Category: Artificial Intelligence

MIL-OSI USA: Rep. Young Kim Leads Bipartisan Resolution Supporting Math, STEM Education

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Young Kim (CA-39)

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Reps. Young Kim (CA-40), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Tom Kean (NJ-07), and Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08) introduced a bipartisan resolution to designate the month of April as “Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month” and recognize the importance of science, technology, education, and math (STEM) education.

“Math isn’t just numbers – it’s the universal language of innovation and the backbone of many industries shaping our future,” said Kim. “STEM education opens new doors for students, drives economic growth, strengthens our national security, and ensures America remains globally competitive. I’m proud to lead this bipartisan resolution recognizing Mathematics and Statistics Awareness Month and reaffirming our commitment to investing in STEM education so that future generations can achieve their American Dream.”

“As one of only a handful of engineers in Congress, I know firsthand the immense value of a STEM education. A key way we support and strengthen math and statistical sciences is by ensuring a diverse array of talented students have the tools and educational opportunities they need to pursue these fields. I’m proud to join my colleagues in uplifting the current and future mathematicians and statisticians who move our country forward and improve our lives,” said Tonko.

“Mathematics is foundational to our understanding of the world, driving innovation and progress across science and engineering,” said Kean. “I am pleased to cosponsor this resolution recognizing the essential role math and statistics play in our daily lives. I thank Congresswoman Kim for partnering to ensure America remains a global leader in STEM education, technological advancement, and scientific discovery.”

“Math and statistics are the foundation of innovation, national security, and economic competitiveness. As we face growing global challenges—from AI to advanced manufacturing—it’s more important than ever to equip the next generation with the analytical tools they need to lead. I’m proud to support this resolution recognizing the critical role these fields play in shaping America’s future,” said Krishnamoorthi.

MIL OSI USA News –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: François Villeroy de Galhau: Preserving our transatlantic values, beyond present unpredictability

Source: Bank for International Settlements

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my pleasure to be here in New York City; and I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Noel Lateef and the Board of Directors of the Foreign Policy Association (FPA) for organising this event and awarding me the FPA medal. It really strikes a chord with me, as I will explain, and even more today when our transatlantic ties are so unfortunately under stress.

I. A very special gratitude to the FPA, and to your country

I am both honoured and humbled to be included among the distinguished recipients of the FPA medal. These include prominent central bankers, such as Paul Volcker of the Federal Reserve or Jean-Claude Trichet of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Banque de France. This medal also has a personal resonance. I discovered in depth your beautiful country in March 1990, during a month-long trip of 15 so called “Young European leaders” invited by the German Marshall Fund. The United States welcomed us with open arms, taking us from New York City to Seattle, and from Detroit to Raleigh (NC). This was a time of hope, four months after the fall of the Berlin Wall; this was a time of mutual trust across the Atlantic built on the victory of freedom and democracy. This trip left me with a lasting friendship and admiration for the American people.

In a more collective dimension, I like to think that this medal is a testament to the common values and principles that this Association and the central banking community both strive to uphold. Your Association was founded at the end of the First World War by Americans committed [with President Woodrow Wilson] to creating closer ties between nations. It has since worked tirelessly to foster meaningful dialogue on the most pressing international issues, notably through its famous World Leadership Forum. This is especially important at a time when multilateralism is experiencing an unprecedented crisis.

Another common value, beside dialogue, is the importance of public engagement. For more than a century, the FPA and its Great Decisions programme have successfully promoted a more effective participation by American citizens in international affairs. Greater knowledge is indeed the key to informed opinion, and thus to a stronger democracy. At both the Banque de France and the ECB, fostering engagement with the wider public is also a priority. We regularly organise events directly involving the public such as the “Rencontres de la politique monétaire” [Monetary Policy Forums] similar to the “US Fed listens”. Greater clarity and transparency for our fellow citizens also helps to better anchor inflation expectations and thus to better ensure our price stability mandate.

II. How to restore trust?

Hence, let me please speak here not only as the French Governor, but as a committed friend of your country and a dedicated European. It is more crucial than ever, across the Atlantic, (1) to tell the truth, (2) to fully assess the damage of a trade war, and (3) to open the way for a possible positive dialogue.

1) Telling the truth

We, Europeans, heard with surprise some weeks ago that “the EU was created to screw the US”. With due respect, let me recall history. The European Union was constructed after WWII to lastingly establish peace, democracy and the market economy in Europe. These are three key American values, and this Union was legitimately founded with American support, as was the Franco-German reconciliation – so difficult, yet so decisive.

Furthermore, it is important to set the record straight on economics. No, international trade is not a zero-sum game, where one country’s gain is necessarily another country’s loss. On the contrary, it is the most effective way to prosper together by exchanging goods and services, ideas, talent, and innovation. And yes, our transatlantic bond is deep, balanced and mutually beneficial. The United States and the EU are the world’s two largest economies, maintaining one of the largest bilateral economic relationships, which amounted to around USD 900 billion in goods and USD 800 billion in services in 2023ⁱ. While the EU runs a trade in goods surplus with the United States (USD 234 billion in 2023), the services deficit has widened substantially in the last years (USD 125 billion in 2023)ⁱⁱ. Net primary income flows in favor of US firms – mostly composed of investment income such as profits and asset returns – also offset the trade in goods surplus, ultimately leading to a balanced current account (USD 19 billion in 2023). The effective applied tariffs between the EU and the United States were close before recent developments, with the EU imposing a 3.95% tariff on US products, while the United States applied a 3.5% tariff on EU productsⁱⁱⁱ. And let me remind here the obvious: value-added tax (VAT) is not a customs duty; it is levied on the final value of imported and domestically produced goods equally, like the sales tax in the US. EU and US firms have long established a robust investment presence in each other’s markets. European majority-owned affiliates directly employed an estimated 5.3 million US workers in 2023^iv. European-based investors play a crucial role in the strength of the US economy, representing close to 50% of all foreign holdings of US securities in 2023^v.

2) The possible damage of a trade war is huge

The new measures announced as well as the increasing unpredictability, constitute a major negative shock to the global economy, but first and foremost to the US economy.

According to convergent analyses by several US and international banks and today by the IMF, the United States could suffer in 2025 from an average estimated loss of around one percentage point in annual growth and a similar-sized rise in underlying inflation. But bad news for the US is bad news for all, and for Europe. According to preliminary assessments, there could be a direct negative impact of at least a quarter of a percentage point to euro area GDP growth in 2025. Nevertheless, this depends on the outcome of the 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs. The impact on inflation remains more uncertain but could be as a whole negative. Our baseline scenario for France and the euro area remains however that of an exit from inflation – returning to our 2% target this year – without a recession.

Financial markets reacted very negatively to these trade announcements with the unusual combination of a sharp drop in US equity indexes, a rise in US long term bond yields, and a broad-based decline in the US dollar value. The economic uncertainty may possibly threaten financial stability. Such deeply negative financial effects would also result from attacks on the independence and credibility of central banks, as we saw very recently.

I don’t mean that the latest globalisation wave was a fairy tale: it had its problems and its imbalances, both social and financial. But the current lose-lose game will obviously increase them, and in no way solve them.

3) Is there a way for a possible positive dialogue?

I still hope there is, and let me share three more positive reflections to conclude with:

a) Let us use the 90-day pause to seriously talk. The least economically harmful option would be indeed to negotiate – a bold European proposal, zero-for-zero tariffs for industrial goods, is already on the table – and then de-escalate the situation rather than setting off a transatlantic spiral of tariff hikes. So far, Europeans have reacted in a remarkably united and calm manner. The European Commission has prepared a series of retaliatory measures – in case it would be unfortunately needed – but deferred its application. It is also in Europe’s interest to maintain open trade ties with a maximum amount of partners from the Americas to Asia: increasing the number of balanced free trade agreements – including Mercosur – is a strategic priority.

b) Europe and France also need to become stronger. The only positive I see in this situation, as I said already last November with my German colleague Joachim Nagel , it is a wake-up call for Europe. This is of course the case in terms of defence. But also, in economic matters, where we have the duty and the means to better master our own destiny. We need a “general mobilisation” focusing on three imperatives, 3 ‘i’s taking the best of the impressive economic success of America, or if you prefer, size multiplied by muscle multiplied by speed. First, we need to integrate the single market more. This means playing on its size – as large in GDP terms as the United States – by removing internal barriers in several areas such as services and energy. We also need to invest better, giving priority to the most promising breakthrough innovations, and particularly those related to AI. To succeed, we need to build financial muscle through a genuine Savings and Investments Union (SIU) fostering more our abundant private savings towards equity and venture capital. Finally, we need to innovate faster. Europe needs simplification: less bureaucracy, fewer procedures and shorter deadlines. But simplification is not deregulation, the European approach^vii will remain firm on the objectives, but be more nimble in design. And to successfully implement these three imperatives, we urgently need a binding, visible and not too distant calendar: such a calendar will mobilise all our political and economic forces, as did in the past the 1 January 1993 for the single market and the 1 January 1999 for the single currency.

c) Europe and the United States can still commit to a “pragmatic multilateralism”, more focused on some practical themes of common interest, to name just a few: financial stability, cross-border payments and crypto-assets, cybersecurity, the fight against financial crime and the prevention of extreme climate events. Let us preserve the multilateral institutions such as the IMF and World Bank, born and hosted in this great country, with more focused ambitions.

I will conclude by quoting Alexis de Tocqueville, a famous Frenchman – you may recall his influential work “Democracy in America” – who also had the privilege of discovering America during a memorable study trip two hundred years ago. “There is nothing more fruitful in wonders than the art of being free”.^viii I mentioned shared transatlantic values: one cardinal value, freedom, is the driving force behind America’s outstanding economic performance. Let us continue as much as possible to cultivate it together, through trade, innovation and robust dialogue! Thank you for your attention.

MIL OSI Economics –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: Michael S Barr: Deepfakes and the AI arms race in bank cybersecurity

Source: Bank for International Settlements

Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today about artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity. In the past, a skilled forger could pass a bad check by replicating a person’s signature. Now, advances in AI can do much more damage by replicating a person’s entire identity. This technology-known as deepfakes-has the potential to supercharge identity fraud. I’ve recently spoken about the importance of recognizing both the benefits and the risks of generative AI (Gen AI). Today, I’d like to focus more on the darker side of the technology-specifically how Gen AI has the potential to enable deepfake technology, and what we should be doing now to defend against this risk in finance.

Escalating Threat of Gen-AI Facilitated Cybercrime

Cybercrime is on the rise, and cybercriminals are increasingly turning to Gen AI to facilitate their crimes. Criminal tactics are becoming more sophisticated and available to a broader range of criminals. Estimates of direct and indirect costs of cyber incidents range from 1 to 10 percent of global GDP. Deepfake attacks have seen a twentyfold increase over the last three years.

Cybercrime with deepfakes involves the same cat and mouse game common to sophisticated criminal activity. Both cybercriminals and financial institutions are constantly trying to outdo each other. Criminals develop new attack methods, and companies respond with better defenses. Here, the same technological innovations that enable the bad actors can also help those fighting cybercrime. However, there is an asymmetry-the fraudsters can cast a wide net of approaches and target a wide number of victims, and they only need a small number to be successful. Their marginal cost is generally low, and individual failures matter little. Conversely, companies must undergo a rigorous review and testing process to mount effective cyber defenses and will thus be slower in developing their defenses. A single failure is very costly. As we consider this issue from a policy perspective, we need to take steps to make attacks less likely by raising the cost of the attack to the cybercriminals and lowering the costs of defense to financial institutions and law enforcement.

MIL OSI Economics –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: Galaxy empowered: Empowering Teachers in the Age of AI and Digital Transformation

Source: Samsung

The role of educators is evolving, and collaboration is key to empowering teachers in the age of AI and digital transformation. At the Galaxy Empowered educators summit in Delhi, thought leaders shared their perspectives on ethical AI integration, student-centric learning, and the future of education.

Technology is here to aid education, and with the right skills, teachers can equip students for the future.
Education leaders are loving Galaxy empowered, Hear from them about the programme:

MIL OSI Economics –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: USAFRICOM Successfully Tests AI-Powered Personnel System During Continuity of Operations Exercise

Source: United States AFRICOM

AFRICOM logo PNG_release thumbnail

U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) recently completed a successful Continuity of Operations (COOP) exercise, significantly bolstered by a use of an emerging artificial intelligence (AI) PowerApp capability designed to enhance efficiency with human resources management. The PowerApp demonstration showcased how AFRICOM can track and maintain situational awareness of geographically dispersed personnel across myriad agencies to maintain critical functions and operational readiness under challenging circumstances, leveraging AI for rapid personnel accountability and resource allocation.

The COOP exercise simulated a disruption to normal operations, requiring AFRICOM to quickly assess personnel status and maintain command and control across the African continent. The AI tool, established through a collaboration between the AFRICOM J8 Resources and Assessments, J6 C4S (Command, Control, Communication and Computer Systems), and J1 Manpower and Personnel directorates, proved instrumental in this effort.

This system extracts and consolidates human resources data from multiple sources into a refined AFRICOM Data Environment (ADE), providing an unprecedented, real-time view of personnel supporting the command – both at the headquarters and dispersed across the African continent. During the exercise, this capability allowed AFRICOM to swiftly identify available personnel, assess skillsets, and re-allocate resources to maintain essential functions despite the simulated disruption.

“Working with a contract partner, we developed the tool and demonstrated its capabilities during the COOP exercise, validating the critical role AI can play in our ability to continue operations even in the face of adversity,” said Col. Scott Johnson, AFRICOM Director of Manpower and Personnel. “The speed and accuracy with which we were able to account for and redeploy personnel was a direct result of this technology.”

The AI PowerApp tool is the result of an increased focus on innovation at AFRICOM and recent call for AI solutions by the DoD’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) AI Rapid Capabilities Cell (AI RCC). AFRICOM’s J1 directorate submitted a proposal in January 2025 and has been working with the CDAO on funding solutions.

AFRICOM is the first Combatant Command (COCOM) to prototype such a transformative tool, underscoring its commitment to embracing cutting-edge technology and aligning with the National Defense Strategy and DoD’s Combined Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) initiative. The successful COOP exercise demonstrates the practical application of this technology, paving the way for substantial cost savings and increased efficiency in the long term.

This AI-powered personnel system has the ability to not only enhance AFRICOM’s daily operations but also solidify its ability to maintain a strategic edge and fulfill its vital mission in Africa’s complex environment, even during times of crisis.

MIL Security OSI –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Round table within BIMAC-2025: how to provide the industry with personnel

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering –

On April 24, a round table was held at SPbGASU as part of the VIII International Scientific and Practical Conference “Information Modeling in Construction and Architecture Problems” (BIMAC-2025) dedicated to the issues of developing digital competencies of students of secondary vocational education institutions (SVE) in the construction sector.

The event brought together representatives of public organizations, educational institutions, customer companies and students to discuss current trends in personnel training and the implementation of information modeling technologies.

SPbGASU trains personnel together with industry partners

Polina Fedyuchek, Victoria Vinogradova

Vice-Rector for Continuing Education at SPbGASU Victoria Vinogradova said that the university continues to actively work on the application of TIM technologies in the educational process, closely cooperating with leading enterprises in the construction industry, and emphasized that all initiatives at the university – from school projects to scientific developments – are implemented jointly with industrial partners, which ensures the practical orientation of personnel training. She also noted that the university positions itself not just as an educational institution, but as an integration center that unites educational, scientific and project activities. SPbGASU is becoming a platform for professional dialogue between all participants in the construction process – from students to the heads of large companies.

“We are creating an environment where future specialists can gain not only theoretical knowledge, but also practical experience working with real projects,” noted Victoria Vinogradova. “Our partners are actively involved in developing educational programs, organizing internships and internships, and supervising diploma projects.” Particular attention is paid to creating conditions for professional growth. The university offers various formats of interaction: from corporate training for company employees to joint scientific research.

“Openness to cooperation is one of our key principles,” emphasized Victoria Vinogradova. “We are ready to discuss new initiatives and joint projects that will contribute to the development of the construction industry and the training of highly qualified personnel who meet the requirements of the digital age.”

In conclusion of her report, Victoria Vinogradova invited interested organizations to work together in several areas: the implementation of scientific and design developments, the creation of an open environment for digital projects, and the development of students’ project activities. According to her, such a comprehensive approach allows training specialists who can work effectively in the modern conditions of the digitalized construction industry immediately after graduation.

The role of professional associations

Elena Parikova, Development Director – Head of the NOSTROY Project Office, gave a presentation on the experience of the NOSTROY SPO Consortium in the field of digital competencies formation. She emphasized the importance of information modeling technologies and presented the consortium’s initiatives in this area.

Particular attention was paid to personnel training. Elena Parikova noted that the industry is facing a shortage of specialists – from 300 to 700 thousand digital personnel. In higher education institutions, TIM programs are implemented in bachelor’s, master’s and postgraduate programs, including such areas as “Construction” and “Information systems and technologies”. In secondary vocational education, the federal state educational standard for the specialty 08.02.15 “Information modeling in construction” has been implemented, which provides training in technical support of TIM, design of structures and management of digital models.

Elena Parikova noted that NOSTROY is also developing additional educational programs, including professional retraining, advanced training, and corporate training. Of particular interest were the projects “Digital Construction Classes” developed by SPbGASU for schoolchildren, and the online course “From Idea to Practice of Digitalization of the Construction Industry”, developed jointly with the RF Competence Center.

Elena Parikova also spoke in detail about the implementation of the educational initiative “TIM-elective of SPbGASU. SPO League 2025” and the All-Russian TIM-championship of SPbGASU. SPO League 2025. She noted that NOSTROY President Anton Glushkov notes the importance of digitalization of the industry and training of qualified personnel and emphasizes that the championship has become the first all-Russian competition for students of the vocational education system after the approval of the new Federal State Educational Standard (FSES) for the specialty 08.02.15, expressing confidence that the participants will make a significant contribution to the development of the construction industry.

In conclusion, Elena Parikova noted that the development of digital competencies requires joint efforts of educational institutions, businesses and regulators, and invited all interested parties to cooperate.

Deputy Head of the Office of the National Association of Designers and Surveyors (NOPRIZ) Nadezhda Prokopyeva gave a report on the development of a system for independent assessment of the qualifications of specialists in the field of information modeling. In her speech, she emphasized the importance of fulfilling the order of the President of the Russian Federation from 2018 on the modernization of the construction industry through the introduction of TIM technologies.

Nadezhda Prokopyeva noted that NOPRIZ and the Association of Software Developers “Domestic Software” are joining forces to develop TIM technologies. As part of the development of digital competencies in the construction industry, NOPRIZ has entered into an agreement with the Association “Domestic Software”, which unites Russian software developers. This partnership is aimed at harmonizing professional standards and qualification requirements with the capabilities of domestic TIM solutions. Joint work will allow adapting independent qualification assessment programs to Russian software products, as well as facilitating the training of specialists who are proficient in national digital tools.

Particular attention was paid to the updated professional standard “Specialist in the field of information modeling in construction”, which came into force on March 1, 2025. The standard establishes five levels of qualification – from technical support of TIM to management of information modeling processes at the organizational level. On its basis, the Federal State Educational Standard of Secondary Vocational Education 08.02.15 “Information Modeling in Construction” has already been developed, which is implemented by 34 educational institutions of secondary vocational education.

Nadezhda Prokopyeva spoke in detail about the independent qualification assessment system, which has been conducted since 2017 on the basis of Federal Law No. 238-FZ. Currently, examination centers operate in Moscow, Krasnoyarsk, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk and Veliky Novgorod. The exam includes both a theoretical part with questions on the regulatory framework and practical tasks on working with TIM software products.

An important area of work for NOPRIZ is cooperation with the country’s leading construction universities to update educational programs in accordance with professional standards. In conclusion, Nadezhda Prokopyeva noted that the introduction of an independent qualification assessment system ensures a high professional level of specialists and increases confidence in TIM technologies in the construction industry.

Polina Fedyuchek, Deputy Director for Development of the Association of SRO “OsnovaProekt”, gave a report on the role of self-regulatory organizations in training specialists for the construction industry. In her speech, she emphasized the importance of the active participation of self-regulatory organizations in issues of personnel shortage and digitalization of the construction industry.

