TORONTO, May 03, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NowVertical Group Inc. (NOW: TSX-V) (“ NOW ” or the “ Company ”), a big data, analytics and vertical intelligence (“ VI ”) software and services company, today announces a new product offering, partnership, and first customer in response to the US Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Security Directive for Critical Pipeline Owners and Operators (Security Directive).

NOW is pleased to announce the launch of a new product offering, helping midstream oil and gas companies navigate regulatory processes. The NOW Solutions midstream compliance offering will guide operators through the audit, identification, and mitigation process for security vulnerabilities, guaranteeing fast and affordable compliance with the TSA’s requirements to avoid the risk of future fines.

“ These regulatory requirements are something the federal government is likely to continue to expand across 16 key US infrastructures. We went through a similar exercise with the water infrastructure space in 2018 and anticipate this will only continue to expand into future industries in the years to come,” said Dave Whitmire, President of NOW Solutions. “ While we’ve seen the dates shift for these requirements, the truth is that these regulations are expanding, and it’s critically important that midstream operators do what they can now to avoid issues in the future.”

NOW Solutions’ offering leverages years of infrastructure and security experience to overcome the regulatory process and guarantee organizations are future-proofed for compliance issues down the line. Building on past successes in water infrastructure and oil and gas regulatory requirements, NOW’s teams help augment, guide, and advise customers by bringing industry-specific expertise in a faster and wholly compliant way.

With its new offering, NOW has secured a formal partnership with Twin Eagle Solutions to bring combined cybersecurity and infrastructure security expertise and capabilities to market. The teams will work together to execute TSA’s critical facilities audit requirements and process implementation for customers throughout the industry.

NOW Solutions Announces Initial Customer for New Compliance Product Offering

NOW has been engaged for its new compliance offering by a midstream energy company, whose operations include the pipeline transportation of crude oil and natural gas from some of the United States’ most prolific basins in the Rocky Mountains, Upper Midwest, and Appalachian regions to markets in the Rockies, the Midwest, and eastern Ohio.

Members of the NOW Solutions team have worked with the customer for several years and have been contracted to help expedite the new security auditing requirements for their critical facilities. The initial contract term lasts through Q3 2022 and will cover over 60 security assessments spanning five US states.

Security Directive for Critical Pipeline Owners and Operators

First announced in 2021, the Security Directive was established in response to cyber-attacks on the Colonial Pipeline, which caused temporary gasoline shortages across much of the East Coast. This new initiative requires critical pipeline owners and operators to audit, identify, and establish updated security protocols for their most at-risk pipeline functions and help mitigate the risk of future cyber or physical attacks. The first step involves owners and operators identifying critical infrastructure as part of their operations by the end of May. These companies will then be required to complete their vulnerability assessments over the next two years, after which they can move to implement the necessary security protocol and processes.

To share additional information on these new requirements, NOW and Twin Eagle will be joined by infrastructure experts for a live-streamed webinar discussion of these requirements and an overview of mitigation strategies and solutions in May 2022. Full details will be announced in the lead-up to the event.

About NowVertical Group Inc.

NOW is a big data, analytics and VI software and services company that is growing organically and through acquisition. NOW's VI solutions are organized by industry vertical and are built upon a foundational set of data technologies that fuse, secure, and mobilize data in a transformative and compliant way. The NOW product suite enables the creation of high-value VI solutions that are predictive in nature and drive automation specific to each high-value industry vertical. For more information about the Company, visit www.nowvertical.com .

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 release.

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For further information, please contact:

Daren Trousdell, Chief Executive Officer
e: [email protected]
t: (212) 302-0868

or

Glen Nelson, Investor Relations
e: [email protected]
t: (403) 763-9797

Forward‐Looking Statements

This news release may contain forward‐looking statements (within the meaning of applicable securities laws) which reflect the Company's current expectations regarding future events. Forward-looking statements are identified by words such as "believe", "anticipate", "project", "expect", "intend", "plan", "will", "may", "estimate" and other similar expressions. These statements are based on the Company's expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections and include, without limitation, statements regarding the future success of the Company's business.

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