Latest news with #JeffReed
Channel Post MEA
08-08-2025
- Business
- Channel Post MEA
Vectra AI Introduces AI Assistant For Faster Detection Of Cyber Threats
Vectra AI has announced Vectra AI MCP Server, a powerful tool that brings seamless, natural language access to the Vectra AI Platform through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Currently available as early access to all customers, with more releases to come soon, this tool allows security teams to engage with the Vectra AI Platform through AI assistants like Claude Desktop, Cursor, and others – turning complex threat investigations into intuitive conversations. Security operations teams are embracing AI to work faster and more efficiently, but accessing deep security insights remains a technical and time-consuming process. Analysts often struggle with alert fatigue, fragmented toolsets, and complex workflows that delay response and increase risk. By adopting MCP – a fast-growing open standard that enables AI agents to connect with external data and tools – Vectra AI is breaking down those barriers and making expert-level detection and response accessible through a simple prompt. The Vectra AI MCP Server connects directly to the Vectra AI Platform, enabling analysts and threat hunters to investigate incidents, reconstruct attack timelines, and report on security posture – all through conversational queries. The integration eliminates the need for custom connectors, reduces investigation time, and allows SOC teams to generate context-rich visuals and reports that can be easily shared with leadership. It builds on Vectra AI's core platform strengths and requires no changes to existing deployments. 'As AI-native workflows reshape the way teams investigate and respond to threats, we're committed to making our intelligence available wherever and however our customers work,' said Jeff Reed, chief product officer at Vectra AI. 'The launch of our MCP Server is a major step in democratizing security expertise – empowering every analyst with instant access to powerful insights through the AI tools they already use.'
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Johnson City native drafted by the Texas Rangers
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn., (WJHL) – Johnson City native Josh Owens was drafted 84th in the third round of the MLB draft by the Texas Rangers on Sunday. Head coach of the Providence Academy baseball team and former MLB player, Jeff Reed, described Owens as a self-starter. Owens started at Providence as a shortstop, but was moved around to play second base and pitcher in his varsity last year. Reed said Owens' potential really shone in his junior year. 'His junior year, he really worked hard,' Reed said. 'Really matured as a young man and really had a great year. And then this past year, he had an unbelievable year, and it seemed like every game we played there was at least three or four pro teams watching him, sometimes it was like 12.' Owens was drafted just after he graduated from Providence Academy in May. Reed said that kind of accomplishment is rare, but beneficial. 'A 17 or 18-year-old kid, it's very rare,' Reed said. 'But it's a blessing, because if you do start in pro ball, you're going to get a few more years to show what you can do.' Reed also added that Owens' name was put on the map when he joined Team USA in 2024, where he played six games and spun five shutout innings to earn a win against Puerto Rico in the semifinal round. 'Once he got a bit of the strength built in that game, he just went wild,' Reed said. 'He started driving some balls to the left side. He started driving some balls on the left field. We all look at each other and go, 'this boy can be special.' He's a great ballplayer, but he's a greater person.' According to Reed, Owens has not yet decided whether or not he will play for Georgia Southern or if he will sign with the Rangers and go to the minor leagues. Whatever the case, Reed said either decision is a win-win. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Techday NZ
21-05-2025
- Business
- Techday NZ
Exabeam partners with Vectra AI to boost cloud threat defence
Exabeam has announced a partnership with Vectra AI to integrate the Exabeam New-Scale Security Operations Platform with the Vectra AI Platform. The collaboration aims to address the challenges faced by security teams in identifying advanced threats, particularly those that move laterally across cloud environments. Many existing solutions, originally developed for on-premises systems, struggle to detect these attacks, resulting in delayed responses and increased manual workloads for analysts. The integration combines Exabeam's SIEM, user and entity behaviour analytics (UEBA), and automated workflows with Vectra AI's network detection and response (NDR) capability. According to Exabeam, this unified solution will centralise visibility, accelerate threat detection, and streamline investigation processes across cloud-based environments. Vectra AI's platform provides visibility into lateral threat movement by monitoring activity both east-west and north-south across a variety of network architectures, including data centres, campus facilities, remote workspaces, cloud, and operational technology (OT) environments. By incorporating Vectra AI's analytics into the Exabeam infrastructure, the two companies aim to give security teams improved detection and response capabilities. Steve Wilson, Chief AI and Product Officer at Exabeam, said, "Teaming up with Vectra AI, isn't just a partnership, it's a power move. We need to shift the