Polina Fedyuchek emphasized the importance of implementing state strategic documents – the Strategy for the Development of the Construction Industry and Housing and Public Utilities of the Russian Federation for the Period up to 2030 with a Forecast up to 2035 and the Concept for Training Personnel for the Construction Industry and Housing and Public Utilities up to 2035. These documents define the need for digitalization of the industry and the creation of a system of continuous professional education, where SROs act as a link between educational institutions, businesses and regulators.

Particular attention was paid to the implementation of the educational initiative “TIM-elective. SPO League”, launched by the Association of SRO “OsnovaProekt” together with SPbGASU in 2024. The pilot project covered six colleges from different regions of Russia, training 150 students and 29 teachers. In 2025, the program expanded significantly: now 32 educational institutions are participating in it, including colleges from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Khabarovsk and other cities. The total number of students reached 787 people, of which 631 are students and 146 are teachers. The program includes 308 hours of training in key areas of TIM technologies: architecture, structures, engineering systems and others. She also noted that these educational initiatives are being implemented with the involvement of exclusively domestic software developers.

“Support for young specialists and development of regional human resources potential remain our priorities,” noted Polina Fedyuchek. “Programs like the TIM-optional course not only help prepare qualified specialists, but also help reduce the personnel shortage in the regions.”

In conclusion, the speaker expressed confidence that further development of the self-regulation system and strengthening of interaction with educational institutions and government agencies will allow for successful resolution of the challenges facing the industry, including digitalization and training of qualified personnel.

As noted by Leonid Shelkovnikov, Head of the TIM Department of Kairos-Engineering LLC, a teacher at the Perm Construction College, the discrepancy between the qualifications of personnel and the needs of the labor market is a consequence of a major problem – the lack of a unified state approach to the use of information modeling technology, namely the choice of software. Educational institutions at the state level are prohibited from teaching imported software products, but construction organizations are allowed to use foreign software, including with violation of the copyrights of the departed vendors.

“The rapid obsolescence of knowledge due to the rapid transformation of the construction industry, the effective implementation of new technologies in the conditions of “turbulence” of the economy, the lack of dialogue between enterprises of the real sector of the economy and educational institutions – this is what is worth paying attention to in the near future. Growth points lie in the close interaction of educational institutions with the construction industry, the information technology industry. Therefore, it is necessary to move towards the set goals: try to select the required software for the educational process, look for technology partners in the conditions of uncertainty of state policy in the field of application of TIM. At the same time, we are all waiting for the formation of a unified methodology for training TIM personnel in the country, we are trying to convince both students and ourselves of the need to achieve technological sovereignty of the Russian construction industry through import substitution of software products and the applied standards for information transfer,” Leonid Shelkovnikov emphasized.

What do experts expect from the educational process?

Leonid Shelkovnikov, Maria Lemekhova and Alexey Zubkov

The head of the educational project of the company “ASCON”, the manager of the competence “Technologies of information modeling BIM” of the Agency for the development of skills and professions Olga Chernyadyeva clarified who a TIM teacher is. This is a certified specialist in the main BIM tools, who has experience in solving real problems of the industry and strives to constantly develop along with the update of the functionality of BIM tools and the construction industry.

“The professional skills competitions were created at the request of the industry. The tasks include the basic principles of BIM technologies (multi-vendor, teamwork, work with exchange formats), current tasks and skills in demand by the industry, taking into account current BIM standards and professional standards. As part of the TIM Championship of SPbGASU, training intensives are held on working with BIM tools, as well as on teaching methods,” said Olga Chernyadyeva.

She added that BIM management, the StroimProsto hackathon, the Professionals Championship movement, the TIM-Leaders All-Russian competition, and the Summer BIM School help develop the competencies of all members of the professional community.

Maria Lemekhova, Head of the Department for Work with the Federal Targeted Program at JSC Baltic Shipyard, noted that shipbuilding is also currently implementing TIM technologies and is facing similar personnel problems.

“Shipbuilding, like the construction industry, is unthinkable today without information modeling. At shipyards, we use TIM approaches to create ships, vessels and infrastructure. Our experience can be useful for solving problems in architecture and construction – from design optimization to life cycle management of objects. Digital twins of ships and TIM technologies in shipbuilding are the “marine version” of construction solutions. Integration of approaches will help overcome common challenges,” explained Maria Lemekhova.

She emphasized that digitalization of shipbuilding is a key element of the strategy of technological sovereignty. It covers not only the introduction of robotics and automation, but also the transformation of human resources. The transition to the concept of “Shipbuilding 4.0” requires training specialists capable of working with digital twins, ship lifecycle management systems (PLM) and artificial intelligence. The United Construction Corporation (JSC “USC”), which includes the Baltic Shipyard, is taking steps to restructure the educational system through projects such as “Plant-VTUZ”, combining training with practical training at enterprises. For example, students of the St. Petersburg Marine Technical University (SPbGMTU) are involved in the creation of digital twins of ships, which reduces the adaptation period for graduates in production.

“Only through the integration of digital platforms, updating retraining programs and creating attractive conditions for young people will we be able to overcome the personnel crisis,” noted Maria Lemekhova.

Construction allows you to leave a mark on history and realize your creative potential, because each project is unique and requires an individual approach, agreed Alexey Zubkov, project manager of the service of the director for construction of social facilities of the LSR Group and a graduate of St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering.

“LSR traces its history back to 1993 and in 30 years has become one of the leading construction holdings in the country. Now the LSR Group continues to increase construction and production volumes, following a proven strategy and maintaining established traditions. We follow new standards and requirements for the design of buildings and structures, including the use of modern technologies (for example, TIM). And we understand that the most important thing in any company, regardless of its size and profile of activity, is people. Therefore, we pay great attention to our many thousands of personnel, creating conditions for effective work and providing the broadest opportunities for professional and career growth. We will be glad to see young specialists in our teams,” said Alexey Zubkov.

In addition, teachers from colleges from Perm, Belgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Veliky Novgorod and St. Petersburg spoke at the round table and shared their opinions on the educational initiative “TIM-elective SPbGASU. SPO League 2025”. The speakers outlined the issues that, in their opinion, need to be improved by next year, and thanked SPbGASU and the Association of SRO “OsnovaProekt” for organizing such an interesting and significant event.

The participants of the round table agreed that the development of TIM technologies requires close interaction between educational institutions, businesses and regulators. Particular attention was paid to the need to adapt educational programs to rapidly changing industry requirements.

The event became a platform for exchanging best practices and defining the vector of further cooperation in the field of digitalization of the construction industry.

Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

MIL OSI Russia News –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI: Sunlight Solutions to Showcase Next-Gen Insurance Platform Across Latin America in 2025
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

MIAMI, April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sunlight Solutions, a leading global provider of intelligent insurance administration platforms, is proud to announce its participation in three of the most prominent insurance industry events in Latin America in 2025, as the company continues its mission to simplify insurance operations and put consumer needs at the heart of digital transformation.

Sunlight Solutions will be featured at:
- Cumbre SegurosAuto 2025
  April 28–30, 2025 – Hotel Trump National Doral Golf Resort, Miami, FL
- Convención de Aseguradoras AMIS 2025
  May 13–14, 2025 – Centro de Convenciones Santa Fe, Mexico City, MX
- Caribbean Insurance Conference 2025
  June 1–3, 2025 – The Westin Playa Bonita, Panama
With a consistent theme of “Insurance Management Flexibility Built Around the Consumer,” Sunlight Solutions will present how its platform addresses today’s most pressing challenges in the insurance ecosystem—delivering speed, security, and scalability while ensuring a seamless experience for insurers and policyholders alike.

“Insurance consumers are evolving, and so must the technology behind the policies,” said Antonio Lizano, Director of LATAM Marketing at Sunlight Solutions. “At these key events, we’ll demonstrate how our cloud-native, AI-driven platform adapts to any region, language, currency, or regulatory framework—ensuring insurers can meet their clients where they are, fast.”

Platform Highlights Include:
- Rapid Deployment & Configuration: Launch in weeks, not months
- Multi-Region, Multi-Currency, Multi-Language Support
- Advanced Cybersecurity and Compliance Standards
- AI-Powered Automation for underwriting, claims, and fraud detection
- Real-Time Flexibility for ever-changing insurance products
Attendees will have the opportunity to see live demos, engage with product experts, and discover how Sunlight’s platform is enabling insurers to simplify operations, scale efficiently, and deliver value-driven experiences to today’s digital-first customers.

For more information or to schedule a meeting at one of the events, please contact:

Antonio Lizano – Director of Marketing LATAM
alizano@sunlightsolutions.com | +1 (312) 532-4553

LATAM Form Spanish – Sunlight Solutions

The MIL Network –
April 29, 2025

MIL-OSI: Šiaulių Bankas Group results for 3M 2025

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

Profit. Šiaulių Bankas Group earned a net profit of €17.7 million
Fee and commission income. Net fee and commission income exceeded €7.5 million, up 17% year-on-year
Loan portfolio. The loan portfolio exceeded €3.5 billion, up 15% year-on-year
Financing structure. The bank successfully placed €300 million bond issue on the international markets
Buybacks. The bank has requested the ECB for authorisation to purchase 4.5 million of own shares
Rebranding. Šiaulių Bankas will become Artea as of 5 May 2025.

“We are about to take a historic step by becoming Artea in early May. This is more than just a new name. It is a strategic initiative to strengthen our relationship with private and corporate clients, the public and investors, and to become the first choice bank for customers in Lithuania.

We are fully focused on this important strategic change from the beginning of the year, which we believe will support long-term business. Our first quarter were in line with our market guidance,” says Vytautas Sinius, Chief Executive Officer of Šiaulių bankas.

Šiaulių Bankas Group earned unaudited net profit of €17.7 million in the first quarter of 2025, which is 21% less than in the corresponding period of 2024. Operating profit before impairment and income tax amounted to €24.5 million, down 18% compared to an operating profit of €30.0 million in the corresponding period of 2024.

Net fee and commission income in Q1 2025 grew by 17% y-o-y to over €7.5 million, while net interest income decreased by 13% y-o-y to €34.4 million.

All loan book segments grew during the quarter, with the total loan portfolio increasing by 2% (€76 million) to €3.5 billion. New credit agreements signed in the first quarter amounted to €0.4 million, 6% more than in the corresponding period of 2024 (€0.37 million).

The quality of the loan portfolio remains very strong, with loan provisions of €1.9 million in Q1 2025 (€2.2 million in the corresponding period of 2024). The Cost of Risk (CoR) of the loan portfolio was 0.2% in Q1 2025 (0.4% in the corresponding period of 2024).

The customer deposit portfolio grew by 1% (€45 million) since the beginning of the year and exceeded €3.6 billion at the end of the quarter. Demand deposits grew by 4% (€67 million) during the quarter to over €1.7 billion.

In the first quarter of this year, the bank’s funding structure was reinforced by €300 million senior preffered bond issue. As planned, the bank redeemed a subordinated bond issue of €20 million after the end of the quarter.

The group’s cost-to-income ratio at the end of the quarter was 52.6%¹ (Q1 2024: 42.1%¹) and the return on equity was 12.4% (Q1 2024: 17.6%). The group has accumulated capital and liquidity reserves, which include a contingent reserve for changes in CRR3 regulatory requirements to be implemented by June 30, 2025. Preliminary prudential ratios – the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) stood at 22.8%², while the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) stood at 254%².

The bank’s strong and sustainable capital base has enabled it not only to pay out a record dividend for 2024 (50% of 2024 net profit, €0.061 per share), but also to achieve a higher return to shareholders through the use of a buybacks of its own shares. The bank plans to continue its own share buybacks under the ECB’s authorisation and intends to buy back up to 2.65 million shares. In the first quarter of 2025 the bank has also submitted an additional request for ECB authorisation to purchase up to 4.5 million own shares

Income Statement (€`m)	2025 3M YTD	2024 3M	% ∆

Net Interest Income	34.4	39.6	-13%
Net Fee and Commission Income	7.6	6.5	17%
Other Income	6.4	11.4	–44%
Total Revenue	48.3	57.4	*-16%*

Salaries and Related Expenses	-14.0	-11.3	24%
Other Operating Expenses	-9.9	-16.1	–39%
Total Operating Expenses	-23.8	-27.4	*–13%*

Operating Profit	24.5	30.0	*-18%*
Provisions	-2.2	-2.2	1%
Income Tax Expense	-4.6	-5.4	-14%

Net Profit	17.7	22.5	*-21%*

Balance Sheet Metrics (€`m)	2025.03.31	2024.12.31	% ∆

Loan Portfolio	3 511	3 435	2%
Total Assets	5 286	4 923	7%
Deposits	3 606	3 561	1%
Equity	561	585	-4%

Assets under Management³	1 957	1 977	-1%
Assets under Custody	1 964	1 936	1%

Key indicators	2025 3M YTD	2024 3M	∆

Net Interest Margin (NIM)	3.0%	3.9%	-94bp
Cost-to-Income Ratio (C/I)¹	52.6%	42.1%	+1054bp
Return on Equity (RoE)	12.4%	17.6%	-521bp
Cost of Risk (CoR)	0.2%	0.4%	-15bp
Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR)²	22.8%	21.1%	+169bps

Overview of Business Segments

Corporate Client Segment

The volume of new business finance contracts in Q1 2025 was €0.2 billion, the same as a year before. Since the beginning of the year, the business loan portfolio grew by 2% (€33 million) to almost €1.9 billion. The strong growth is maintained by the high quality of the loan portfolio, with a partial release of provisions on the corporate loan portfolio Q1 2025, with a Cost of Risk (CoR) of -0.21%.

The bank’s continues to diversify growth across strategic sectors such as manufacturing, retail and renewable energy. The favourable business environment has stimulated investment and created additional opportunities for expansion.

Private Client Segment

In Q1 2025, the volume of new mortgage contracts increased by 90% to €76 million compared to the same period last year. Since the beginning of the year, the housing loan portfolio has grown by 5% (€43 million) to almost €1 billion.

The volume of new consumer finance contracts fell by 9% year-on-year to €49 million in Q1 2025 compared to the same period last year. Since the beginning of the year, the consumer loan portfolio grew by 1% (€5 million) to almost €0.4 billion.

The bank continues to implement strategically important projects, modernising its core banking platform in line with the plan and rebranding. Šiaulių bankas will becomes Artea as of 5 May.

Investment Client Segment

In an environment of decreasing base rates, customers continue to invest and save actively. In Q1 2025, the value of bonds issued on behalf of corporate clients amounted to €64 million. At the end of the quarter, the value of assets under custody amounted to almost €2 billion.

At the end of Q1 2025, the assets managed by SB Asset Management remained above €1.4 billion. The performance of the managed pension funds continues to rank among the best compared to competitors, both since the beginning of the year and over longer 3- and 5-year periods. Thanks to the applied Index Plus investment strategy—where part of the funds is allocated to private debt, real estate, and other private assets—the funds experience lower volatility during turbulent periods, while maintaining high returns.

¹eliminating the impact of SB Insurance’s client portfolio
²Preliminary data
³ includes assets managed by asset management and modernisation funds

Šiaulių bankas invites shareholders, investors, analysts and all interested parties to a webinar presentation of the financial results for the first quarter of 2025. The webinar will start at 08:30 (EEST) on 29 April 2025. The webinar will be held in English. Please register here.

If you would like to receive Šiaulių Bankas’ news for investors directly to your inbox, subscribe to our newsletter.

Additional information:

Tomas Varenbergas

Head of Investment Management Division

tomas.varenbergas@sb.lt, +370 610 44447

Attachments

The MIL Network –

April 29, 2025

MIL-OSI: What Real AI Business Transformation Means: Insights from Forbes Tech Council and Intetics Live Webinar
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

NAPLES, Fla., April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Intetics Inc., a leading global technology company specializing in custom software development and digital transformation, is proud to announce the publication of an insightful article by President and CEO Boris Kontsevoi in Forbes Technology Council. Titled “AI-Driven Business Transformation: Will You Fade Away or Forge the Future?”, the article delivers a powerful call to action for business leaders navigating the era of AI.

In the piece, Boris Kontsevoi emphasizes that AI is no longer optional for companies that aim to stay competitive. Drawing parallels between historic labor transformations and today’s digital revolution, he argues that businesses must move beyond basic AI tool deployment and embrace AI as a core strategic asset.

“The next five years will define the winners and losers of the AI revolution. Companies that fail to integrate AI into their operational core risk becoming irrelevant,” – Boris Kontsevoi warns.

The article outlines:
- The Evolution of Labor — tracing economic progress from ancient systems to today’s AI-driven future.
- The Five Levels of AI Maturity — a framework guiding companies from simple automation to autonomous organizational intelligence.
- Best Starting Projects — real-world examples such as AI-powered troubleshooting assistants and sales automation tools that deliver measurable impact.
- AI Implementation Best Practices — clear guidelines for companies starting or refining their AI journeys.
Boris Kontsevoi also highlights a key Intetics innovation: Enterprise Knowledge Assistant (EKA), which exemplifies how businesses can move beyond off-the-shelf AI tools to build customized, transformational solutions.

This latest contribution underscores Intetics’ commitment to helping organizations worldwide harness the full potential of AI to drive meaningful, sustainable growth.

Read the full article here.

Upcoming Webinar: “How AI Agents Fixed Our SDLC”

In continuation of the insights shared in the article, Intetics invites technology leaders, project managers, and innovation enthusiasts to its exclusive webinar, “How AI Agents Fixed Our SDLC”.

Participants will see first-hand how AI-driven solutions boosted project efficiency by 18% — without overhauling entire systems. The session will include:
- Real-world demos of AI integration with Jira, GitHub, Slack, and Confluence.
- How AI Knowledge Keepers provide instant, reliable answers to team queries.
- Step-by-step examples of how AI improves workload estimation and delivery speed.
Learn more and register here: https://bit.ly/3S80nZN

About Intetics
Intetics Inc. is a leading American technology company providing custom software application development, distributed professional teams’ creation, software product quality assessment, and “all-things-digital” solutions built with SMAC, RPA, AI/ML, IoT, blockchain, and GIS/UAV/LBS technologies. Based on proprietary pioneering business models of Offshore Dedicated Team^® and Remote In-Sourcing^®, an advanced Technical Debt Reduction Platform (TETRA™) and measurable SLAs for software engineering, Intetics helps innovative organizations capitalize on global talent with our in-depth engineering expertise based on our Predictive Software Engineering framework. Intetics core strength lays in design of software products in conditions of incomplete specifications. We have extensive industry expertise in Education, Healthcare, Logistics, Life Sciences, Finance, Insurance, Communications, and custom ERP, CRM, Intelligent Automation and Geospatial solutions. Our advanced software engineering background and outstanding quality management platform, along with an unparalleled methodology for talent acquisition, team building and talent retention, guarantee that our clients receive exceptional results for their projects. At Intetics, our outcomes do not just meet clients’ expectations, they have been exceeding them for a quarter of a century. Intetics operates from multiple offices in the USA, Europe and Latin America, hiring the best talent available worldwide. Intetics is ISO 9001 (quality) and ISO 27001 (security) certified and a Microsoft Gold, Amazon, and UiPath Silver partner. The company’s innovation and growth achievements are reflected in winning prestigious titles and awards, including Inc5000, Software 500, CRN 100, American Business, Deloitte Fast 50, European IT Excellence, Best European BPO, Stevie People’s Choice, Clutch and ACQ5 Awards, IAOP Global Outsourcing 100 and Fortune Innovative 300 lists.

Learn more: www.intetics.com

The MIL Network –
April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI: HYPR Continues Global Expansion with New Belgrade Office Amid Shift to Passkeys and Rising Deepfake Threats

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

NEW YORK, April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Today, HYPR, the Identity Assurance Company, announced a significant acceleration of its global growth strategy with the opening of a new European Center of Excellence in Belgrade, Serbia. This strategic second physical office will amplify the company’s capacity to serve its rapidly expanding worldwide customer base while leveraging the region’s deep reservoir of technical talent. Further fueling this global momentum, HYPR also announced the promotion of Douglas McLaughlin to Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales, a strategic appointment that underscores the company’s response to the surging demand for its passwordless authentication and identity verification solutions across key sectors like financial services and healthcare, where cyber threats are reaching critical levels.

