ideas for projects.

For the AY13-14 competition, proposal deadlines are October 11, 2013 and February 14, 2014.

Working with the Provost’s Office, Dr. Linda Hodges, Director of the Faculty  Development Center, coordinates the competition. The detailed request  for proposals, instructions for submission, and required forms for the application can be found here.