Latest news with #StephenWard
Business Wire
03-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
SGNL Launches MCP Gateway to Enable Secure AI Adoption for Enterprise Workforces
PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AI agents are proliferating across enterprises faster than security teams can govern—creating massive blind spots and risk. SGNL today announced that its Model Context Protocol (MCP) Gateway is live with private availability to customers. The release puts identity-first security policies in the path of every AI interaction, automatically blocking unauthorized actions while maintaining business velocity. The release puts identity-first security policies in the path of every AI interaction, automatically blocking unauthorized actions while maintaining business velocity. MCP is revolutionizing how AI agents interact with internal and external systems—enabling them to perform tasks, interact with data, and trigger workflows across the enterprise. But without robust access controls, these agents can operate unchecked, risking over-permissioned access and unintended data exposure. Because of this, enterprises have been hesitant to approve AI tools for their workforce. SGNL's MCP Gateway changes that. It brings centralized, dynamic authorization to every MCP server in the enterprise—governing access not just based on what the agent wants to do, but who they represent, where the request is coming from, and why it's being made. 'SGNL's MCP Gateway delivers more than just a technical breakthrough,' said Stephen Ward, co-founder of Brightmind Partners, former Home Depot CISO, and ex-Secret Service cybersecurity leader. 'It's a strategic game-changer that gives enterprises the levers to align AI automation with business policy in real time, bridging the critical gap between innovation and control.' Eliminating blind access in the age of autonomous IT AI agents are entering enterprise workflows faster than security teams can respond. From summarizing sensitive data to triggering downstream actions, they don't inherently understand risk, yet they operate at machine speed across dynamic contexts where traditional boundaries no longer apply. This creates a fundamental mismatch. Legacy role-based access control was designed for predictable human behavior, not autonomous systems making thousands of decisions per minute. Enterprises can't simply "IAM harder" with existing tooling because static RBAC becomes exponentially more dangerous when applied to agents that never sleep, never second-guess themselves, and correlate data in ways humans cannot. The result is blind access at scale, where broadly privileged roles and brittle permission matrices compound risk with every agent interaction. The SGNL MCP Gateway addresses this head-on with: Real-time policy enforcement between MCP clients and servers Continuous evaluation of identity, device compliance, and request context Default-deny architecture with enterprise-wide MCP server registry that grants access only to approved services when explicitly justified Centralized MCP server registry and visibility into every AI agent interaction 'The Gateway isn't just a feature—it's foundational,' said Scott Kriz, CEO and co-founder of SGNL. 'With it, we're giving customers the ability to harness AI's full potential without compromising on security and control. Our customers can now confidently adopt agent-based workflows knowing that access decisions are dynamic, contextual, and enforceable at every step.' A real-world example: stopping data loss before it happens In a common use case, an account executive attempts to use an AI agent to summarize Salesforce data from a non-compliant laptop. Without SGNL, the agent would retrieve and expose potentially sensitive customer data. With SGNL's MCP Gateway in place, contextual policy enforcement blocks the request—ensuring that only secure, compliant actions are permitted. This is just one of countless scenarios where real-time governance makes the difference between acceleration and exposure. See SGNL's MCP Gateway in action Request a demo at to see how SGNL's MCP Gateway governs AI agent access for enterprise workforces. About SGNL SGNL's modern Privileged Identity Management is redefining identity-first security for the enterprise. By decoupling credentials from identity and enabling real-time, context-aware access decisions, SGNL empowers organizations to reduce risk, streamline operations, and scale securely. Whether it's humans or AI agents, SGNL keeps your critical systems and sensitive data secure. That's why Fortune 500 companies are turning to SGNL to simplify their identity access programs and secure critical systems. Learn more at
BBC News
20-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
Cafe repair team in Pocklington works to end 'throwaway culture'
A group that repairs broken equipment is working to combat a "throwaway culture" by restoring items back to working Pocklington Repair Cafe says its aim is to keep things that can be repaired out of East Yorkshire group is one of many around the country that includes volunteers from many walks of life who share their skills and tools with each other, and with those bringing something that needs can sometimes be easy to throw the item away and buy a new one, but the group hopes they can make a difference, both to the environment and - during the cost-of-living crisis – to the pounds in people's pockets. The group holds a drop-in session every few months at the town's Scout this occasion, Stephen Ward has brought in a trolley that needs fixing. He relies on it to help him with walking, and says it would be a challenge finding another one that suits him. Amateur repairer Damien Cunningham is having a go at fixing a broken rod which holds it all part that's broken is relatively rare, so Damien is trying hard to find something else that fits."We still have the problem that one of the key fixings is missing," he says."It's the sort of job [where] at home I would make one, but I don't have the facilities here."It takes Damien more than an hour to come up with a solution, but eventually Stephen gets to wheel his fully functioning trolley home rather than having to throw it away. Lyn Gregory, meanwhile, has brought in a lamp that isn't working but which she had hoped to give to the hospice shop where she helps turns out to be a quick fix, with the team at the repair cafe also giving it a free electrical safety check."I'm delighted," says Lyn."I hate waste, and it wasn't working and I couldn't sell it... but now it can be [sold]." Elizabeth Walker, who set up the Pocklington group, says this is just the sort of thing they get together for."Mostly they are just domestic items – kettles, toasters, things like that. But occasionally we do get sentimental items in that need fixing," she credits the whole team with making it all work."We've just got some very willing volunteers. They've learned how to mend things, and they're offering their services. And they share their expertise with each other, and their tools." This month's session has been a success. Everyone seems to have gone away happy, despite some challenging benefits are obvious, say the buy something new when you don't have to? And why fill up precious landfill space when so many things can be repaired or reused? Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Sprinklr cuts 500 employees, citing underwhelming business performance
Sprinklr, a U.S. firm providing a customer experience management platform to global brands, has laid off about 15% of its workforce — around 500 employees — due to business performance not meeting expectations, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. The new layoffs come less than a year after the company cut about 3% of its workforce in May and after it earlier reduced its headcount by 4% in 2023. The two earlier layoffs impacted roughly 200 employees altogether. The New York-headquartered company, which counts Microsoft, P&G, and Samsung among over 1,800 global customers, started notifying affected employees about the cuts this week, TechCrunch learned and confirmed with the company. "We will refocus and rebalance our investments, talent, and resources in order to better serve our customers and partners and help them realize the full value of our AI-powered platform," a Sprinklr spokesperson said in a statement. The spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch that the move does not impact C-level positions. The company will "continue to hire in prioritized areas" to focus on its "strategic priorities," the spokesperson said. Last week, Sprinklr appointed former PwC partner Jan Hauser and former Lenovo CEO and founding member Stephen Ward as new board directors amid its shifting focus toward developing AI-led experiences. In a related announcement, Sprinklr said that current board member and audit committee chair, Ed Gillis, who has served since November 2015, is stepping down from his position at the end of March. Per its most recent annual report released in March of last year, Sprinklr had 3,869 employees, including 2,276 in India and 787 in the U.S. "We will support departing teammates with the greatest care and respect, acknowledging their contributions to Sprinklr, and assisting them in their transition," the spokesperson said. Alongside Sprinklr, Workday, Okta, Sonos, and Cruise are among other companies announcing job cuts in recent days as businesses face challenges amid dynamic shifts. Sign in to access your portfolio