Identity Renaissance Drives Market Demand

HYPR’s recently released 2025 State of Passwordless Identity Assurance Report, conducted in partnership with S&P Global Market Intelligence 451 Research, reveals a critical inflection point in authentication security driven by a concerning reality. In 2024, nearly half (49%) of organizations suffered a breach, with an overwhelming 87% attributed to identity vulnerabilities. These breaches resulted in substantial financial losses averaging $2.5 million per incident, alongside legal ramifications forcing many organizations to reduce headcount and implement executive changes. Adding to this challenging landscape, the report also uncovers one of the most alarming findings: nearly 40% of organizations experienced a GenAI-related security incident in the past year, with a staggering 95% encountering some form of deepfake attack—including altered static imagery (50%) and manipulated live (44%) and recorded (41%) audio/video. However, amidst these escalating threats, the report highlights a historic shift in the authentication landscape. For the first time in its five-year history, FIDO passkeys and hardware keys are on track to become the dominant authentication method by 2027, offering a potential pathway to a more secure future.

Global Expansion and Hiring Initiatives

To better equip organizations for the escalating battle against identity-based attacks and to fuel its ambitious growth trajectory, HYPR has strategically expanded its operational footprint with a new European Center of Excellence in Belgrade, Serbia. This critical addition will significantly enhance the company’s ability to serve its increasing global customer base with localized expertise while tapping into the region’s robust technical talent market.

“Our new Belgrade office represents a strategic investment in HYPR’s future,” added Simic. “As threats like sophisticated phishing campaigns and the alarming trend of North Korean hackers infiltrating IT departments continue to make headlines, organizations worldwide are recognizing that robust identity assurance is non-negotiable. We’re actively hiring across multiple functions in both the US and internationally to meet this surging demand.”

The company’s HYPR Affirm identity verification solution has seen strong adoption across organizations of all sizes, from nimble SMBs to large enterprises, as identity fraud and verification challenges affect businesses regardless of scale. Organizations are leveraging HYPR Affirm to address critical identity challenges including employee onboarding fraud prevention, detection of fake workers, secure account recovery for helpdesks, and verification during high-risk transactions. This growth aligns with the report’s finding that identity verification tools are now the most widely deployed IAM tool (63%) and a top choice for post-breach implementation (68%).

When combined with HYPR’s passwordless authentication capabilities, customers create a comprehensive identity assurance framework that significantly reduces risk across the identity lifecycle.

Leadership for Hypergrowth

Douglas McLaughlin has been named SVP of Worldwide Sales. Over the last six years, McLaughlin has been instrumental in HYPR’s growth trajectory, personally cultivating strategic partnerships with one of the top four US banks, a top five healthcare organization, and one of the nation’s largest credit unions, among other marquee accounts. His leadership has been pivotal in establishing HYPR as the trusted identity assurance partner for enterprises seeking to eliminate credential-based attacks. Additionally, Doug has played a crucial role in building and enhancing HYPR’s channel partner program, significantly expanding the company’s market reach and creating mutually beneficial relationships with strategic technology and service providers.

“Doug has consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership and an unwavering commitment to our customers’ success,” said Bojan Simic, co-founder, CEO and CTO of HYPR. “His deep understanding of the evolving threat landscape and ability to translate our technical innovations into tangible business value for customers makes them the ideal leader to scale our global sales operations. This promotion reflects not only Doug’s individual achievements but also our company’s commitment to recognizing and elevating top talent.”

Customers consistently cite McLaughlin’s ability to guide them through complex digital transformations, providing the confidence needed to undertake significant authentication modernization initiatives that deliver both enhanced security and improved user experiences.

About HYPR

HYPR, the Identity Assurance Company, helps organizations create trust in the identity lifecycle. The HYPR solution provides the strongest end-to-end identity security, combining modern passwordless authentication with adaptive risk mitigation, automated identity verification and a simple, intuitive user experience. With a third-party validated ROI of 324%, HYPR easily integrates with existing identity and security tools and can be rapidly deployed at scale in the most complex environments.

Media Contact:
Fabienne Dawson
fabienne@hypr.com
917.374.6860

The MIL Network –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI: Cequence Security Unveils Industry-First Security Layer to Govern and Protect Agentic AI
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

SAN FRANCISCO, April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cequence Security, a leader in API security and bot management, today announced significant enhancements to its Unified API Protection (UAP) platform to deliver the industry’s first comprehensive security solution for agentic AI development, usage, and connectivity. This enhancement empowers organizations to secure every AI agent interaction, regardless of the development framework. By implementing robust guardrails, the solution protects both enterprise-hosted AI applications and external AI APIs, preventing sensitive data exfiltration through business logic abuse and ensuring regulatory compliance.

There is no AI without APIs, and the rapid growth of agentic AI applications has amplified concerns about securing sensitive data during their interactions. These AI-driven exchanges can inadvertently expose internal systems, create significant vulnerabilities, and jeopardize valuable data assets. Recognizing this critical challenge, Cequence has expanded its UAP platform, introducing an enhanced security layer to govern interactions between AI agents and backend services specifically. This new layer of security enables customers to detect and prevent AI bots such as ChatGPT from OpenAI and Perplexity from harvesting organizational data.

Internal telemetry across Global 2000 deployments shows that the overwhelming majority of AI-related bot traffic, nearly 88%, originates from large language model infrastructure, with most requests obfuscated behind generic or unidentified user agents. Less than 4% of this traffic is transparently attributed to bots like GPTBot or Gemini. Over 97% of it comes from U.S.-based IP addresses, highlighting the concentration of risk in North American enterprises. Cequence’s ability to detect and govern this traffic in real time, despite the lack of clear identifiers, reinforces the platform’s unmatched readiness for securing agentic AI in the wild.

Key enhancements to Cequence’s UAP platform include:
- Block unauthorized AI data harvesting: Understanding that external AI often seeks to learn by broadly collecting data without obtaining permission, Cequence provides organizations with the critical capability to manage which AI, if any, can interact with their proprietary information.
- Detect and prevent sensitive data exposure: Empowers organizations to effectively detect and prevent sensitive data exposure across all forms of agentic AI. This includes safeguarding against external AI harvesting attempts and securing data within internal AI applications. The platform’s intelligent analysis automatically differentiates between legitimate data access during normal application usage and anomalous activities signaling sensitive data exfiltration, ensuring comprehensive protection against AI-related data loss.
- Discover and manage shadow AI: Automatically discovers and classifies APIs from agentic AI tools like Microsoft Copilot and Salesforce Agentforce, presenting a unified view alongside customers’ internal and third-party APIs. This comprehensive visibility empowers organizations to easily manage these interactions and effectively detect and block sensitive data leaks, whether from external AI harvesting or internal AI usage.
- Seamless integration: Integrates easily into DevOps frameworks for discovering internal AI applications and generates OpenAPI specifications that detail API schemas and security mechanisms, including strong authentication and security policies. Cequence delivers powerful protection without relying on third-party tools, while seamlessly integrating with the customer’s existing cybersecurity ecosystem. This simplifies management and security enforcement.
“Gartner^® predicts that by 2028, 33% of enterprise software applications will include agentic AI, up from less than 1% in 2024, enabling 15% of day-to-day work decisions to be made autonomously.”*

“We’ve taken immediate action to extend our market-leading API security and bot management capabilities,” said Ameya Talwalkar, CEO of Cequence. “Agentic AI introduces a new layer of complexity, where every agent behaves like a bidirectional API. That’s our wheelhouse. Our platform helps organizations embrace innovation at scale without sacrificing governance, compliance, or control.”

These extended capabilities will be generally available in June.

Additional Resources:

*Gartner Articles, Intelligent Agents in AI Really Can Work Alone. Here’s How., October 2024. GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

About Cequence Security
Cequence is a pioneer in API security and bot management, protecting the applications and APIs that organizations depend on from attacks, business logic abuse, and fraud. Our unique Unified API Protection platform unites discovery, compliance, and protection capabilities, providing unmatched real-time security in the face of sophisticated threats. Demonstrating value in minutes rather than days or weeks, Cequence offers a flexible deployment model that requires no app instrumentation or modification. Cequence solutions scale to meet the needs of the largest and most demanding private and public sector organizations, protecting more than 8 billion daily API interactions and 3 billion user accounts. To learn more, visit www.cequence.ai.

The MIL Network –
April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: Fannie Mae Announces Scheduled Release of First Quarter 2025 Financial Results

Source: Fannie Mae

WASHINGTON, DC – Fannie Mae (FNMA/OTCQB) today announced plans to report its first quarter 2025 financial results on Wednesday morning, April 30, 2025, before the opening of U.S. financial markets.

Fannie Mae has scheduled a conference call to discuss the company’s results at 8:00 a.m., ET, on April 30, 2025.

Prior to the call, the company’s first quarter 2025 earnings news release, quarterly report on Form 10-Q, and other supplemental information will be available on the company’s Quarterly and Annual Results webpage at fanniemae.com/financialresults. Following the call, a transcript will be published to the same webpage and will remain available until our next quarterly earnings announcement.

CONFERENCE CALL PARTICIPATION DETAILS – Fannie Mae First Quarter 2025 Financial Results

Event day and time
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
8:00 AM (ET)

Listen-only webcast:
https://event.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1714045&tp_key=af61e0bd6a

Click on the link above to attend the presentation from your laptop, tablet, or mobile device. Audio will stream through your selected device. If you have difficulty accessing the webcast, please click the “Listen by Phone” button on the webcast player and dial the number provided.

MIL OSI Economics –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Open Day at the Polytechnic University brought together thousands of future students

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –

Before the start of the admissions campaign, the Polytechnic University held an Open Day. On April 27, more than 4,000 applicants and their parents visited the Main Academic Building of the university. For those who could not come in person, a live broadcast was organized in the Polytechnic group for applicants on VKontakte.

The event was opened by the Vice-Rector for Continuing and Pre-University Education of SPbPU Dmitry Tikhonov, who spoke about the advantages of studying at the Polytechnic University and the prospects for students. Then the responsible secretary of the Admissions Committee Vitaly Drobchik acquainted the participants with the key changes in the admission rules for the 2025 academic year.

After the official part, the guests were able to visit the institutes’ stands, where they learned about the training areas and asked questions to the teachers and students. Various activities and presentations were prepared for the university’s guests. The Civil Engineering Institute held master classes on digital construction, life safety, and product design. Those interested in the humanities were able to learn about the professions of a digital linguist, psychologist, and specialist in foreign regional studies. The Institute of Biomedical Systems and Biotechnology held a master class on experiments with food pigments. The Institute of Industrial Management, Economics, and Trade organized a master class on commodity science, where schoolchildren learned to quickly determine the quality of products and identify signs of non-compliance with standards and possible counterfeiting.

The SPbPU Career Development Department presented job opportunities to applicants in an interactive format. Specialists talked about practices, internships and options for cooperation with the university’s partners. Organizations that offer targeted training at the university were also presented.

In addition, participants could visit a photo booth and take a sightseeing tour of the campus. At special consultation stands, guests of the university talked with employees of the Admissions Committee, activists of the United Student Council of Dormitories, representatives of the Black Bears-Polytech sports club and specialists of the Center for Work with Applicants.

At the end of the event, participants were treated to an impressive scientific show from the Institute of Physics and Mathematics, as well as an awards ceremony for the winners of the university competition.

The live broadcast was hosted by the Director of the Contingent Formation Center Varvara Sotova and a student of the Institute of Energy Victoria Chernova. They explained in detail the nuances of admission this year and talked about participation in the projects of the State Corporation Rosatom. The broadcast can be viewed inrecords in a group.

The Open Day once again confirmed the leading position of the Polytechnic University, the relevance of our scientific developments and educational programs. There was a lot of excitement near the career guidance zones of each institute. And the university strategy adapted for presentation to schoolchildren aroused keen interest among applicants and parents, because we are talking about success and prospects. We see how the interest of young people in engineering areas and the use of modern technologies related to artificial intelligence, digital engineering, new materials is growing. It is especially valuable that applicants come to us not just for a diploma, but for the competencies of the future, which will allow them to become sought-after specialists in high-tech industries, – noted Dmitry Tikhonov.

Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

MIL OSI Russia News –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI: Check Point Software Achieves FedRAMP “In Process” Milestone to Deliver AI-Powered Cyber Security Solutions to U.S. Government

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP), a pioneer and global leader of cyber security solutions, today announced it has achieved “In Process” status for the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) Moderate baseline. This designation signifies a significant step toward FedRAMP Authorization, enabling U.S. federal agencies to leverage Check Point’s advanced threat protection and real-time threat intelligence to safeguard systems against known and emerging threats.

“Achieving FedRAMP ‘In Process’ status is a critical milestone in our mission to provide robust and compliant cyber security solutions to the U.S. government,” said Avi Rembaum, President of Americas Sales at Check Point Software Technologies. “We are dedicated to supporting federal agencies in securing their digital assets against ever evolving cyber threats.”

The FedRAMP “In Process” status indicates that Check Point is actively working with a federal agency sponsor to achieve full FedRAMP Authorization. This collaboration underscores Check Point’s commitment to meeting the stringent security requirements necessary to protect federal information systems.

FedRAMP is a U.S. government-wide program that provides a standardized approach to security assessment, authorization, and continuous monitoring for cloud products and services. By achieving “In Process” status, Check Point demonstrates its commitment to delivering secure and reliable solutions that meet federal security standards.

For more information on Check Point’s FedRAMP journey, please visit the FedRAMP Marketplace: https://marketplace.fedramp.gov/products/FR2511048038.

Follow Check Point via:
X (Formerly known as Twitter): https://www.twitter.com/checkpointsw
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/checkpointsoftware
Blog: https://blog.checkpoint.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/CPGlobal
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/check-point-software-technologies

About Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (www.checkpoint.com) is a leading protector of digital trust, utilizing AI-powered cyber security solutions to safeguard over 100,000 organizations globally. Through its Infinity Platform and an open garden ecosystem, Check Point’s prevention-first approach delivers industry-leading security efficacy while reducing risk. Employing a hybrid mesh network architecture with SASE at its core, the Infinity Platform unifies the management of on-premises, cloud, and workspace environments to offer flexibility, simplicity and scale for enterprises and service providers.

Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or our future financial or operating performance. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements related to our expectations regarding future growth, the expansion of Check Point’s industry leadership, the enhancement of shareholder value and the delivery of an industry-leading cyber security platform to customers worldwide. Our expectations and beliefs regarding these matters may not materialize, and actual results or events in the future are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those projected. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those more fully described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 2, 2024. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to Check Point as of the date hereof, and Check Point disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

The MIL Network –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI: Veeco’s Laser Annealing Platform Named Production Tool of Record for New Applications at Leading-Edge Logic Manufacturers

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

PLAINVIEW, N.Y., April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO) announced today two leading-edge logic customers have selected Veeco’s Laser Spike Annealing Platform as Production Tool of Record for new applications at their gate-all-around nodes. Veeco expects high-volume manufacturing orders tied to these wins as each customer ramps their advanced nodes.

“We continue to see growing adoption of our laser annealing platform for new applications as demonstrated by today’s announcement,” commented Adrian Devasahayam, Ph.D., Veeco’s Senior Vice President, Product Line Management. “Veeco’s LSA system is widely acknowledged as the optimum annealing solution for low thermal-budget applications, and as device geometries and performance requirements at advanced nodes continue to evolve, precise annealing by our LSA platform has become increasingly critical. Both wins are a culmination of ongoing collaboration with each customer and validate Veeco’s strategy of expanding its Served Available Market by investing at the leading-edge.”

Laser spike annealing is a millisecond annealing technology used in front-end semiconductor manufacturing to lower the resistance of key transistor structures by activating dopants. Veeco’s LSA system is capable of high temperature annealing while staying within reduced thermal budgets of advanced devices at leading-edge nodes. Veeco’s Laser Annealing portfolio also includes its NSA500 system, which extends annealing capabilities to low thermal budget applications, like Backside Power Delivery and Contact Annealing for advanced nodes and material modification applications such as void-removal, recrystallization, and grain growth. These annealing steps are instrumental in determining the electrical properties and performance of the resulting devices.

About Veeco
Veeco (NASDAQ: VECO) is an innovative manufacturer of semiconductor process equipment. Our laser annealing, ion beam, single wafer etch & clean, lithography, and metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technologies play an integral role in the fabrication and packaging of advanced semiconductor devices. With equipment designed to optimize performance, yield and cost of ownership, Veeco holds leading technology positions in the markets we serve. To learn more about Veeco’s systems and service offerings, visit www.veeco.com.

To the extent that this news release discusses expectations or otherwise makes statements about the future, such statements are forward-looking and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. These factors include the risks discussed in the Business Description and Management’s Discussion and Analysis sections of Veeco’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 and in our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and press releases. Veeco does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances after the date of such statements.

Veeco Contacts:
Investors: Anthony Pappone | (516) 500-8798 | apappone@veeco.com
Media: Javier Banos | (516) 673-7328 | jbanos@veeco.com

The MIL Network –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI: TeraWulf Announces Participation in Upcoming Investor and Industry Conferences
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

EASTON, Md., April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — TeraWulf Inc. (Nasdaq: WULF) (“TeraWulf” or the “Company”), which owns and operates vertically integrated, next-generation digital infrastructure primarily powered by zero-carbon energy, today announced that various members of senior management will be participating in the following upcoming conferences and events:
- May 13-15, 2025: JP Morgan Global TMT Conference, Boston, MA
- May 19-20, 2025: AIM Summit, London
- May 21-22, 2025: B Riley 25^th Annual Investor Conference, Marina del Ray, CA
- May 27-29, 2025: Bitcoin 2025, Las Vegas, NV
- June 3-5, 2025: Datacloud Global Congress 2025, Cannes FRA
- June 10-11, 2025: Rosenblatt Annual Age of AI Summit, Virtual
- June 24-26, 2025: Roth 15^th Annual London Conference, London
- June 25, 2025: Northland Growth Conference, Virtual
About TeraWulf

TeraWulf develops, owns, and operates environmentally sustainable, next-generation data center infrastructure in the United States, specifically designed for bitcoin mining and hosting HPC workloads. Led by a team of seasoned energy entrepreneurs, the Company owns and operates the Lake Mariner facility situated on the expansive site of a now retired coal plant in Western New York. Currently, TeraWulf generates revenue primarily through bitcoin mining, leveraging predominantly zero-carbon energy sources, including hydroelectric and nuclear power. Committed to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles that align with its business objectives, TeraWulf aims to deliver industry-leading economics in mining and data center operations at an industrial scale.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Such forward-looking statements include statements concerning anticipated future events and expectations that are not historical facts. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as “plan,” “believe,” “goal,” “target,” “aim,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “outlook,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “seek,” “continue,” “could,” “may,” “might,” “possible,” “potential,” “strategy,” “opportunity,” “predict,” “should,” “would” and other similar words and expressions, although the absence of these words or expressions does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations and beliefs of TeraWulf’s management and are inherently subject to a number of factors, risks, uncertainties and assumptions and their potential effects. There can be no assurance that future developments will be those that have been anticipated. Actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements based on a number of factors, risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including, among others: (1) the ability to mine bitcoin profitably; (2) our ability to attract additional customers to lease our HPC data centers; (3) our ability to perform under our existing data center lease agreements (4) changes in applicable laws, regulations and/or permits affecting TeraWulf’s operations or the industries in which it operates; (5) the ability to implement certain business objectives, including its bitcoin mining and HPC data center development, and to timely and cost-effectively execute related projects; (6) failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and/or on acceptable terms with regard to expansion or existing operations; (7) adverse geopolitical or economic conditions, including a high inflationary environment, the implementation of new tariffs and more restrictive trade regulations; (8) the potential of cybercrime, money-laundering, malware infections and phishing and/or loss and interference as a result of equipment malfunction or break-down, physical disaster, data security breach, computer malfunction or sabotage (and the costs associated with any of the foregoing); (9) the availability and cost of power as well as electrical infrastructure equipment necessary to maintain and grow the business and operations of TeraWulf; and (10) other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Potential investors, stockholders and other readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they were made. TeraWulf does not assume any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement after it was made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law or regulation. Investors are referred to the full discussion of risks and uncertainties associated with forward-looking statements and the discussion of risk factors contained in the Company’s filings with the SEC, which are available at www.sec.gov.

