The fourth annual Security Serious Unsung Heroes Awards winners were revealed last night in a fun and inspiring celebration at St Bart’s Brewery in London. The awards celebrate the people, not products, of the cyber security industry. From the best ethical hackers and cybersecurity’s rising stars to the best security awareness campaign and the coveted Godparent of security, the categories recognised individuals and teams working hard to protect Britain from cybercrime and raise awareness of security issues.
The free event was a chance for the UK security industry to come together, catch up with familiar faces and meet new ones while enjoying a short awards ceremony compered by the Stephen Bonner, partner of Deloitte UK who added a great sense of charisma and wit to the event. The winners were branded with titles like Cyber Writer and Captain Compliance and were awarded substantial trophies they can display proudly at home or at work.
“It can often be a thankless task working in cyber security; and as an industry, we tend to focus on technology and innovation,” said lead organiser of Security Serious Week, Yvonne Eskenzi and co-founder of Eskenzi PR. “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. Our fantastic awards night was all made possible by our wonderful sponsors, so we could throw the best party at no charge to enter or attend the awards.”
The Unsung Heroes Awards, started by Eskenzi PR, Smile on Fridays and the IT Security Guru, are supported by sponsors (ISC)2, Nozomi Networks, KnowBe4 and LMNTRIX, who all made it possible to hold this totally free event.
The full list of winners are:
Security Leader
Winner: Joe Hancock – MDR Cyber
Highly Acclaimed: James Packer – (ISC)2
Cyber Writer
Winner: Dan Raywood – InfoSecurity Magazine
Highly Acclaimed: Kate O’Flaherty – Tech Journalist
Best Security Awareness Campaign
Winner: Host Unknown
Highly Acclaimed: City of London Police
Rising Star
Winner: Hamish McGowan – Channel 4
Highly Acclaimed: Sophia McCall – Bournemouth University
Best Educator
Winner: Bayside School Cyber Club supported by GVC Group
Highly Acclaimed: Toni Scullion and the Turing’s Testers
Godparent of Security
Winner: Paul Simmonds – Global Identity Foundation
Highly Acclaimed: Adrian Davis – Consulting COO & CIO
Best Ethical Hacker / Pentester
Winner: Rob Hillier – XQ Cyber
Captain Compliance
Winner: Jonathan Armstrong – Cordery Compliance
Highly Acclaimed: David Hyett – UKRI
Security Avengers
Winner: Ascential
CISO Supremo
Winner: Quentyn Taylor – Canon Europe
Highly Acclaimed: Shan Lee – Transferwise
For more information, to speak to any of the winners or to register your interest for next year, please contact: [email protected]