balance in cybersecurity, putting defenders back in control. With their cloud threat intel and our AI-driven platform, we're exposing the threats others miss and flipping the script on what modern threat detection looks like." The integration is designed to provide a number of practical benefits. Accelerated threat detection is achieved by consolidating security data from various sources and automating processes throughout the security operations centre (SOC) stack. This allows analysts to identify and respond to incidents faster and with greater accuracy. Enhanced visibility is another feature, with the combined platform able to detect network-based risks throughout cloud infrastructures by leveraging behavioural analytics. This helps security teams spot lateral movement, insider threats, and post-compromise activities that traditional tools might overlook. Streamlined operations are facilitated by out-of-the-box integration features. These include prebuilt mappings, a preconfigured Vectra AI dashboard tile, and webhook collectors, all of which are intended to speed up deployment and reduce ongoing operational complexity for SOC teams. Jeff Reed, Chief Product Officer at Vectra AI, said, "Security teams today need visibility to stay ahead of advanced threats, especially as attacks become more complex and move across hybrid and cloud environments. By integrating Vectra AI's advanced NDR with Exabeam's powerful SIEM and automation capabilities, we're empowering teams with a unified, intelligent platform to quickly identify, investigate, and stop threats before they escalate. This partnership is a major step forward in modernising security operations for the AI-driven threat landscape." The partnership is built on the understanding that today's threat landscape is increasingly shaped by cloud adoption and remote work, where attack vectors are more diverse and attacks often bypass traditional network boundaries. By providing centralised and integrated defence tools, Exabeam and Vectra AI aim to help organisations keep pace with these developments and reduce the burden on security staff. Analysts using the integrated platform are expected to benefit from simplified incident investigations, less manual effort, and improved overall security outcomes. The new solution is positioned as addressing a market demand for unified threat detection and response that adapts to both legacy systems and modern, cloud-native environments.
The Sun
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Tragic final text of Taylor Swift superfan Logan Federico, 22, before being ‘executed by serial criminal' as she slept
A TAYLOR Swift superfan sent a tragic final message to her boss before being shot dead while she was sleeping. Logan Federico, an aspiring teacher, was with pals at a rental home before being killed on May 3. 3 3 Alexander Dickey, a serial criminal, allegedly broke into the property and opened fire. He is also accused of stealing her credit cards and going on a spending spree. Federico, 22, worked at a bar in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the manager Jeff Reed revealed he last saw her on April 25. 'The last words of her to me were I love you,' he told the NBC affiliate WIS-TV. Reed recalled Federico would often say the three-word phrase to him. The text that Federico sent to her boss was one of the final messages she sent before she was killed, according to her dad Stephen. Federico failed to show up for any further shifts at the bar. Reed paid a glowing tribute to his former staffer, recalling that she had a smile on her face 99% of the time. 'It was easy to come in here and not feel deflated when she was working' he said. 'She greeted you. She wanted to know how you're doing in life.' Federico's last shift at the bar came just days before she was found dead. She was found with a gunshot wound in her chest in the home located in Columbia, South Carolina. Cops revealed Dickey, 30, went into Federico's room and shot her. He is accused of driving away from the home in a stolen car before the motor ended up breaking down. Cops homed in on Dickey to a home in Lexington County before he fled on foot, sparking a manhunt. He allegedly then broke into another property and set it alight before being arrested. Cops revealed that Federico was randomly murdered and said she wasn't the intended target. Federico's family said the Swift superfan was taken 'far too soon.' 'A big personality in every room, Logan was fun, fierce, and full of heart—just like her favorite Taylor Swift anthem, '22' (which she insisted was written just for her),' they said in a GoFundMe post. Stephen described her as a 'spicy' individual, as reported by the ABC affiliate WACH-TV. He also shared an Instagram post that said: My daughter knows I have her back and I know she has mine. 'BIG PERSONALITY' 'I didn't raise a princess, I raised a warrior.' Stephen revealed he's still waiting for Federico to reply back to his text message that said: 'I love you.' And, he had a defiant message to his daughter's alleged killer. 'The message I wanted to send to Dickey, who took my daughter's life — this is from her: 'You can't kill my spirit,' he said in a press conference. 'You might be able to kill my body … but you cannot kill my love that my family and friends shared with me.' Federico was planning on studying at the College of Charleston in South Carolina in her pursuit to become a teacher. Meanwhile, Dickey has been charged with murder, burglary, credit card theft and weapons possession. He had previously been convicted of robbery and grand larceny.