Investors:
Investors@terawulf.com

Media:
media@terawulf.com

The MIL Network –
April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI: Fortinet Threat Report Reveals Record Surge in Automated Cyberattacks as Adversaries Weaponize AI and Fresh Techniques
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

FortiGuard Labs 2025 Global Threat Landscape Report highlights a boom in Cybercrime-as-a-Service on the darknet, fueling a lucrative market for credentials, exploits, and access

SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —

News Summary

Fortinet^® (NASDAQ: FTNT), the global cybersecurity leader driving the convergence of networking and security, today announced the release of the 2025 Global Threat Landscape Report from FortiGuard Labs. The latest annual report is a snapshot of the active threat landscape and trends from 2024, including a comprehensive analysis across all tactics used in cyberattacks, as outlined in the MITRE ATT&CK framework. The data reveals that threat actors are increasingly harnessing automation, commoditized tools, and AI to systematically erode the traditional advantages held by defenders.

“Our latest Global Threat Landscape Report makes one thing clear: Cybercriminals are accelerating their efforts, using AI and automation to operate at unprecedented speed and scale,” said Derek Manky, Chief Security Strategist and Global VP Threat Intelligence, Fortinet FortiGuard Labs. “The traditional security playbook is no longer enough. Organizations must shift to a proactive, intelligence-led defense strategy powered by AI, zero trust, and continuous threat exposure management to stay ahead of today’s rapidly evolving threat landscape.”

Key findings from the latest FortiGuard Labs Global Threat Landscape Report include:
- Automated scanning hits record highs as attackers shift left to identify exposed targets early. To capitalize on newfound vulnerabilities, cybercriminals are deploying automated scanning at a global scale. Active scanning in cyberspace reached unprecedented levels in 2024, rising by 16.7% worldwide year-over-year, highlighting a sophisticated and massive collection of information on exposed digital infrastructure. FortiGuard Labs observed billions of scans each month, equating to 36,000 scans per second, revealing an intensified focus on mapping exposed services such as SIP and RDP and OT/IoT protocols like Modbus TCP.
- Darknet marketplaces fuel easy access to neatly packaged exploit kits. In 2024, cybercriminal forums increasingly operated as sophisticated marketplaces for exploit kits, with over 40,000 new vulnerabilities added to the National Vulnerability Database, a 39% rise from 2023. In addition to zero-day vulnerabilities circulating on the darknet, initial access brokers are increasingly offering corporate credentials (20%), RDP access (19%), admin panels (13%), and web shells (12%). Additionally, FortiGuard Labs observed a 500% increase in the past year in logs available from systems compromised by infostealer malware, with 1.7 billion stolen credential records shared in these underground forums.
- AI-powered cybercrime is scaling rapidly. Threat actors are harnessing AI to enhance phishing realism and evading traditional security controls, making cyberattacks more effective and difficult to detect. Tools like FraudGPT, BlackmailerV3, and ElevenLabs are fueling more scalable, believable, and effective campaigns, without the ethical restrictions of publicly available AI tools.
- Targeted attacks on critical sectors intensify. Industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, and financial services continue to experience a surge in tailored cyberattacks, with adversaries deploying sector-specific exploitations. In 2024, the most targeted sectors were manufacturing (17%), business services (11%), construction (9%), and retail (9%). Both nation-state actors and Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) operators concentrated their efforts on these verticals, with the United States bearing the brunt of attacks (61%), followed by the United Kingdom (6%) and Canada (5%).
- Cloud and IoT security risks escalate. Cloud environments continue to be a top target, with adversaries exploiting persistent weaknesses such as open storage buckets, over-permissioned identities, and misconfigured services. In 70% of observed incidents, attackers gained access through logins from unfamiliar geographies, highlighting the critical role of identity monitoring in cloud defense.
- Credentials are the currency of cybercrime. In 2024, cybercriminals shared over 100 billion compromised records on underground forums, a 42% year-over-year spike, driven largely by the rise of “combo lists” containing stolen usernames, passwords, and email addresses. More than half of darknet posts involved leaked databases, enabling attackers to automate credential-stuffing attacks at scale. Well-known groups like BestCombo, BloddyMery, and ValidMail were the most active cybercriminal groups during this time and continue to lower the barrier to entry by packaging and validating these credentials, fueling a surge in account takeovers, financial fraud, and corporate espionage.
CISO Takeaway: Strengthening Cyber Defenses Against Emerging Threats
Fortinet’s Global Threat Landscape Report provides rich details on the latest attacker tactics and techniques while also delivering prescriptive recommendations and actionable insights. Designed to empower CISOs and security teams, the report offers strategies to counter threat actors before they strike, helping organizations stay ahead of emerging cyberthreats.

This year’s report includes a “CISO Playbook for Adversary Defense” that highlights a few strategic areas to focus on:
- Shifting from traditional threat detection to continuous threat exposure management: This proactive approach emphasizes continuous attack surface management, real-world emulation of adversary behavior, risk-based remediation prioritization, and automation of detection and defense responses. Utilizing breach and attack simulation (BAS) tools to regularly assess endpoint, network, and cloud defenses against real-world attack scenarios ensures resilience against lateral movement and exploitation.
- Simulating real-world attacks: Conduct adversary emulation exercises, red and purple teaming, and leverage MITRE ATT&CK to test defenses against threats like ransomware and espionage campaigns.
- Reducing attack surface exposure: Deploy attack surface management (ASM) tools to detect exposed assets, leaked credentials, and exploitable vulnerabilities while continuously monitoring darknet forums for emerging threats.
- Prioritizing high-risk vulnerabilities: Focus remediation efforts on vulnerabilities actively discussed by cybercrime groups, leveraging risk-based prioritization frameworks such as EPSS and CVSS for effective patch management.
- Leveraging dark web intelligence: Monitor darknet marketplaces for emerging ransomware services and track hacktivist coordination efforts to preemptively mitigate threats like DDoS and web defacement attacks.
Discover how FortiGuard Labs Advisory Services combine cutting-edge technology and expert services to help organizations strengthen their security posture before threats emerge. In the event of an incident, FortiGuard Labs offers swift, effective response and in-depth forensic analysis to minimize impact and prevent future intrusions, delivering comprehensive protection in today’s increasingly volatile digital landscape.

Additional Resources

About Fortinet
Fortinet (Nasdaq: FTNT) is a driving force in the evolution of cybersecurity and the convergence of networking and security. Our mission is to secure people, devices, and data everywhere, and today we deliver cybersecurity everywhere our customers need it with the largest integrated portfolio of over 50 enterprise-grade products. Well over half a million customers trust Fortinet’s solutions, which are among the most deployed, most patented, and most validated in the industry. The Fortinet Training Institute, one of the largest and broadest training programs in the industry, is dedicated to making cybersecurity training and new career opportunities available to everyone. Collaboration with esteemed organizations from both the public and private sectors, including Computer Emergency Response Teams (“CERTS”), government entities, and academia, is a fundamental aspect of Fortinet’s commitment to enhance cyber resilience globally. FortiGuard Labs, Fortinet’s elite threat intelligence and research organization, develops and utilizes leading-edge machine learning and AI technologies to provide customers with timely and consistently top-rated protection and actionable threat intelligence. Learn more at https://www.fortinet.com, the Fortinet Blog, and FortiGuard Labs.

Copyright © 2025 Fortinet, Inc. All rights reserved. The symbols ® and ™ denote respectively federally registered trademarks and common law trademarks of Fortinet, Inc., its subsidiaries and affiliates. Fortinet’s trademarks include, but are not limited to, the following: Fortinet, the Fortinet logo, FortiGate, FortiOS, FortiGuard, FortiCare, FortiAnalyzer, FortiManager, FortiASIC, FortiClient, FortiCloud, FortiMail, FortiSandbox, FortiADC, FortiAI, FortiAIOps, FortiAgent, FortiAntenna, FortiAP, FortiAPCam, FortiAuthenticator, FortiCache, FortiCall, FortiCam, FortiCamera, FortiCarrier, FortiCASB, FortiCentral, FortiCNP, FortiConnect, FortiController, FortiConverter, FortiCSPM, FortiCWP, FortiDAST, FortiDB, FortiDDoS, FortiDeceptor, FortiDeploy, FortiDevSec, FortiDLP, FortiEdge, FortiEDR, FortiExplorer, FortiExtender, FortiFirewall, FortiFlex FortiFone, FortiGSLB, FortiGuest, FortiHypervisor, FortiInsight, FortiIsolator, FortiLAN, FortiLink, FortiMonitor, FortiNAC, FortiNDR, FortiPAM, FortiPenTest, FortiPhish, FortiPoint, FortiPolicy, FortiPortal, FortiPresence, FortiProxy, FortiRecon, FortiRecorder, FortiSASE, FortiScanner, FortiSDNConnector, FortiSIEM, FortiSMS, FortiSOAR, FortiSRA, FortiStack, FortiSwitch, FortiTester, FortiToken, FortiTrust, FortiVoice, FortiWAN, FortiWeb, FortiWiFi, FortiWLC, FortiWLM, FortiXDR and Lacework FortiCNAPP. Other trademarks belong to their respective owners. Fortinet has not independently verified statements or certifications herein attributed to third parties and Fortinet does not independently endorse such statements. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, nothing herein constitutes a warranty, guarantee, contract, binding specification or other binding commitment by Fortinet or any indication of intent related to a binding commitment, and performance and other specification information herein may be unique to certain environments.

The MIL Network –
April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI: GDS Files 2024 Annual Report on Form 20-F

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

SHANGHAI, China, April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — GDS Holdings Limited (“GDS Holdings”, “GDS” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: GDS; HKEX: 9698), a leading developer and operator of high-performance data centers in China, today announced that it has filed its annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on April 28, 2025 U.S. Eastern Time.

The annual report can be accessed on the Company’s investor relations website at investors.gds-services.com and on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. The Company will provide hardcopies of the annual report, free of charge, to its shareholders and ADS holders upon request. Requests should be submitted to ir@gds-services.com.

About GDS Holdings Limited

GDS Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: GDS; HKEX: 9698) is a leading developer and operator of high-performance data centers in China. The Company’s facilities are strategically located in and around primary economic hubs where demand for high-performance data center services is concentrated. The Company’s data centers have large net floor area, high power capacity, density and efficiency, and multiple redundancies across all critical systems. GDS is carrier and cloud-neutral, which enables its customers to access the major telecommunications networks, as well as the largest PRC and global public clouds, which are hosted in many of its facilities. The Company offers co-location and a suite of value-added services, including managed hybrid cloud services through direct private connection to leading public clouds, managed network services, and, where required, the resale of public cloud services. The Company has a 24-year track record of service delivery, successfully fulfilling the requirements of some of the largest and most demanding customers for outsourced data center services in China. The Company’s customer base consists predominantly of hyperscale cloud service providers, large internet companies, financial institutions, telecommunications carriers, IT service providers, and large domestic private sector and multinational corporations. The Company also holds a non-controlling 35.6% equity interest in DayOne Data Centers Limited which develops and operates data centers in International markets.

For investor and media inquiries, please contact:

GDS Holdings Limited
Laura Chen
Phone: +86 (21) 2029-2203
Email: ir@gds-services.com

Piacente Financial Communications
Ross Warner
Phone: +86 (10) 6508-0677
Email: GDS@tpg-ir.com

Brandi Piacente
Phone: +1 (212) 481-2050
Email: GDS@tpg-ir.com

GDS Holdings Limited

The MIL Network –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI: Varonis Announces AI Shield: Always-On AI Risk Defense
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

MIAMI and SAN FRANCISCO, April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — RSA Conference Booth N-5658 – Varonis Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRNS), the leader in data security, announced the industry’s first always-on AI risk defense that continuously identifies data exposure in real time, flags violations, and automatically fixes issues before they can become data breaches.

In organizations with poor data security posture, employees and AI agents are only one action away from accessing troves of data they should never have had access to in the first place.

Varonis AI Shield continuously analyzes your AI security posture, monitors how AI interacts with data, and dynamically right-sizes permissions so that sensitive information isn’t exposed due to poor data security hygiene.

AI Shield makes intelligent decisions about which data to restrict from AI using Varonis’ patented permissions analysis algorithms that factor in data sensitivity, staleness, user profile, and more. Even if you haven’t right-sized access, AI Shield has you covered.

“AI makes the data security challenge much more urgent and complex,” said Varonis EVP of Engineering and Chief Technology Officer David Bass. “AI Shield gives our customers the confidence to deploy AI with both preventative and detective controls that require zero setup and maintenance. It’s always on, always learning, and always working for you behind the scenes to prevent breaches and compliance violations.”

With Varonis AI Shield, customers have always-on defense to ensure the secure use of AI, including:
- Real-time risk analysis to show you exactly which sensitive data is exposed to AI
- Automated risk remediation to continually eliminate data exposure at scale
- Behavior-based threat detection to identify abnormal or malicious behavior
- 24x7x365 alert response to investigate, contain, and stop data threats
AI security is data security. AI Shield helps employees use AI without putting data at risk, ensuring only the right people — and agents — have access to data, that use is monitored, and abuse is flagged.

Additional Resources

About Varonis
Varonis (Nasdaq: VRNS) is the leader in data security, fighting a different battle than conventional cybersecurity companies. Our cloud-native Data Security Platform continuously discovers and classifies critical data, removes exposures, and detects advanced threats with AI-powered automation.

Thousands of organizations worldwide trust Varonis to defend their data wherever it lives — across SaaS, IaaS, and hybrid cloud environments. Customers use Varonis to automate a wide range of security outcomes, including data security posture management (DSPM), data classification, data access governance (DAG), data detection and response (DDR), data loss prevention (DLP), AI security, and insider risk management.

Varonis protects data first, not last. Learn more at www.varonis.com.

Investor Relations Contact:
Tim Perz
Varonis Systems, Inc.
646-640-2112
investors@varonis.com

News Media Contact:
Rachel Hunt
Varonis Systems, Inc.
877-292-8767 (ext. 1598)
pr@varonis.com

The MIL Network –
April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI: Arctic Wolf Accelerates Momentum of Aurora Endpoint Security by Doubling Industry’s Largest Warranty Offering to $3 Million

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn., April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Arctic Wolf®, a global leader in security operations, today announced that the Arctic Wolf Security Operations Warranty now offers up to $3 million USD in the event of a covered cybersecurity incident for customers who deploy Aurora Managed Endpoint Defense alongside the company’s Security Operations Bundles. This doubling in warranty coverage further extends Arctic Wolf’s leadership in offering the largest warranty in the cybersecurity industry and reflects the efficacy of Aurora Endpoint Security and the Arctic Wolf Aurora Platform.

This announcement comes as Arctic Wolf Endpoint Security continues to see strong market momentum across customers and partners from around the globe, with more than 3,000 organizations in over 60 countries now relying on the solution to protect their endpoints. The expanded warranty underscores Arctic Wolf’s continued investment in outcome-based security and reaffirms its commitment to assisting customers of all sizes throughout their security journey.

“Doubling our industry-leading Security Operations Warranty to $3 million underscores our confidence in the power of Aurora Endpoint Security,” said Dan Schiappa, president, technology and services, Arctic Wolf. “Customers and partners are responding with real enthusiasm because they see the innovation and value Aurora Endpoint Security brings to the market. This expanded warranty reinforces our commitment to delivering trusted outcomes and world-class endpoint security to measurably reduce risk.”

New AI-enhanced Behavioral Detection Engine Enhances Detection Efficacy
In addition to the expanded Security Operations Warranty, Arctic Wolf is introducing a new AI-enhanced Behavioral Detection Engine within Aurora Endpoint Security that delivers a streamlined and modern approach to endpoint threat detection. Launching with double the detection coverage and increased accuracy over previous detection capabilities, the engine builds on Arctic Wolf Endpoint Security’s proven foundation in endpoint defense to deliver even greater efficacy and precision.

This enhancement includes a refreshed library of high-efficacy detection rules vetted by Arctic Wolf Labs, AI-assisted tuning workflows, and threshold-based alerting that reduces noise without compromising visibility. With support for MITRE ATT&CK tagging and flexible exception management across tenants, zones, and device policies, the engine helps security teams focus on the threats that matter most while reducing operational overhead.

Arctic Wolf Signs CISA Secure by Design Pledge
As part of its leadership in secure software development with Aurora Endpoint Security, Arctic Wolf has signed the CISA Secure by Design Pledge, reinforcing its commitment to building secure software as a core part of its development process. By aligning with CISA’s principles, Arctic Wolf is taking meaningful steps to reduce exploitable vulnerabilities, implement secure defaults, and embed security into every stage of the product lifecycle. This pledge reflects the company’s broader mission to end cyber risk for its customers while promoting greater transparency and accountability across the industry.

To learn more about Aurora Endpoint Security and the Arctic Wolf Aurora platform, visit them at RSA Conference (Booth S-549) in San Francisco from April 28 – May 1, or visit arcticwolf.com.

About Arctic Wolf
Arctic Wolf® is a global leader in security operations, delivering the first cloud-native security operations platform to end cyber risk. Built on open XDR architecture, the Arctic Wolf Aurora Platform operates at a massive scale and combines the power of artificial intelligence with world-class security experts to provide 24×7 monitoring, detection, response, and risk management. We make security work!

To learn more about Arctic Wolf, visit www.arcticwolf.com.

Press Contact:
Lauren Back
PR@arcticwolf.com

© 2025 Arctic Wolf Networks, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Arctic Wolf, Aurora, Alpha AI, Arctic Wolf Security Operations Cloud, Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response, Arctic Wolf Managed Risk, Arctic Wolf Managed Security Awareness, Arctic Wolf Incident Response, and Arctic Wolf Concierge Security Team are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Arctic Wolf Networks, Inc. or Arctic Wolf Networks Canada, Inc. and any subsidiaries in Canada, the United States, and/or other countries.

The MIL Network –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI: Arctic Wolf and Anthropic to Advance R&D for Next-Generation Autonomous SOC

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn., April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Arctic Wolf, a global leader in security operations, today announced a strategic collaboration with Anthropic, a leading AI safety and research company, to accelerate the development of next-generation autonomous Security Operations Centers (SOCs). This collaboration combines the human augmented AI capabilities of the Arctic Wolf Aurora Platform, home to one of the world’s largest commercial SOCs, with Anthropic’s cutting-edge AI models and deep expertise in building safe, interpretable, and controllable AI systems.

The Arctic Wolf Aurora Platform, built on an open XDR architecture, processes more than 8 trillion security events each week across endpoint, network, cloud, and identity, integrating with hundreds of third-party tools to deliver broad, real-time visibility across the enterprise. With a global customer base of over 10,000 organizations and millions of hours of analyst experience, Arctic Wolf has built one of the most robust and operationalized data lakes in cybersecurity.

Building on this foundation, Arctic Wolf is collaborating with Anthropic to apply cutting-edge AI in ways that drive measurable improvements in security outcomes. Together, Arctic Wolf’s massive datasets and Anthropic’s LLM models aim to accelerate automation within the Arctic Wolf’s AI-powered SOC by improving detection precision, accelerating response, and strengthening cyber resilience as threats grow in volume and complexity.

The first output of the Arctic Wolf and Anthropic collaboration is Cipher, an AI security assistant. Purpose-built to help customers extract deeper insights from the Arctic Wolf Aurora Platform, Cipher meets the highest standards of safety, privacy, and performance. Its launch marks a concrete step toward delivering on the promise of the autonomous SOC, demonstrating how AI can augment security teams with new levels of speed, accuracy, and intelligence at scale.

