The ‘Unsung Heroes’ of cybersecurity were acknowledged at an awards event in London last night, as part of Security Serious week.
Organized by Eskenzi PR, Smile on Fridays and IT Security Guru, the third edition of the annual awards were given to those individuals and teams working to protect the UK from cybercrime, and to raise awareness of security issues.
Saying that the intention was to recognize people for the efforts that they make, Security Serious week lead organizer Yvonne Eskenzi said that there is a tendency to focus on technology and innovation as a solution. “The cyber-skills gap is a huge issue for this country and an event like this really shows off what a great industry it is to be a part of and the wonderful people that make it.
The winners were as follows:
Apprentice/Rising Star
Winner: Millie Coombes, Plymouth University
Best Cyber Security Sales Leader
Winner: Mark Coates, Dtex Systems
Best Educator
Winner: Prof Natalie Coull, Abertay University
Best Ethical Hacker/Pentester
Winner: Gemma Moore, Cyberis
Best Security Awareness Campaign
Winner: Cyberscene – Theatre Royal Haymarket Masterclass Trust/Kidscape/Pureland Foundation
Captain Compliance
Winner: Simon Onyons, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
CISO Supremo
Winner: Andrew Sands, BBC
Winner: Denis Onuoha, Arqiva
Winner: Lee Barney, Net A Porter
Cyber Writer
Winner: Danny Palmer, ZDnet
Data Guardian
Winner: James Arden, TalkTalk
Fraud Fighter
Winner: Helen Williams, TITAN
Winner: Jennie Williams, TITAN
Godfather/Godmother of Security
Winner: Ian Glover, CREST
SecDevOps Trailblazer
Winner: Meera Rao, Synopsys
Winner: Allan Yung, Immersive Labs
Security Avengers
Winner: The Paranoids (Oath)
Security Leader/Mentor
Winner: Nicola Whiting, Titania
Ian Glover, president of CREST, said: "I really like this event particularly as the people who received an award were genuinely surprised and pleased. The aim of recognizing people that do not have significant budgets or large teams is really important. There are many people that go beyond their normal day jobs to support and develop the industry. To have a platform for them to be publicly thanked is quite unique.”