“To keep up with the speed and complexity of today’s cyber threats, the Autonomous SOC is no longer aspirational, it’s essential,” said Dan Schiappa, president, technology and services, Arctic Wolf. “Anthropic brings world-class AI research and a deep commitment to building safe, high-performing systems. When paired with the scale of Arctic Wolf’s threat data, the openness of our platform, and the operational depth of our global SOC, we have everything needed to redefine what security operations can be.”

“As model capabilities increase, access to expert, domain-specific data remains the bottleneck in highly complex jobs like cyber operations,” said Michael Gerstenhaber, VP of product, Anthropic. “We’re proud to support Arctic Wolf’s development of Cipher and excited to see how it empowers security teams with instant, reliable access to the intelligence they need to conduct their operations.”

To learn more about the Arctic Wolf and Anthropic collaboration, or see Cipher in action, visit Arctic Wolf at the RSA Conference (Booth S-549) in San Francisco from April 28 – May 1.

About Arctic Wolf
Arctic Wolf^® is a global leader in security operations, delivering the first cloud-native security operations platform to end cyber risk. Built on open XDR architecture, the Arctic Wolf Aurora Platform operates at a massive scale and combines the power of artificial intelligence with world-class security experts to provide 24×7 monitoring, detection, response, and risk management. We make security work!

To learn more about Arctic Wolf, visit www.arcticwolf.com.

Press Contact:
Lauren Back
PR@arcticwolf.com

© 2025 Arctic Wolf Networks, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Arctic Wolf, Aurora, Alpha AI, Arctic Wolf Security Operations Cloud, Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response, Arctic Wolf Managed Risk, Arctic Wolf Managed Security Awareness, Arctic Wolf Incident Response, and Arctic Wolf Concierge Security Team are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Arctic Wolf Networks, Inc. or Arctic Wolf Networks Canada, Inc. and any subsidiaries in Canada, the United States, and/or other countries.

The MIL Network –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI: Arctic Wolf Introduces Cipher: an AI Security Assistant Built on the Arctic Wolf Aurora Platform

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn., April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Arctic Wolf®, a global leader in security operations, today introduced Cipher, a AI security assistant that provides customers with self-guided access to deeper security insights directly within the Arctic Wolf® Aurora Platform. Cipher enhances investigations and alert comprehension by delivering instant answers, contextual enrichment, and actionable summaries, all informed by real-world experience from Arctic Wolf’s AI-enabled global security operations centers (SOC).

Cipher is the newest element of Alpha AI, Arctic Wolf’s portfolio of AI technologies designed to deliver market leading AI SOC intelligence. Alpha AI leverages the full scale of the Arctic Wolf Aurora Platform which ingests more than 8 trillion security events each week across every major attack surface, including endpoint, network, cloud, and identity. This depth and diversity of telemetry forms the foundation of our industry-leading data lake, enabling real-time threat detection and response. In a security landscape that’s evolving faster than most organizations can staff or skill for, many teams lack the time, tools, or expertise to turn data into action. Cipher bridges that gap by making deep security insights instantly accessible, helping customers investigate faster, prioritize smarter, and respond with greater confidence.

Cipher is enhanced by more than a decade of expert informed annotation from Arctic Wolf’s global SOC, leveraging millions of hours of human-reinforced learning to significantly streamline investigations and fuel more informed security decisions. We believe this unique combination of scale, experience, and security-specific expertise makes Cipher one of the most powerful AI-based security assistants in the market today.

Built to serve as a seamless extension of the Concierge Security® experience that Arctic Wolf customers know and trust, Cipher introduces more flexibility in how customers interact with their security data. While users will continue to receive expert guidance from their dedicated Concierge Security Team, Cipher adds a 24/7 self-service option to access insights, context, and recommendations on demand to help drive stronger outcomes.

“Cipher marks a defining moment in the evolution of security operations. Through a combination of the scale of our data lake and our Alpha AI technologies, we’re empowering every security team to operate with the speed, insight, and confidence of the world’s best analysts, on demand and at scale,” said Dan Schiappa, president, technology and services, Arctic Wolf. “As a fully integrated part of the Aurora Platform, Cipher gives customers new, intuitive ways to interact with their security data, whether that’s summarizing alerts, exploring vulnerabilities, or identifying incident trends. It’s about delivering flexibility and control, without ever compromising trust or accuracy.”

Unlike many GenAI security tools that only operate within a single vendor’s ecosystem, Cipher runs on the Arctic Wolf Aurora Platform, which integrates hundreds of leading security and IT tools via its open XDR architecture. With this broad visibility, Cipher is unique in its ability to analyze signals across a wide range of technologies, to provide richer context and more usable insights across multiple attack surfaces. As a result, organizations benefit from an AI-driven experience that reflects the full complexity of their environment, not just a narrow slice of it.

Cipher was developed in collaboration with Anthropic, a leading AI safety and research company, to ensure the solution meets the highest standards for both security and privacy. Leveraging Anthropic’s advanced large language model (LLM) technology, Cipher is purpose-built to deliver fast, accurate insights while respecting data boundaries and maintaining control over sensitive information.

“Arctic Wolf’s breadth and depth of data, thanks to their open platform, make them positioned to bring generative AI to security operations in a meaningful and effective way,” said Michael Gerstenhaber, VP of product, Anthropic. “We’re proud to support Cipher’s development and excited to see how it empowers security teams with instant, reliable access to the intelligence they need.”

Cipher is launching as a beta to Arctic Wolf customers on April 28.

To learn more about Cipher or the Arctic Wolf Aurora platform, visit Arctic Wolf at the RSA Conference (Booth S-549) in San Francisco from April 28 – May 1, or visit arcticwolf.com.

Privacy and Data Handling
Arctic Wolf is committed to upholding the highest privacy and security standards. Click here to read Arctic Wolf’s customer privacy policy.

About Arctic Wolf
Arctic Wolf® is a global leader in security operations, delivering the first cloud-native security operations platform to end cyber risk. Built on open XDR architecture, the Arctic Wolf Aurora Platform operates at a massive scale and combines the power of artificial intelligence with world-class security experts to provide 24×7 monitoring, detection, response, and risk management. We make security work!

To learn more about Arctic Wolf, visit www.arcticwolf.com.

Press Contact:
Lauren Back
PR@arcticwolf.com

© 2025 Arctic Wolf Networks, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Arctic Wolf, Aurora, Alpha AI, Arctic Wolf Security Operations Cloud, Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response, Arctic Wolf Managed Risk, Arctic Wolf Managed Security Awareness, Arctic Wolf Incident Response, and Arctic Wolf Concierge Security Team are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Arctic Wolf Networks, Inc.

The MIL Network –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI: Arctic Wolf Promotes Dan Schiappa to President, Technology and Services

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn., April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Arctic Wolf®, a global leader in security operations, today announced the promotion of Dan Schiappa to President, Technology and Services. In this expanded leadership role, Schiappa will oversee the strategic direction and continued innovation of Arctic Wolf’s industry-leading Aurora Platform, which is transforming cybersecurity outcomes via artificial intelligence and the human-reinforced learning from one of the world’s largest commercial security operations centers (SOCs).

Schiappa, who previously served as Chief Product and Services Officer at Arctic Wolf, brings decades of experience leading product strategy and development at some of the world’s most recognized cybersecurity and technology companies. Since joining Arctic Wolf, he has played a pivotal role in scaling the platform’s capabilities, driving product innovation, and aligning the company’s services with the evolving needs of customers navigating an increasingly complex threat landscape.

“Dan’s promotion reflects the incredible impact he has made on our technology and services organization, as well as the confidence we have in his ability to lead Arctic Wolf into its next phase of growth,” said Nick Schneider, president and chief executive officer, Arctic Wolf. “His leadership will be instrumental as we continue to scale our AI-powered security operations platform and deliver outcomes that make security more accessible and effective for organizations of all sizes.”

As President, Technology and Services, Schiappa will guide Arctic Wolf’s strategic initiatives across product management, engineering, security services, and threat intelligence—ensuring the company remains at the forefront of innovation in AI-driven security operations.

Schiappa’s distinguished career includes executive roles at Sophos, Microsoft, and RSA, where he consistently championed security transformation and operational excellence.

About Arctic Wolf
Arctic Wolf® is a global leader in security operations, delivering the first cloud-native security operations platform to end cyber risk. Built on open XDR architecture, the Arctic Wolf Aurora Platform operates at a massive scale and combines the power of artificial intelligence with world-class security experts to provide 24×7 monitoring, detection, response, and risk management. We make security work!

To learn more about Arctic Wolf, visit www.arcticwolf.com.

Press Contact:
Lauren Back
PR@arcticwolf.com

© 2025 Arctic Wolf Networks, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Arctic Wolf, Aurora, Alpha AI, Arctic Wolf Security Operations Cloud, Arctic Wolf Managed Detection and Response, Arctic Wolf Managed Risk, Arctic Wolf Managed Security Awareness, Arctic Wolf Incident Response, and Arctic Wolf Concierge Security Team are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Arctic Wolf Networks, Inc. or Arctic Wolf Networks Canada, Inc. and any subsidiaries in Canada, the United States, and/or other countries.

The MIL Network –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: From concept to commercialisation: Defence Innovation Loans are open
Source: United Kingdom – Government Statements

News story

From concept to commercialisation: Defence Innovation Loans are open

Aimed at SMEs, DASA’s Defence Innovation Loans are designed to bridge the gap between product development and commercialisation.
The Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) supported by Innovate UK Loans Ltd (Innovate UK) are working together to offer Defence Innovation Loans.

This service provides an opportunity for single small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with solutions to Defence themed problems to apply for a Defence Innovation Loan of between £100,000 and £1 million with a below market interest rate of 7.4% per annum. This loan can be used to cover up to 100% of eligible project costs to aid the commercialisation of the solution.

Interested in a loan to boost your small business? Read the competition document here.

Background

Defence Innovation Loans were first introduced in June 2021 as a mechanism to help smaller organisations “build the business behind the innovation”. Since then, 8 companies have successfully secured a total of £6 million. Nearly all of these companies have gone on to secure further private investment worth a total of £16.9 million, creating 54 new jobs in defence innovation across the UK.

Success Stories

VRAI secured a Defence Innovation Loan to help commercialise their data capture and analysis technology. The technology, tested with the RAF, enabled trainers to assess and develop individualised training programmes for trainee pilots.

Niall Campion, Founder of VRAI said: “Without DASA funding it would have been impossible for us to bring this product into the UK defence supply chain. By providing working capital while we demonstrate the value of the product in the defence industry, the Defence Innovation Loan will help us grow our business and deliver measurable improvements to training across defence and other simulation markets.”

QUICKBLOCK, which develops lightweight, rapid assembly building blocks for force protection secured a Defence Innovation Loan, which amongst other things, has helped them to move their supplier base to Yorkshire, bolstering their supply chain and avoiding the recent shipping disruption in the Red Sea.

QUICKBLOCK CEO, Andrew Vincent said:
“We are incredibly grateful for the support from DASA. The project rapidly accelerated the development of our product for the Defence market and allowed us access to end-users that we would otherwise not have had.”

Silicon Microgravity are using their Defence Innovation Loan to further develop their underground detection technology ready for trials in 2024. They are also using the money to help commercialise their product for security, border control, defence and civil engineering markets.

Francis Neill, CEO of Silicon Microgravity said: “DASA have been absolutely fundamental in helping to get Silicon Microgravity to the stage where we will shortly be commercialising what is becoming recognised as world-leading technology in gravity sensing and inertial navigation.”

Eligibility

To take on a Defence Innovation Loan for a project you must:

be a UK registered SME

intend to exploit the results in the UK or overseas to make a significant and positive impact on the UK economy and / or productivity

give evidence that your business is suitable to take on a loan.

Only SMEs are eligible to apply for Defence Innovation Loans; individuals, academic institutions, research organisations and large companies are not eligible. Only single businesses can receive innovation loans, so joint applications with other organisations cannot be funded in this competition (subcontractors are allowed, see further details below). For more information on company sizes, please refer to the company accounts guidance (this is a change from the EU definition unless you are applying under State Aid).

Innovations must be fairly mature at TRL 6 and above to ensure that the solution can be commercialised within the time scale of the innovation loan. Applications must clearly evidence a Defence need for the innovative solution.

Read the key competition information here.

When can I apply?

Now! The DIL FY25/26 Cycle 1 opened on 18 March and won’t close until 13 May, when Cycle 2 will open. To find the full schedule of cycles and dates head to this link.

Queries

We have made every effort to provide as much information as possible to ensure you have a full understanding of the Defence Innovation Loans that we offer. Please do read through the comprehensive competition document for full details. If you still have questions don’t hesitate to get in touch with our helpful team. Please see Points of Contact.

Defence Innovation Loans, all you need to know.

Share this page

The following links open in a new tab

Share on Facebook (opens in new tab)

Share on Twitter (opens in new tab)

Updates to this page

Published 28 April 2025
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: 50 years later, Vietnam’s environment still bears the scars of war – and signals a dark future for Gaza and Ukraine

Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Pamela McElwee, Professor of Human Ecology, Rutgers University

During the Vietnam War, the U.S. bombed and defoliated vast areas of forest and protective mangroves. AP Photo

When the Vietnam War finally ended on April 30, 1975, it left behind a landscape scarred with environmental damage. Vast stretches of coastal mangroves, once housing rich stocks of fish and birds, lay in ruins. Forests that had boasted hundreds of species were reduced to dried-out fragments, overgrown with invasive grasses.

The term “ecocide” had been coined in the late 1960s to describe the U.S. military’s use of herbicides like Agent Orange and incendiary weapons like napalm to battle guerrilla forces that used jungles and marshes for cover.

Fifty years later, Vietnam’s degraded ecosystems and dioxin-contaminated soils and waters still reflect the long-term ecological consequences of the war. Efforts to restore these damaged landscapes and even to assess the long-term harm have been limited.

As an environmental scientist and anthropologist who has worked in Vietnam since the 1990s, I find the neglect and slow recovery efforts deeply troubling. Although the war spurred new international treaties aimed at protecting the environment during wartime, these efforts failed to compel post-war restoration for Vietnam. Current conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East show these laws and treaties still aren’t effective.

Agent Orange and daisy cutters

The U.S. first sent ground troops to Vietnam in March 1965 to support South Vietnam against revolutionary forces and North Vietnamese troops, but the war had been going on for years before then. To fight an elusive enemy operating clandestinely at night and from hideouts deep in swamps and jungles, the U.S. military turned to environmental modification technologies.

The most well-known of these was Operation Ranch Hand, which sprayed at least 19 million gallons (75 million liters) of herbicides over approximately 6.4 million acres (2.6 million hectares), of South Vietnam. The chemicals fell on forests, and also on rivers, rice paddies and villages, exposing civilians and troops. More than half of that spraying involved the dioxin-contaminated defoliant Agent Orange.

A U.S. Air Force C-123 flies low along a South Vietnamese highway spraying defoliants on dense jungle growth beside the road to eliminate ambush sites during the Vietnam War.
AP Photo/Department of Defense

Herbicides were used to strip the leaf cover from forests, increase visibility along transportation routes and destroy crops suspected of supplying guerrilla forces.

As news of the damage from these tactics made it back to the U.S., scientists raised concerns about the campaign’s environmental impacts to President Lyndon Johnson, calling for a review of whether the U.S. was intentionally using chemical weapons. American military leaders’ position was that herbicides did not constitute chemical weapons under the Geneva Protocol, which the U.S. had yet to ratify.

Scientific organizations also initiated studies within Vietnam during the war, finding widespread destruction of mangroves, economic losses of rubber and timber plantations, and harm to lakes and waterways.

A photo at the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, historically known as Saigon, shows the damage at Cần Giờ mangrove forest. The mangrove forest was destroyed by herbicides, bombs and plows.
Gary Todd/Flickr

In 1969, evidence linked a chemical in Agent Orange, 2,4,5-T, to birth defects and stillbirths in mice because it contained TCDD, a particularly harmful dioxin. That led to a ban on domestic use and suspension of Agent Orange use by the military in April 1970, with the last mission flown in early 1971.

Incendiary weapons and the clearing of forests also ravaged rich ecosystems in Vietnam.

The U.S. Forest Service tested large-scale incineration of jungles by igniting barrels of fuel oil dropped from planes. Particularly feared by civilians was the use of napalm bombs, with more than 400,000 tons of the thickened petroleum used during the war. After these infernos, invasive grasses often took over in hardened, infertile soils.

Fires from napalm and other incendiary weapons cleared stretches of forest, in some cases scorching the soil so badly that nothing would regrow.
AP Photo

“Rome Plows,” massive bulldozers with an armor-fortified cutting blade, could clear 1,000 acres a day. Enormous concussive bombs, known as “daisy cutters”, flattened forests and set off shock waves killing everything within a 3,000-foot (900-meter) radius, down to earthworms in the soil.

The U.S. also engaged in weather modification through Project Popeye, a secret program from 1967 to 1972 that seeded clouds with silver iodide to prolong the monsoon season in an attempt to cut the flow of fighters and supplies coming down the Ho Chi Minh Trail from North Vietnam. Congress eventually passed a bipartisan resolution in 1973 urging an international treaty to prohibit the use of weather modification as a weapon of war. That treaty came into effect in 1978.

The U.S. military contended that all these tactics were operationally successful as a trade of trees for American lives.

Despite Congress’ concerns, there was little scrutiny of the environmental impacts of U.S. military operations and technologies. Research sites were hard to access, and there was no regular environmental monitoring.

Recovery efforts have been slow

After the fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese troops on April 30, 1975, the U.S. imposed a trade and economic embargo on all of Vietnam, leaving the country both war-damaged and cash-strapped.

Vietnamese scientists told me they cobbled together small-scale studies. One found a dramatic drop in bird and mammal diversity in forests. In the A Lưới valley of central Vietnam, 80% of forests subjected to herbicides had not recovered by the early 1980s. Biologists found only 24 bird and five mammal species in those areas, far below normal in unsprayed forests.

Only a handful of ecosystem restoration projects were attempted, hampered by shoestring budgets. The most notable began in 1978, when foresters began hand-replanting mangroves at the mouth of the Saigon River in Cần Giờ forest, an area that had been completely denuded.

Mangroves have been replanted in the Cần Giờ Biosphere Reserve near Ho Chi Minh City, but their restoration took decades.
Tho Nau/Flickr, CC BY

In inland areas, widespread tree-planting programs in the late 1980s and 1990s finally took root, but they focused on planting exotic trees like acacia, which did not restore the original diversity of the natural forests.

Chemical cleanup is still underway

For years, the U.S. also denied responsibility for Agent Orange cleanup, despite the recognition of dioxin-associated illnesses among U.S. veterans and testing that revealed continuing dioxin exposure among potentially tens of thousands of Vietnamese.

The first remediation agreement between the two countries only occurred in 2006, after persistent advocacy by veterans, scientists and nongovernmental organizations led Congress to appropriate US$3 million for the remediation of the Da Nang airport.

That project, completed in 2018, treated 150,000 cubic meters of dioxin-laden soil at an eventual cost of over $115 million, paid mostly by the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID. The cleanup required lakes to be drained and contaminated soil, which had seeped more than 9 feet (3 meters) deeper than expected, to be piled and heated to break down the dioxin molecules.

Large amounts of Agent Orange had been stored at the Da Nang airport during the war and contaminated the soil with dioxin. The cleanup project, including heating contaminated soil to high temperatures, was completed in 2018.
Richard Nyberg/USAID

Another major hot spot is the heavily contaminated Biên Hoà airbase, where local residents continue to ingest high levels of dioxin through fish, chicken and ducks.

Agent Orange barrels were stored at the base, which leaked large amounts of the toxin into soil and water, where it continues to accumulate in animal tissue as it moves up the food chain. Remediation began in 2019; however, further work is at risk with the Trump administration’s near elimination of USAID, leaving it unclear if there will be any American experts in Vietnam in charge of administering this complex project.

Laws to prevent future ‘ecocide’ are complicated

While Agent Orange’s health effects have understandably drawn scrutiny, its long-term ecological consequences have not been well studied.

Current-day scientists have far more options than those 50 years ago, including satellite imagery, which is being used in Ukraine to identify fires, flooding and pollution. However, these tools cannot replace on-the-ground monitoring, which often is restricted or dangerous during wartime.

The legal situation is similarly complex.

In 1977, the Geneva Conventions governing conduct during wartime were revised to prohibit “widespread, long term, and severe damage to the natural environment.” A 1980 protocol restricted incendiary weapons. Yet oil fires set by Iraq during the Gulf War in 1991, and recent environmental damage in the Gaza Strip, Ukraine and Syria indicate the limits of relying on treaties when there are no strong mechanisms to ensure compliance.

Remediation work to remove dioxin contamination was just getting started at the former Biên Hoà Air Base in Vietnam when USAID’s staff was dismantled in 2025.
USAID Vietnam, CC BY-NC

An international campaign currently underway calls for an amendment to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to add ecocide as a fifth prosecutable crime alongside genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression.

Some countries have adopted their own ecocide laws. Vietnam was the first to legally state in its penal code that “Ecocide, destroying the natural environment, whether committed in time of peace or war, constitutes a crime against humanity.” Yet the law has resulted in no prosecutions, despite several large pollution cases.

Both Russia and Ukraine also have ecocide laws, but these have not prevented harm or held anyone accountable for damage during the ongoing conflict.

Lessons for the future

The Vietnam War is a reminder that failure to address ecological consequences, both during war and after, will have long-term effects. What remains in short supply is the political will to ensure that these impacts are neither ignored nor repeated.

Pamela McElwee receives funding from the Carnegie Corporation, National Science Foundation, and National Endowment for the Humanities.

– ref. 50 years later, Vietnam’s environment still bears the scars of war – and signals a dark future for Gaza and Ukraine – https://theconversation.com/50-years-later-vietnams-environment-still-bears-the-scars-of-war-and-signals-a-dark-future-for-gaza-and-ukraine-254971

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Trump administration’s attempt to nix the labor rights of thousands of federal workers on ‘national security’ grounds furthers the GOP’s long-held anti-union agenda

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Bob Bussel, Professor Emeritus of History and Labor Education, University of Oregon

Airline passengers wait at a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint before boarding to flights in Denver in 2022. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

As the Trump administration seeks to shrink the federal workforce, slash nonmilitary spending and curb opposition to its policies, it is taking steps beyond the firing and furloughing of thousands of government workers.

The government is also trying to strip hundreds of thousands of federal employees of their right to bargain collectively and have a voice in their conditions of employment.

Citing “national security” concerns, President Donald Trump issued an executive order on March 27, 2025, that canceled collective bargaining agreements at more than 30 federal agencies, commissions and programs, including the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Science Foundation and the Food and Drug Administration. A judge temporarily blocked the order’s enforcement on April 25.

Over three decades of researching American unions, I’ve never witnessed such a sweeping assault on collective bargaining rights, which give workers represented by unions the ability to negotiate with employers about the terms of their employment.

But advocates of strong labor rights should have known what might be in store given the labor policies recommended by the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025. That document, which Trump disavowed on the campaign trail in 2024 but has embraced in practice during his second term, questions whether public-sector unions should exist at all.

Keeping Americans ‘safe’

The Trump administration’s broad attack on federal workers’ rights arrived less than three weeks after an earlier, similar action by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

On March 7, Noem announced that the government was scrapping collective bargaining rights for all Transportation Security Administration workers, eliminating a 2024 agreement. She cited what she called an “irreconcilable conflict” between union representation for those 47,000 federal workers and national security.

Only a “flexible, at-will” workforce can possess the “organizational agility” needed to “safeguard our transportation systems and keep Americans safe,” she said. Employers may fire “at-will” workers at their discretion with few limitations.

Noem’s claim that unions and national security aren’t compatible strikes me as disingenuous.

Unionized workforces have displayed in recent history both patriotism and dedication in their efforts to keep Americans safe. Unionized firefighters, police officers and other first responders rushed to the World Trade Center attempting to rescue those trapped inside on 9/11, for example.

Similarly, many unionized public-sector workers risked their health during the toxic cleanup that followed the terrorist attacks.

It is also worth noting that veterans comprise approximately 30% of the federal workforce. Their history of military service attests, I would argue, to their clear record of demonstrating loyalty and patriotism.

To my eye, the argument that federal workers belonging to unions compromises national security appears to be more rooted in ideology than evidence.

Demonstrators rally in support of federal workers outside the Department of Health and Human Services on Feb. 14, 2025, in Washington.
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

TSA as a case study

The TSA emerged as part of President George W. Bush’s administration’s response to the 9/11 attacks in 2001; it designated newly hired airport security officers as federal employees.

At the time, Bush insisted that TSA security officers should not belong to a union. He invoked national security concerns, arguing that union representation would undercut the “culture of urgency” needed to wage the “war on terrorism.”

TSA employees finally gained collective bargaining rights during the Obama administration when they joined the American Federation of Government Employees in 2011.

But after joining a union, TSA workers were still paid less than most federal employees. And they still couldn’t appeal disciplinary cases outside of TSA’s authority to the external board used by other federal employees that they viewed as more impartial.

However, in recent years, TSA workers have obtained wage increases and stronger rights of appeal, along with other advances contained in a 2024
collective bargaining agreement that the American Federation of Government Employees described as “groundbreaking.” These gains included uniform allowances, greater input on safety concerns and a pledge to examine expanded child care options.

Now, the union has sued Noem, another Trump administration official and the TSA itself to block the administration’s rollback of these workers’ rights and protect their 2024 contract.

JFK empowered federal workers

Federal employees had historically organized unions to advocate and lobby for their interests.

However, these unions lacked the formal ability to negotiate with the federal government in a collective bargaining process where, as labor scholar Robert Repas has explained, “decisions are made jointly, rather than unilaterally,” or ultimately at managerial discretion.

Their members did not gain collective bargaining rights until 1962 when President John F. Kennedy issued an executive order making that possible. Kennedy’s action reflected the view that government employees should not be denied basic union rights enjoyed by their private sector counterparts.

Acknowledging concerns that union rights might limit the ability to exercise centralized command and control, Kennedy’s directive exempted the FBI, CIA and other agencies charged with national security functions from collective bargaining.

Federal employees covered by the 1962 executive order were also barred from striking. They could not negotiate over wages and benefits; power to make these decisions remained in the hands of Congress.

In 1978, Congress passed the Civil Service Reform Act, which expanded the right of federal employees to collectively bargain for better working conditions, which its authors said were “in the public interest.” This law created an authority to oversee federal labor relations and established an appeals board to adjudicate worker grievances.

Although federal employees did not enjoy as many rights as most union members in the private sector, they did gain a stronger voice in determining their working conditions and accessing grievance procedures to address workplace issues and concerns.

Reagan and the air traffic controllers union

Three years later, however, President Ronald Reagan fired over 11,000 air traffic controllers who had gone on strike, even though they lacked the right to do so. The Federal Labor Relations Authority subsequently decertified their union, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization – known as PATCO.

The strike’s failure seriously diminished the economic and political leverage of all U.S. unions for years. Membership in private-sector unions has declined sharply, while public-sector union membership remained relatively stable at about 1 in 3 workers. Overall, just under 10% of U.S. workers belonged to a union in 2024.

Besides seriously diminishing the labor movement’s power and influence, the PATCO strike also had important political consequences. In his book about this labor dispute, historian Joseph McCartin wrote that crushing the PATCO strike led the Republican Party “in the direction of an unambiguous antiunionism” and a heightened antipathy toward unions in the public sector.

Members of PATCO, the air traffic controllers union, hold hands and raise their arms during a strike in 1981.
Bettmann/Getty Images

Long-term goal

The White House’s attack on federal unions represents an attempt to fulfill a longtime ambition of conservative activists.

Executive orders, which can be rescinded by any president, lack the power of laws.

But Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, both Republicans, introduced a bill in March that would enshrine Trump’s executive order in law. If that bill were to become law, it would “end federal labor unions and immediately terminate their collective bargaining agreements,” Lee and Blackburn have said.

Meanwhile, eight House Republicans have asked the president to reverse course on collective bargaining rights, as have all House Democrats. A bipartisan group of senators has made a similar request.

As the courts make their determinations and political opposition gathers, the American public has, I believe, an important question to answer. Is the spirit of the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 – that “labor organizations and collective bargaining in the civil service are in the public interest” – worth upholding?

This question warrants careful consideration and scrutiny. How the courts, Congress and the public respond will have enormous consequences for federal workers and the future of the union movement and the state of American democracy.

Bob Bussel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Trump administration’s attempt to nix the labor rights of thousands of federal workers on ‘national security’ grounds furthers the GOP’s long-held anti-union agenda – https://theconversation.com/trump-administrations-attempt-to-nix-the-labor-rights-of-thousands-of-federal-workers-on-national-security-grounds-furthers-the-gops-long-held-anti-union-agenda-252347

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI: AI Lifecycle Automation Leader ModelOp Strengthens Its Commitment to Trustworthy and Ethical AI in Healthcare by Joining the Coalition for Health AI (CHAI)

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

As a member of CHAI, ModelOp joins a diverse network of industry leaders, healthcare providers, academic institutions, and technology organizations working together to establish best practices and frameworks that ensure the safe and equitable deployment of health AI systems.

CHICAGO, April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ModelOp, the leading AI lifecycle automation and governance software for enterprises, announced today its official membership in the Coalition for Health AI (CHAI), a private sector coalition committed to developing industry best practices and frameworks to address the urgent need for independent validation for quality assurance, representation, and ethical practices for health AI. CHAI aims to address the critical need for independent validation and oversight of AI technologies that impact patient care, clinical outcomes, and health equity.

“AI is rapidly transforming healthcare, and with that transformation comes a heightened responsibility to ensure models are transparent, trustworthy, and aligned with ethical standards,” said Pete Foley, CEO of ModelOp. “Joining CHAI reflects ModelOp’s deep commitment to enabling both innovation and robust governance for health AI, ensuring that AI initiatives are not only effective but also fair, explainable, and safe.”

ModelOp’s expertise in operationalizing and governing AI models at scale will support CHAI’s mission to create interoperable frameworks for evaluating AI performance, bias mitigation, and regulatory compliance. With its enterprise-grade model operations platform, ModelOp helps healthcare organizations manage the entire AI model lifecycle – from use case intake, risk tiering, and compliance reviews, to model implementation, recurring validations, monitoring, decommissioning, and audit reporting – while ensuring alignment with industry regulations and ethical guidelines.

“I am thrilled to welcome ModelOp to our growing community of organizations committed to ensure responsible health AI for all of us,” said Brian Anderson, CHAI’s CEO. “We are driven by the expertise and diverse perspectives of our members together with the feedback of our broader health ecosystem and the public. We look forward to working together to unlock the potential benefits of AI, on a foundation of trust and safety.”

As a coalition bringing together leaders and experts across the community of health systems, patient advocates, researchers, professional associations, start-ups and established technology providers, CHAI has established diverse working groups focusing on privacy & security, fairness, transparency, usefulness, and safety of AI algorithms.

CHAI was started by clinicians. Its mission is to build the broadest possible consensus across the health ecosystem to help ensure health AI is trusted and safe. The CHAI membership is diverse, open and rapidly expanding. Today it includes over 2500 organizations including health systems, patient advocacy groups, academia, and a wide range of industry start-ups and incumbents. CHAI is committed to convening and dialogue to achieve consensus. There are no limits to who can join and participate. Learn more about a CHAI membership here.

Visit https://www.modelop.com/ to learn more about ModelOp.

About CHAI
The CHAI (Coalition for Health AI) mission is to be the trusted source of guidelines for Responsible AI in Health that serves all. It aims to ensure high-quality care, foster trust among users, and meet the growing healthcare needs. As a coalition bringing together leaders and experts representing health systems, startups, government and patient advocates, CHAI has established diverse working groups focusing on privacy & security, fairness, transparency, usefulness, and safety of AI algorithms.

About ModelOp
ModelOp is the leader in AI lifecycle automation and governance software, purpose-built for enterprises. It enables organizations to bring all of their AI initiatives – from GenAI and ML to regression models – to market faster, at scale, and with the confidence of end-to-end control, oversight, and value realization. ModelOp is used by the most complex and regulated institutions in the world – including major banks, insurers, regulatory bodies, healthcare organizations, and global CPG companies – because it delivers the structure, automation, and oversight necessary to operationalize AI at scale across the entire enterprise. In 2024, ModelOp received the prestigious AI Breakthrough Award for “Best AI Governance Platform” and was also recognized as a winner in Inc.’s Best in Business Awards in the AI & Data category. In 2025, it was awarded the “Best AI Governance Software Award” from Netty Awards and received Business Intelligence Group’s Artificial Intelligence Excellence Award. Follow ModelOp on LinkedIn.

Media Contact
Ria Romano, Partner
RPR Public Relations, Inc.
Tel. 786-290-6413

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/daed40bd-0503-446a-9b72-bda2edc3ed16

The MIL Network –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI: POET Technologies Announces US$25 Million Offering Priced at a Premium to Market

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

TORONTO, April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — POET Technologies Inc. (“POET” or the “Corporation“) (TSXV: PTK; NASDAQ: POET), a leader in the design and implementation of highly-integrated optical engines and light sources for artificial intelligence networks today announces its intention to complete a non-brokered public offering of 5,000,000 units of the Corporation (the “Units“) at a price of US$5.00 per Unit (the “Issue Price“) for aggregate gross proceeds to the Corporation of US$25 million (the “Offering“). Each Unit will be comprised of one common share of the Corporation (each, a “Common Share“) and one common share purchase warrant of the Corporation (each, a “Warrant“), with each Warrant being exercisable to acquire one Common Share at a price of C$8.32 for a period of five years from the date of issuance.

The Issue Price represents a premium of approximately 21.8% over the closing price of the Common Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange on Friday, April 25, 2025. The Corporation anticipates using the net proceeds of the Offering for working capital and general corporate purposes.

The Offering will be made by way of a prospectus supplement (the “Prospectus Supplement“) to the short form base shelf prospectus of the Corporation dated September 6, 2024, which Prospectus Supplement will be prepared and filed by the Corporation prior to the closing of the Offering with the securities regulatory authorities in each of the provinces and territories of Canada, as well as with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as part of the Corporation’s U.S. registration statement on Form F-10 (“Form F-10“) (Registration No. 333-280553) under the U.S.-Canada Multijurisdictional Disclosure System, with such additions thereto and deletions therefrom as may be permitted or required by Form F-10. The Offering is expected to be fully subscribed by a single institutional investor in Canada that qualifies as an “accredited investor” under National Instrument 45-106 – Prospectus Exemptions of the Canadian Securities Administrators.

The consummation of the Offering remains subject to the receipt of all regulatory approvals, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the “Exchange“), and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. No commission or finder’s fee will be paid in connection with the Offering.

The Corporation had announced the terms of a similar offering on December 12, 2024. However, the Corporation decided to postpone such offering in order to prioritize the completion of its previously announced acquisition of Quanzhou San’an Optical Communication Technology Co., Ltd.’s 24.8% interest in Super Photonics Integrated Circuit Xiamen Co., Ltd. (“SPX“) and meet key milestones related to establishing assembly and manufacturing capabilities in Malaysia. With the SPX acquisition now complete and the Malaysia expansion well underway, the Corporation and the investor have agreed to revised offering terms and anticipate completing the Offering on or about May 15, 2025. With an already robust cash position, the completion of the current offering will be used to further establish the Corporation as a leading supplier of optical engines and light sources that power connectivity in artificial intelligence systems and networks.

This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About POET Technologies Inc.

POET is a design and development company offering high-speed optical engines, light source products and custom optical modules to the artificial intelligence systems market and to hyperscale data centers. POET’s photonic integration solutions are based on the POET Optical Interposer™, a novel, patented platform that allows the seamless integration of electronic and photonic devices into a single chip using advanced wafer-level semiconductor manufacturing techniques. POET’s Optical Interposer-based products are lower cost, consume less power than comparable products, are smaller in size and are readily scalable to high production volumes. In addition to providing high-speed (800G, 1.6T and above) optical engines and optical modules for AI clusters and hyperscale data centers, POET has designed and produced novel light source products for chip-to-chip data communication within and between AI servers, the next frontier for solving bandwidth and latency problems in AI systems. POET’s Optical Interposer platform also solves device integration challenges across a broad range of communication, computing and sensing applications. POET is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, with operations in Singapore, Penang, Malaysia and Shenzhen, China. More information about POET is available on our website at www.poet-technologies.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains “forward-looking information” (within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws) and “forward-looking statements” (within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Such statements or information are identified with words such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “expect”, “plan”, “intend”, “potential”, “estimate”, “propose”, “project”, “outlook”, “foresee” or similar words suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding any potential outcome. Such statements include, without limitation, the Corporation’s expectations with respect to consummation of the Offering, the Corporation’s ability to complete the Offering on the announced terms, the Corporation’s products, the scalability of the POET Optical Interposer and the success of the Corporation’s products, the Corporation’s ability satisfy all closing conditions and close the Offering within the announced timeline, the investor acquiring all of the Units under the Offering on the terms announced, the Corporation’s use of proceeds for the Offering, the Corporation’s ability to complete the Malaysia expansion, the Corporation’s ability to obtain the final approval of the Exchange, the Corporation being well-capitalized upon the closing of the Offering and the Corporation being able to advance its business objectives. Such forward-looking information or statements are based on a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions which may cause actual results or other expectations to differ materially from those anticipated and which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, management’s expectations regarding the size of the market for its products, the capability of SPX to produce products on time and at the expected costs, the performance and availability of certain components, and the success of its customers in achieving market penetration for their products. Actual results could differ materially due to a number of factors, including, without limitation, the attractiveness of the Corporation’s product offerings, performance of its technology, the performance of key components, and ability of its customers to sell their products into the market. For further information concerning these and other risks and uncertainties, refer to the Corporation’s filings on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and on the website of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov. Although the Corporation believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information or statements are reasonable, prospective investors in the Corporation’s securities should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because the Corporation can provide no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking information and statements contained in this news release are as of the date of this news release and the Corporation assumes no obligation to update or revise this forward-looking information and statements except as required by applicable securities laws.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein.

120 Eglinton Avenue, East, Suite 1107, Toronto, ON, M4P 1E2- Tel: 416-368-9411 – Fax: 416-322-5075

The MIL Network –

April 29, 2025
MIL-OSI: Beeline teams up with Rabbu to make finding and funding short term rental properties frictionless

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

Providence, RI, April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Beeline Loans, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Beeline Holdings (NASDAQ: BLNE) a tech-forward mortgage originator focused on delivering fast, flexible financing solutions, today announced a strategic partnership with Rabbu, a leading short-term rental (STR) analytics platform used by over one million investors. The partnership creates a streamlined pipeline for investors—from identifying STR properties to securing tailored financing—all in one ecosystem.

Rabbu’s free Airbnb calculator allows users to enter any U.S. property address to receive data-driven projections, including estimated annual revenue, average daily rates, and expected occupancy. Now, with integrated access to Beeline’s investment property loans, users can move directly from analysis to action.

“This partnership expands our reach into one of the most dynamic segments in residential real estate,” said Nick Liuzza, CEO of Beeline. “We’re connecting the dots—discovery, funding, and ultimately, management—to deliver a truly frictionless STR investment experience.”

Beeline’s investment lending business has seen significant growth over the past 12 months. In 2024, more than half of its loan volume was dedicated to investment properties, with STR financing emerging as a leading driver. The company supports a full spectrum of borrower profiles through its DSCR, bank statement, and conventional loan products—all optimized for speed and simplicity.

The Rabbu partnership complements Beeline’s existing collaboration with Red Awning, a full-service STR management platform. Together, the trio forms a powerful, end-to-end solution: identify with Rabbu, finance with Beeline, manage with Red Awning.

Beeline also announced during its recent earnings call that April is expected to be its strongest revenue month since the market downturn, with increased investor demand and product diversification contributing to the momentum.

About Beeline

Beeline Financial Holdings, Inc. is a trailblazing mortgage fintech transforming the way people access property financing. Through its fully digital, AI-powered platform, Beeline delivers a faster, smarter path to home loans—whether for primary residences or investment properties. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Beeline is reshaping mortgage origination with speed, simplicity, and transparency at its core. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Beeline Holdings and also operates Beeline Labs, its innovation arm focused on next-generation lending solutions.

About Rabbu

Rabbu helps real estate investors find and evaluate high-performing short-term rental properties. It offers revenue estimates, ROI insights, and market data tools to analyze both on-market and off-market deals. Users can explore listings, connect with agents and lenders, and make informed investment decisions—all through a streamlined platform focused on Airbnb-style rental income.

To learn more about Beeline’s innovative financing for investment properties, visit makeabeeline.com. To explore high-performing short-term rental opportunities, visit rabbu.com.

For more information, please contact Beeline at IR@Makeabeeline.com.

The MIL Network –

April 29, 2025

MIL-OSI: Citizens Community Bancorp, Inc. Reports First Quarter 2025 Earnings of $0.32 Per Share; Book Value Per Share Up 8% and Tangible Book Value Per Share Up 10% Since March 31, 2024, After Annual Dividend Payment of $0.36 Per Share

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

EAU CLAIRE, Wis., April 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Citizens Community Bancorp, Inc. (the “Company”) (Nasdaq: CZWI), the parent company of Citizens Community Federal N.A. (the “Bank” or “CCFBank”), today reported earnings of $3.2 million and earnings per diluted share of $0.32 for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025, compared to $2.7 million and earnings per diluted share of $0.27 for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2024, and $4.1 million and $0.39 earnings per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, 2024, respectively.

The Company’s first quarter 2025 operating results reflected the following changes from the fourth quarter of 2024: (1) decrease in net interest income of $0.1 million as two fewer days in the quarter were largely offset by an increase in the net interest margin of 6 basis points; (2) a smaller negative provision for credit losses of $0.3 million compared to $0.5 million in the fourth quarter; (3) higher non-interest income of $0.6 million primarily due to $0.5 million higher gain on sale of loans and $0.3 million higher net gains on sale of equity securities in the first quarter of 2025; and (4) lower non-interest expense primarily due to lower compensation and related benefits of $0.2 million and lower losses on repossessed assets of $0.2 million.

Book value per share improved to $18.02 at March 31, 2025, compared to $17.94 at December 31, 2024, and $16.61 at March 31, 2024. Tangible book value per share (non-GAAP)¹ was $14.79 at March 31, 2025, compared to $14.69 at December 31, 2024, and a 10.1% increase from $13.43 at March 31, 2024. For the first quarter of 2025, tangible book value was positively impacted by (1) net income, (2) the impact of lower long-term interest rates which decreased the net unrealized loss on the available for sale securities portfolio, and (3) amortization of intangibles which were largely offset by the payment of the annual $0.36 per share dividend. Stockholders’ equity as a percentage of total assets was 10.12% at March 31, 2025, compared to 10.24% at December 31, 2024. Tangible common equity (“TCE”) as a percent of tangible assets (non-GAAP)¹ decreased modestly to 8.45% at March 31, 2025, compared to 8.54% at December 31, 2024, largely due to the payment of the dividend.

“I am pleased with results in a quarter that is seasonally the slowest for us because of winter. The balance sheet is well positioned for the remainder of 2025 with strong capital and liquidity positions, strong ACL reserves and credit metrics in our historical range. Our TCE at 8.5% provides a cushion for uncertainty like we have seen thus far in 2025 and for share repurchases. Our liquidity position, including the loan to deposit ratio below 90% is expected to support quality, well priced loan growth in the low to mid-single digit percentages with strategic, relationship borrowers. Our markets remain stable with unemployment below national averages and tariff exposure appears to be indirect should this risk persist. We believe loan repricing and originations will benefit our net-interest margin expansion, especially in the second half of 2025, and throughout 2026, as well as will the impact of deposit repricing,” stated Stephen Bianchi, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer.

March 31, 2025, Highlights:

Quarterly earnings were $3.2 million, or $0.32 per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, an increase compared to earnings of $2.7 million, or $0.27 per diluted share for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, and a decrease from $4.1 million, or $0.39 per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, 2024.
Net interest income decreased $0.1 million to $11.6 million for the current quarter ended March 31, 2025, from $11.7 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, and from $11.9 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2024. The decrease in net interest income from the fourth quarter of 2024 was primarily due to two fewer days in the quarter which was mostly offset by an increase in net interest margin of six basis points.
The net interest margin increased to 2.85%, primarily due to lower deposit costs. The net interest margin increase in the first quarter of 2025 was negatively impacted by three basis points from lower deferred fee accretion compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 due to lower payoffs in the first quarter of 2025.
Negative provision for credit losses of $0.25 million, $0.45 million, and $0.80 million were recorded during the quarters ended March 31, 2025, December 31, 2024, and March 31, 2024, respectively. The first quarter’s negative provision was due to decreases in on-balance sheet allowance for credit losses (“ACL”) of $0.35 million partially offset by a $0.10 million increase in off-balance sheet ACL due to an increase in unfunded loan commitments.
Non-interest income increased by $0.6 million in the first quarter of 2025 to $2.6 million from $2.0 million the prior quarter due to $0.5 million of higher gain on sale of loans, $0.3 million of higher net gains on equity securities partially offset by lower loan fees and service charges of $0.2 million due to lower customer activity. Total non-interest income for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, was $0.7 million lower than first quarter 2024 primarily due to lower gain on sale of loans and net realized gains on debt securities.
Non-interest expense decreased $0.3 million to $10.5 million from $10.8 million for both the fourth quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2024. The $0.3 million decrease in non-interest expense compared to the linked quarter was largely due to lower compensation due to lower incentive costs and lower losses on repossessed assets, partially offset by higher other expense. The $0.3 million decrease from the first quarter of 2024 was due to a $0.4 million decrease in other expenses resulting from lower SBA recourse reserve expense.
Loans receivable decreased $16.3 million during the first quarter ended March 31, 2025, to $1.353 billion compared to the prior quarter end, largely due to the seasonal impact of lower activity.
Total deposits increased $35.5 million during the quarter ended March 31, 2025, to $1.524 billion. Total deposit growth reflected the seasonal growth in municipal deposits of $20.8 million, which typically decreases in the middle two quarters before increasing in the fourth quarter. Growth in retail and commercial areas was partially offset by the reduction of $6.3 million in wholesale deposits due to reduction in brokered deposits.
The last remaining Federal Home Loan Bank advance was repaid in the quarter, resulting in no advances at March 31, 2025, down from $5.0 million at December 31, 2024, and $39.5 million one year earlier.
The effective tax rate was 19.6% for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, compared to 19.5% for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, and 21.3% for the quarter ended March 31, 2024.
Nonperforming assets increased $0.3 million during the quarter to $14.5 million at March 31, 2025, compared to $14.2 million at December 31, 2024.
Special mention loans increased $6.5 million to $15.0 million at March 31, 2025, from $8.5 million in the previous quarter. The increase was largely due to one C&I relationship that showed weaker cash flow than expected.
The efficiency ratio was 73% for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, compared to 76% for the quarter ended December 31, 2024.

Balance Sheet and Asset Quality

Total assets increased by $31.4 million during the quarter to $1.780 billion at March 31, 2025.

Cash increased $50.0 million due to the growth in deposits and loan shrinkage growing our balances at the Federal Reserve.

Securities available for sale (“AFS”) decreased $3.2 million during the quarter ended March 31, 2025, to $139.6 million from $142.9 million at December 31, 2024. The decrease was due to principal repayments of $2.6 million, and a corporate debt security maturity of $2.5 million, partially offset by lower pre-tax unrealized losses of $1.9 million.

Securities held to maturity (“HTM”) decreased $1.2 million to $84.3 million during the quarter ended March 31, 2025, from $85.5 million at December 31, 2024, due to principal repayments.

The on-balance sheet liquidity ratio, which is defined as the fair market value of AFS and HTM securities that are not pledged and cash on deposit with other financial institutions, was 14.38% of total assets at March 31, 2025, compared to 11.75% at December 31, 2024. On-balance sheet liquidity collateralized new borrowing capacity and uncommitted federal funds borrowing availability was $852 million, or 314%, of uninsured and uncollateralized deposits at March 31, 2025, and $725 million, or 273%, at December 31, 2024.

Loans receivable decreased $16.3 million during the first quarter ended March 31, 2025, to $1.353 billion compared to the prior quarter end, largely due to the seasonal impact of lower origination and funding activity.

The office loan portfolio consisting of seventy-two loans totaled $28 million at March 31, 2025, compared to seventy-one loans totaling $28 million at December 31, 2024. Criticized loans in the office loan portfolio for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, totaled $0.5 million, the same amount at December 31, 2024, and there have been no charge-offs in the trailing twelve months.

The allowance for credit losses on loans decreased by $0.34 million to $20.2 million at March 31, 2025, representing 1.49% of total loans receivable compared to 1.50% of total loans receivable at December 31, 2024. For the quarter ended March 31, 2025, the Bank recorded a negative provision of $0.25 million which included a negative provision on ACL for loans of $0.35 million, partially offset by a provision of $0.10 million on ACL for unfunded commitments due to an increase in unfunded commitments. 30-89 day loan delinquencies decreased to 0.15% of total loans at March 31, 2025, compared to a 0.33% delinquency ratio at December 31, 2024. The Bank had $0.007 million of net recoveries in the first quarter.

Allowance for Credit Losses (“ACL”) – Loans Percentage

(in thousands, except ratios)

	March 31, 2025			December 31, 2024			September 30, 2024			June 30, 2024
Loans, end of period	$	1,352,728		$	1,368,981		$	1,424,828		$	1,428,588
Allowance for credit losses – Loans	$	20,205		$	20,549		$	21,000		$	21,178
ACL – Loans as a percentage of loans, end of period		1.49	%		1.50	%		1.47	%		1.48	%

In addition to the ACL – Loans, the Company has established an ACL – Unfunded Commitments of $0.435 million at March 31, 2025, $0.334 million at December 31, 2024, and $0.975 million at March 31, 2024, classified in other liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets.

Allowance for Credit Losses – Unfunded Commitments:
(in thousands)

	March 31, 2025 and Three Months Ended		December 31, 2024 and Three Months Ended			March 31, 2024 and Three Months Ended
ACL – Unfunded commitments – beginning of period	$	334	$	460		$	1,250
(Reductions) additions to ACL – Unfunded commitments via provision for credit losses charged to operations		101		(126	)		(275	)
ACL – Unfunded commitments – end of period	$	435	$	334		$	975

Special mention loans increased by $6.5 million to $15.0 million at March 31, 2025, compared to $8.5 million at December 31, 2024. The increase was largely due to one C&I relationship as noted earlier.

Substandard loans increased by $0.7 million to $19.6 million at March 31, 2025, compared to $18.9 million at December 31, 2024.

Nonperforming assets increased modestly by $0.3 million to $14.5 million at March 31, 2025, compared to $14.2 million at December 31, 2024.

	(in thousands)
	March 31, 2025		December 31, 2024		September 30, 2024		June 30, 2024		March 31, 2024
Special mention loan balances	$	14,990	$	8,480	$	11,047	$	8,848	$	13,737
Substandard loan balances		19,591		18,891		21,202		14,420		14,733
Criticized loans, end of period	$	34,581	$	27,371	$	32,249	$	23,268	$	28,470

Deposit Portfolio Composition
(in thousands)

	March 31, 2025		December 31, 2024		September 30, 2024		June 30, 2024		March 31, 2024
Consumer deposits	$	861,746	$	852,083	$	844,808	$	822,665	$	827,290
Commercial deposits		423,654		412,355		406,095		395,148		400,910
Public deposits		211,261		190,460		176,844		187,698		202,175
Wholesale deposits		26,993		33,250		92,920		114,033		97,114
Total deposits	$	1,523,654	$	1,488,148	$	1,520,667	$	1,519,544	$	1,527,489

At March 31, 2025, the deposit portfolio composition was 56% consumer, 28% commercial, 14% public, and 2% wholesale deposits compared to 57% consumer, 28% commercial, 13% public, and 2% wholesale deposits at December 31, 2024.

Deposit Composition By Type
(in thousands)

	March 31, 2025		December 31, 2024		September 30, 2024		June 30, 2024		March 31, 2024
Non-interest-bearing demand deposits	$	253,343	$	252,656	$	256,840	$	255,703	$	248,537
Interest-bearing demand deposits		386,302		355,750		346,971		353,477		361,278
Savings accounts		167,614		159,821		169,096		170,946		177,595
Money market accounts		370,741		369,534		366,067		370,164		387,879
Certificate accounts		345,654		350,387		381,693		369,254		352,200
Total deposits	$	1,523,654	$	1,488,148	$	1,520,667	$	1,519,544		1,527,489

Uninsured and uncollateralized deposits were $271.7 million, or 18% of total deposits, at March 31, 2025, and $265.4 million, or 18% of total deposits, at December 31, 2024. Uninsured deposits alone at March 31, 2025, were $444.4 million, or 29% of total deposits, and $428.0 million, or 29% of total deposits at December 31, 2024.

The last remaining Federal Home Loan Bank advance was repaid in the quarter, resulting in no advances at March 31, 2025, down from $5.0 million at December 31, 2024, and $39.5 million one year earlier.

No common stock was repurchased in the first quarter of 2025. There are 238 thousand shares remaining available to repurchase under the July 2024 Board of Director repurchase authorization.

Review of Operations

Net interest income decreased $0.1 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, to $11.6 million from $11.7 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, and decreased $0.3 million from $11.9 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2024. The decrease in net interest income compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 was primarily due to two fewer days of interest income or approximately $0.2 million, the impact of smaller average assets of $0.2 million, offset by an increase in net interest margin of six basis points or $0.3 million. The net interest margin increase was negatively impacted by 3 basis points due to lower deferred fee accretion compared to the fourth quarter resulting from lower loan payoffs.

Net interest income and net interest margin analysis:
(in thousands, except yields and rates)

	Three months ended
	March 31, 2025					December 31, 2024					September 30, 2024					June 30, 2024					March 31, 2024
	Net Interest Income			Net Interest Margin		Net Interest Income			Net Interest Margin		Net Interest Income			Net Interest Margin		Net Interest Income			Net Interest Margin		Net Interest Income			Net Interest Margin
As reported	$	11,594		2.85	%	$	11,708		2.79	%	$	11,285		2.63	%	$	11,576		2.72	%	$	11,905		2.77	%
Less accretion for PCD loans		(36	)	(0.01)%			(42	)	(0.01)%			(45	)	(0.01)%			(62	)	(0.01)%			(75	)	(0.02)%
Less scheduled accretion interest		(33	)	(0.01)%			(33	)	(0.01)%			(33	)	(0.01)%			(32	)	(0.01)%			(33	)	(0.01)%
Without loan purchase accretion	$	11,525		2.83	%	$	11,633		2.77	%	$	11,207		2.61	%	$	11,482		2.70	%	$	11,797		2.74	%

The table below shows the impact of certificate, loan and securities contractual fixed rate maturing and repricing.

Portfolio Contractual Repricing:
(in millions, except yields)

	Q2 2025			Q3 2025			Q4 2025			Q1 2026			Q2 2026			Q3 2026			Q4 2026			FY 2027
Maturing Certificate Accounts:
Contractual Balance	$	174		$	101		$	28		$	23		$	8		$	—		$	—		$	8
Contractual Interest Rate		4.59	%		3.98	%		3.72	%		3.66	%		3.47	%		—	%		—	%		4.01	%
Maturing or Repricing Loans:
Contractual Balance	$	52		$	18		$	55		$	45		$	51		$	120		$	98		$	243
Contractual Interest Rate		6.62	%		6.14	%		4.64	%		4.53	%		4.18	%		3.61	%		3.72	%		4.66	%
Maturing or Repricing Securities:
Contractual Balance	$	5		$	3		$	4		$	2		$	7		$	7		$	3		$	6
Contractual Interest Rate		5.64	%		4.07	%		4.31	%		3.72	%		3.57	%		3.44	%		3.27	%		4.47	%

Non-interest income increased by $0.6 million in the first quarter of 2025, to $2.6 million from $2.0 million the prior quarter due to $0.5 million of higher gain on sale of loans and $0.3 million of higher net gains on equity securities. Total non-interest income for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, was $0.7 million lower than first quarter 2024 primarily due to lower gain on sale of loans and net realized gains on debt securities.

Non-interest expense decreased $0.3 million to $10.5 million from $10.8 million for both the previous quarter and the quarter one year earlier. The $0.3 million decrease in non-interest expense compared to the linked quarter was largely due to lower compensation due to lower incentive costs and lower losses on repossessed assets. The $0.3 million decrease from the first quarter of 2024 was largely due to a $0.4 million decrease in other expense due to lower SBA recourse reserve expense.

Provision for income taxes increased to $0.8 million in the first quarter of 2025, from $0.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, largely due to higher pre-tax income. The effective tax rate was 19.6% for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, 19.5% for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, and 21.3% for the quarter ended March 31, 2024.

These financial results are preliminary until the Form 10-Q is filed in May 2025.

About the Company

Citizens Community Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: “CZWI”) is the holding company of the Bank, a national bank based in Altoona, Wisconsin, currently serving customers primarily in Wisconsin and Minnesota through 21 branch locations. Its primary markets include the Chippewa Valley Region in Wisconsin, the Twin Cities and Mankato markets in Minnesota, and various rural communities around these areas. The Bank offers traditional community banking services to businesses, ag operators and consumers, including residential mortgage loans.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this release are considered “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified using forward-looking words or phrases such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “expect,” “estimates,” “intend,” “may,” “on pace,” “preliminary,” “planned,” “potential,” “should,” “will,” “would” or the negative of those terms or other words of similar meaning. Such forward-looking statements in this release are inherently subject to many uncertainties arising in the operations and business environment of the Company and the Bank. These uncertainties include: conditions in the financial markets and economic conditions generally; the impact of inflation on our business and our customers; geopolitical tensions, including current or anticipated impact of military conflicts; higher lending risks associated with our commercial and agricultural banking activities; future pandemics (including new variants of COVID-19); cybersecurity risks; adverse impacts on the regional banking industry and the business environment in which it operates; interest rate risk; lending risk; changes in the fair value or ratings downgrades of our securities; the sufficiency of allowance for credit losses; competitive pressures among depository and other financial institutions; disintermediation risk; our ability to maintain our reputation; our ability to maintain or increase our market share; our ability to realize the benefits of net deferred tax assets; our ability to obtain needed liquidity; our ability to raise capital needed to fund growth or meet regulatory requirements; our ability to attract and retain key personnel; our ability to keep pace with technological change; prevalence of fraud and other financial crimes; the possibility that our internal controls and procedures could fail or be circumvented; our ability to successfully execute our acquisition growth strategy; risks posed by acquisitions and other expansion opportunities, including difficulties and delays in integrating the acquired business operations or fully realizing the cost savings and other benefits; restrictions on our ability to pay dividends; the potential volatility of our stock price; accounting standards for credit losses; legislative or regulatory changes or actions, or significant litigation, adversely affecting the Company or Bank; public company reporting obligations; changes in federal or state tax laws; and changes in accounting principles, policies or guidelines and their impact on financial performance. Stockholders, potential investors, and other readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Such uncertainties and other risks that may affect the Company’s performance are discussed further in Part I, Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” in the Company’s Form 10-K, for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on March 13, 2025 and the Company’s subsequent filings with the SEC. The Company undertakes no obligation to make any revisions to the forward-looking statements contained in this news release or to update them to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this release.

¹Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release contains non-GAAP financial measures, such as net income as adjusted, net income as adjusted per share, tangible book value, tangible book value per share, tangible common equity as a percent of tangible assets and return on average tangible common equity, which management believes may be helpful in understanding the Company’s results of operations or financial position and comparing results over different periods.

Net income as adjusted and net income as adjusted per share are non-GAAP measures that eliminate the impact of certain expenses such as branch closure costs and related severance pay, accelerated depreciation expense and lease termination fees, and the gain on sale of branch deposits and fixed assets. Tangible book value, tangible book value per share, tangible common equity as a percentage of tangible assets and return on average tangible common equity are non-GAAP measures that eliminate the impact of goodwill and intangible assets on our financial position. Management believes these measures are useful in assessing the strength of our financial position.

Where non-GAAP financial measures are used, the comparable GAAP financial measure, as well as the reconciliation to the comparable GAAP financial measure, can be found in this press release. These disclosures should not be viewed as a substitute for operating results determined in accordance with GAAP, nor are they necessarily comparable to non-GAAP performance measures that may be presented by other banks and financial institutions.

Contact: Steve Bianchi, CEO
(715)-836-9994

(CZWI-ER)

CITIZENS COMMUNITY BANCORP, INC. Consolidated Balance Sheets (in thousands, except share data)

	March 31, 2025 (unaudited)			December 31, 2024 (audited)			September 30, 2024 (unaudited)			March 31, 2024 (unaudited)
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$	100,199		$	50,172		$	36,632		$	28,638
Securities available for sale “AFS”		139,642			142,851			149,432			151,672
Securities held to maturity “HTM”		84,301			85,504			87,033			89,942
Equity investments		5,462			4,702			5,096			3,281
Other investments		12,496			12,500			12,311			13,022
Loans receivable		1,352,728			1,368,981			1,424,828			1,450,159
Allowance for credit losses		(20,205	)		(20,549	)		(21,000	)		(22,436	)
Loans receivable, net		1,332,523			1,348,432			1,403,828			1,427,723
Loans held for sale		3,296			1,329			697			—
Mortgage servicing rights, net		3,583			3,663			3,696			3,774
Office properties and equipment, net		16,649			17,075			17,365			18,026
Accrued interest receivable		5,926			5,653			6,235			6,324
Intangible assets		800			979			1,158			1,515
Goodwill		31,498			31,498			31,498			31,498
Foreclosed and repossessed assets, net		876			915			1,572			1,845
Bank owned life insurance (“BOLI”)		26,296			26,102			25,901			25,836
Other assets		16,416			17,144			16,683			16,219
TOTAL ASSETS	$	1,779,963		$	1,748,519		$	1,799,137		$	1,819,315
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Liabilities:
Deposits	$	1,523,654		$	1,488,148		$	1,520,667		$	1,527,489
Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”) advances		—			5,000			21,000			39,500
Other borrowings		61,664			61,606			61,548			67,523
Other liabilities		14,594			14,681			15,773			11,982
Total liabilities		1,599,912			1,569,435			1,618,988			1,646,494
Stockholders’ Equity:
Common stock— $0.01 par value, authorized 30,000,000; 9,989,536, 9,981,996, 10,074,136, and 10,406,880 shares issued and outstanding, respectively		100			100			101			104
Additional paid-in capital		114,477			114,564			115,455			118,916
Retained earnings		80,439			80,840			78,438			71,831
Accumulated other comprehensive loss		(14,965	)		(16,420	)		(13,845	)		(18,030	)
Total stockholders’ equity		180,051			179,084			180,149			172,821
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY	$	1,779,963		$	1,748,519		$	1,799,137		$	1,819,315

Note: Certain items previously reported were reclassified for consistency with the current presentation.

CITIZENS COMMUNITY BANCORP, INC. Consolidated Statements of Operations (in thousands, except per share data)

	Three Months Ended
	March 31, 2025 (unaudited)			December 31, 2024 (unaudited)			March 31, 2024 (unaudited)
Interest and dividend income:
Interest and fees on loans	$	18,602		$	19,534		$	20,168
Interest on investments		2,501			2,427			2,511
Total interest and dividend income		21,103			21,961			22,679
Interest expense:
Interest on deposits		8,597			9,273			9,209
Interest on FHLB borrowed funds		11			65			512
Interest on other borrowed funds		901			915			1,053
Total interest expense		9,509			10,253			10,774
Net interest income before provision for credit losses		11,594			11,708			11,905
(Negative) provision for credit losses		(250	)		(450	)		(800	)
Net interest income after provision for credit losses		11,844			12,158			12,705
Non-interest income:
Service charges on deposit accounts		423			450			471
Interchange income		518			550			541
Loan servicing income		559			520			582
Gain on sale of loans		720			218			1,020
Loan fees and service charges		120			292			230
Net realized gains on debt securities		—			—			—
Net gains (losses) on equity securities		10			(287	)		167
Other		243			266			253
Total non-interest income		2,593			2,009			3,264
Non-interest expense:
Compensation and related benefits		5,597			5,840			5,483
Occupancy		1,287			1,217			1,367
Data processing		1,719			1,743			1,597
Amortization of intangible assets		179			179			179
Mortgage servicing rights expense, net		140			107			148
Advertising, marketing and public relations		167			218			164
FDIC premium assessment		198			192			205
Professional services		508			514			566
Losses on repossessed assets, net		4			247			—
Other		664			552			1,068
Total non-interest expense		10,463			10,809			10,777
Income before provision for income taxes		3,974			3,358			5,192
Provision for income taxes		777			656			1,104
Net income attributable to common stockholders	$	3,197		$	2,702		$	4,088
Per share information:
Basic earnings	$	0.32		$	0.27		$	0.39
Diluted earnings	$	0.32		$	0.27		$	0.39
Cash dividends paid	$	0.36		$	—		$	0.32
Book value per share at end of period	$	18.02		$	17.94		$	16.61
Tangible book value per share at end of period (non-GAAP)	$	14.79		$	14.69		$	13.43

Reconciliation of GAAP Net Income and Net Income as Adjusted (non-GAAP)

(in thousands, except per share data)

	Three Months Ended
	March 31, 2025		December 31, 2024		March 31, 2024

GAAP pretax income	$	3,974	$	3,358	$	5,192
Branch closure costs (1)		—		—		—
Pretax income as adjusted (2)	$	3,974	$	3,358	$	5,192
Provision for income tax on net income as adjusted (3)		777		656		1,104
Net income as adjusted (non-GAAP) (2)	$	3,197	$	2,702	$	4,088
GAAP diluted earnings per share, net of tax	$	0.32	$	0.27	$	0.39
Branch closure costs, net of tax		—		—		—
Diluted earnings per share, as adjusted, net of tax (non-GAAP)	$	0.32	$	0.27	$	0.39

Average diluted shares outstanding		10,000,818		10,033,957		10,443,267

(1) Branch closure costs include severance pay recorded in compensation and benefits and depreciation and right of use lease asset accelerated expense included in other non-interest expense in the consolidated statement of operations.
(2) Pretax income as adjusted and net income as adjusted are non-GAAP measures that management believes enhances the market’s ability to assess the underlying business performance and trends related to core business activities.
(3) Provision for income tax on net income as adjusted is calculated at our effective tax rate for each respective period presented.

Loan Composition

(in thousands)

	March 31, 2025			December 31, 2024			September 30, 2024			June 30, 2024
Total Loans:
Commercial/Agricultural real estate:
Commercial real estate	$	709,975		$	709,018		$	730,459		$	729,236
Agricultural real estate		71,071			73,130			76,043			78,248
Multi-family real estate		237,872			220,805			239,191			234,758
Construction and land development		58,461			78,489			87,875			87,898
C&I/Agricultural operating:
Commercial and industrial		109,620			115,657			119,619			127,386
Agricultural operating		29,310			31,000			27,550			27,409
Residential mortgage:
Residential mortgage		129,070			132,341			134,944			133,503
Purchased HELOC loans		2,560			2,956			2,932			2,915
Consumer installment:
Originated indirect paper		3,434			3,970			4,405			5,110
Other consumer		4,679			5,012			5,438			5,860
Gross loans	$	1,356,052		$	1,372,378		$	1,428,456		$	1,432,323
Unearned net deferred fees and costs and loans in process		(2,542	)		(2,547	)		(2,703	)		(2,733	)
Unamortized discount on acquired loans		(782	)		(850	)		(925	)		(1,002	)
Total loans receivable	$	1,352,728		$	1,368,981		$	1,424,828		$	1,428,588

Nonperforming Assets
Loan Balances at Amortized Cost

(in thousands, except ratios)

	March 31, 2025			December 31, 2024			September 30, 2024			June 30, 2024
Nonperforming assets:
Nonaccrual loans
Commercial real estate	$	4,948		$	4,594		$	4,778		$	5,350
Agricultural real estate		5,934			6,222			6,193			382
Construction and land development		—			103			106			—
Commercial and industrial (“C&I”)		701			597			1,956			422
Agricultural operating		725			793			901			1,017
Residential mortgage		782			858			1,088			1,145
Consumer installment		1			1			20			36
Total nonaccrual loans	$	13,091		$	13,168		$	15,042		$	8,352
Accruing loans past due 90 days or more		568			186			530			256
Total nonperforming loans (“NPLs”) at amortized cost		13,659			13,354			15,572			8,608
Foreclosed and repossessed assets, net		876			915			1,572			1,662
Total nonperforming assets (“NPAs”)	$	14,535		$	14,269		$	17,144		$	10,270
Loans, end of period	$	1,352,728		$	1,368,981		$	1,424,828		$	1,428,588
Total assets, end of period	$	1,779,963		$	1,748,519		$	1,799,137		$	1,802,307
Ratios:
NPLs to total loans		1.01	%		0.98	%		1.09	%		0.60	%
NPAs to total assets		0.82	%		0.82	%		0.95	%		0.57	%

Average Balances, Interest Yields and Rates

(in thousands, except yields and rates)

	Three Months Ended March 31, 2025						Three Months Ended December 31, 2024						Three Months Ended March 31, 2024
	Average Balance		Interest Income/ Expense		Average Yield/ Rate		Average Balance		Interest Income/ Expense		Average Yield/ Rate		Average Balance		Interest Income/ Expense		Average Yield/ Rate
Average interest earning assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	47,835	$	524	4.44	%	$	26,197	$	327	4.97	%	$	13,071	$	191	5.88	%
Loans receivable		1,363,352		18,602	5.53	%		1,396,854		19,534	5.56	%		1,456,586		20,168	5.57	%
Investment securities		228,514		1,808	3.21	%		235,268		1,940	3.28	%		243,991		2,060	3.40	%
Other investments		12,498		169	5.48	%		12,318		160	5.17	%		13,350		260	7.83	%
Total interest earning assets	$	1,652,199	$	21,103	5.18	%	$	1,670,637	$	21,961	5.23	%	$	1,726,998	$	22,679	5.28	%
Average interest-bearing liabilities:
Savings accounts	$	167,001	$	407	0.99	%	$	162,501	$	383	0.94	%	$	176,838	$	421	0.96	%
Demand deposits		382,355		2,033	2.16	%		346,411		1,891	2.17	%		353,995		2,017	2.29	%
Money market accounts		365,528		2,535	2.81	%		351,566		2,720	3.08	%		377,475		2,920	3.11	%
CD’s		343,751		3,622	4.27	%		374,087		4,279	4.55	%		360,177		3,851	4.30	%
Total deposits	$	1,258,635	$	8,597	2.77	%	$	1,234,565	$	9,273	2.99	%	$	1,268,485	$	9,209	2.92	%
FHLB advances and other borrowings		64,635		912	5.72	%		72,431		980	5.38	%		124,701		1,565	5.05	%
Total interest-bearing liabilities	$	1,323,270	$	9,509	2.91	%	$	1,306,996	$	10,253	3.12	%	$	1,393,186	$	10,774	3.11	%
Net interest income			$	11,594					$	11,708					$	11,905
Interest rate spread					2.27	%					2.11	%					2.17	%
Net interest margin					2.85	%					2.79	%					2.77	%
Average interest earning assets to average interest-bearing liabilities					1.25						1.28						1.24

Wholesale Deposits
(in thousands)

	Quarter Ended
	March 31, 2025		December 31, 2024		September 30, 2024		June 30, 2024		March 31, 2024
Brokered certificate accounts	$	5,489	$	14,123	$	48,578	$	54,123	$	43,507
Brokered money market accounts		5,053		5,002		18,076		42,673		40,429
Third party originated reciprocal deposits		16,451		14,125		26,266		17,237		13,178
Total	$	26,993	$	33,250	$	92,920	$	114,033	$	97,114

Key Financial Metric Ratios:

	Three Months Ended
	March 31, 2025		December 31, 2024		March 31, 2024
Ratios based on net income:
Return on average assets (annualized)	0.74	%	0.61	%	0.90	%
Return on average equity (annualized)	7.26	%	6.00	%	9.57	%
Return on average tangible common equity⁴(annualized)	9.28	%	7.72	%	12.26	%
Efficiency ratio	73	%	76	%	71	%
Net interest margin with loan purchase accretion	2.85	%	2.79	%	2.77	%
Net interest margin without loan purchase accretion	2.83	%	2.77	%	2.74	%
Ratios based on net income as adjusted (non-GAAP)
Return on average assets as adjusted²(annualized)	0.74	%	0.61	%	0.90	%
Return on average equity as adjusted³(annualized)	7.26	%	6.00	%	9.57	%

Reconciliation of Return on Average Assets

(in thousands, except ratios)

	Three Months Ended
	March 31, 2025			December 31, 2024			March 31, 2024

GAAP earnings after income taxes	$	3,197		$	2,702		$	4,088
Net income as adjusted after income taxes (non-GAAP) (1)	$	3,197		$	2,702		$	4,088
Average assets	$	1,763,191		$	1,771,351		$	1,834,152
Return on average assets (annualized)		0.74	%		0.61	%		0.90	%
Return on average assets as adjusted (non-GAAP) (annualized)		0.74	%		0.61	%		0.90	%

(1) See Reconciliation of GAAP Net Income and Net Income as Adjusted (non-GAAP)

Reconciliation of Return on Average Equity

(in thousands, except ratios)

	Three Months Ended
	March 31, 2025			December 31, 2024			March 31, 2024
GAAP earnings after income taxes	$	3,197		$	2,702		$	4,088
Net income as adjusted after income taxes (non-GAAP) (1)	$	3,197		$	2,702		$	4,088
Average equity	$	178,470		$	179,242		$	171,794
Return on average equity (annualized)		7.26	%		6.00	%		9.57	%
Return on average equity as adjusted (non-GAAP) (annualized)		7.26	%		6.00	%		9.57	%

(1) See Reconciliation of GAAP Net Income and Net Income as Adjusted (non-GAAP)

Reconciliation of Return on Average Tangible Common Equity (non-GAAP)

(in thousands, except ratios)

	Three Months Ended
	March 31, 2025			December 31, 2024			March 31, 2024
Total stockholders’ equity	$	180,051		$	179,084		$	172,821
Less: Goodwill		(31,498	)		(31,498	)		(31,498	)
Less: Intangible assets		(800	)		(979	)		(1,515	)
Tangible common equity (non-GAAP)	$	147,753		$	146,607		$	139,808
Average tangible common equity (non-GAAP)	$	146,083		$	146,676		$	138,692
GAAP earnings after income taxes		3,197			2,702			4,088
Amortization of intangible assets, net of tax		144			144			141
Tangible net income	$	3,341		$	2,846		$	4,229
Return on average tangible common equity (annualized)		9.28	%		7.72	%		12.26	%

Reconciliation of Efficiency Ratio

(in thousands, except ratios)

	Three Months Ended
	March 31, 2025			December 31, 2024			March 31, 2024
Non-interest expense (GAAP)	$	10,463		$	10,809		$	10,777
Less amortization of intangibles		(179	)		(179	)		(179	)
Efficiency ratio numerator (GAAP)	$	10,284		$	10,630		$	10,598

Non-interest income	$	2,593		$	2,009		$	3,264
Add back net losses on debt and equity securities		—			(287	)		—
Subtract net gains on debt and equity securities		10			—			167
Net interest income		11,594			11,708			11,905
Efficiency ratio denominator (GAAP)	$	14,177		$	14,004		$	15,002
Efficiency ratio (GAAP)		73	%		76	%		71	%

Reconciliation of tangible book value per share (non-GAAP)

(in thousands, except per share data)

Tangible book value per share at end of period	March 31, 2025			December 31, 2024			September 30, 2024			June 30, 2024			March 31, 2024
Total stockholders’ equity	$	180,051		$	179,084		$	180,149		$	176,045		$	172,821
Less: Goodwill		(31,498	)		(31,498	)		(31,498	)		(31,498	)		(31,498	)
Less: Intangible assets		(800	)		(979	)		(1,158	)		(1,336	)		(1,515	)
Tangible common equity (non-GAAP)	$	147,753		$	146,607		$	147,493		$	143,211		$	139,808
Ending common shares outstanding		9,989,536			9,981,996			10,074,136			10,297,341			10,406,880
Book value per share	$	18.02		$	17.94		$	17.88		$	17.10		$	16.61
Tangible book value per share (non-GAAP)	$	14.79		$	14.69		$	14.64		$	13.91		$	13.43

Reconciliation of tangible common equity as a percent of tangible assets (non-GAAP)

(in thousands, except ratios)

Tangible common equity as a percent of tangible assets at end of period	March 31, 2025			December 31, 2024			September 30, 2024			June 30, 2024			March 31, 2024
Total stockholders’ equity	$	180,051		$	179,084		$	180,149		$	176,045		$	172,821
Less: Goodwill		(31,498	)	$	(31,498	)	$	(31,498	)	$	(31,498	)		(31,498	)
Less: Intangible assets		(800	)	$	(979	)	$	(1,158	)	$	(1,336	)		(1,515	)
Tangible common equity (non-GAAP)	$	147,753		$	146,607		$	147,493		$	143,211		$	139,808
Total Assets	$	1,779,963		$	1,748,519		$	1,799,137		$	1,802,307		$	1,819,315
Less: Goodwill		(31,498	)		(31,498	)		(31,498	)		(31,498	)		(31,498	)
Less: Intangible assets		(800	)		(979	)		(1,158	)		(1,336	)		(1,515	)
Tangible Assets (non-GAAP)	$	1,747,665		$	1,716,042		$	1,766,481		$	1,769,473		$	1,786,302
Total stockholders’ equity to total assets ratio		10.12	%		10.24	%		10.01	%		9.77	%		9.50	%
Tangible common equity as a percent of tangible assets (non-GAAP)		8.45	%		8.54	%		8.35	%		8.09	%		7.83	%

¹Net income as adjusted and net income as adjusted per share are non-GAAP financial measures that management believes enhances investors’ ability to understand the underlying business performance and trends related to core business activities. For a detailed reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP results, see the accompanying financial table “Reconciliation of GAAP Net Income and Net Income as Adjusted (non-GAAP)”.

²Return on average assets as adjusted is a non-GAAP measure that management believes enhances investors’ ability to understand the underlying business performance and trends relative to average assets. For a detailed reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP results, see the accompanying financial table “Reconciliation of Return on Average Assets as Adjusted (non-GAAP)”.

³Return on average equity as adjusted is a non-GAAP measure that management believes enhances investors’ ability to understand the underlying business performance and trends relative to average equity. For a detailed reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP results, see the accompanying financial table “Reconciliation of Return on Average Equity as Adjusted (non-GAAP)”.

⁴Tangible book value, tangible book value per share, tangible common equity as a percent of tangible assets and return on tangible common equity are non-GAAP measures that management believes enhances investors’ ability to understand the Company’s financial position. For a detailed reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP results, see the accompanying financial table “Reconciliation of tangible book value per share (non-GAAP)”, “Reconciliation of tangible common equity as a percent of tangible assets (non-GAAP)”, and “Reconciliation of return on average tangible common equity)”.

The MIL Network –

April 29, 2025

Category: Artificial Intelligence

I. A very special gratitude to the FPA, and to your country

II. How to restore trust?

Escalating Threat of Gen-AI Facilitated Cybercrime

AFRICOM logo PNG_release thumbnail

From concept to commercialisation: Defence Innovation Loans are open

Interested in a loan to boost your small business? Read the competition document here.

Background

Success Stories

Eligibility

When can I apply?

Queries

Share this page

Updates to this page

Agent Orange and daisy cutters

Recovery efforts have been slow

Chemical cleanup is still underway

Laws to prevent future ‘ecocide’ are complicated

Lessons for the future

Keeping Americans ‘safe’

TSA as a case study

JFK empowered federal workers

Reagan and the air traffic controllers union

Long-term goal