Organised by Eskenzi PR, the tenth annual awards ceremony took place at St Barts Pub in London, bringing together cybersecurity professionals, educators, industry leaders and advocates to recognise those whose work often goes unnoticed.
Unlike many industry awards, the Security Serious Unsung Heroes Awards are free to enter and attend. The initiative celebrates individuals and teams going above and beyond to protect businesses, communities and individuals, while also championing diversity, wellbeing, education and the next generation of cybersecurity talent.
This year’s event was sponsored by CultureAI, Filigran, OneAdvanced and The Zensory, with additional support from CyberASAP and Pulse Conferences. Media partners included Computer Weekly, Information Security Buzz and IT Security Guru.
Yvonne Eskenzi, Director of Eskenzi PR and Founder of the awards, said: “The Security Serious Unsung Heroes Awards are all about recognising the incredible people working tirelessly behind the scenes to keep our businesses, communities and country safe.
“Cybersecurity can often be a thankless profession, with the dedication and achievements of those working in the industry going largely unnoticed. These awards give us the opportunity to shine a spotlight on those individuals who consistently go above and beyond, while also celebrating the fresh perspectives and diverse talent shaping the future of the industry.
“It was fantastic to bring the cybersecurity community together once again to recognise these remarkable individuals. A huge congratulations to all our nominees and winners!”
Security Serious Unsung Heroes Awards 2026: The Winners
This year’s winners represented a broad cross-section of the cybersecurity industry, from frontline security professionals and ethical hackers to educators, content creators and community advocates.
The full list of winners is as follows:
- Cyber Correspondent: Phil Muncaster
- Godfather of Security: Andy James, Founder and CEO of Custodian360
- Godmother of Security: Dr. Emma Philpott, CEO of IASME
- Data Guardian: Peter Slevin, Cyber Engagement Senior Technical Lead at Bank of Ireland
- CISO Supremo: Andrea Litherland, CISO at Domestic & General
- Security Avengers: Revenge Porn Helpline
- Best Educator: Dr. Chidimma Opara, Senior Lecturer in AI at The Manchester Metropolitan University
- Best Ethical Hacker/Pen Tester: Dominic Mortimer, Head of Red Team at WorkNest Secure
- Channel Champion: Olly Carter, Senior Channel Sales Director, EMEA and APJ, at Forescout
- Senior Leader/Mentor: Meera Tamboli, DFIR Analyst at AVEVA
- Cybersecurity Wellbeing Advocate: Nikki Webb, Director at Custodian360
- Best Security Awareness Campaign: Cyber Local, a collaboration involving Cyber Innovations Ltd., Bournemouth University, Cybexer, Dorset Mind, Dorset Chamber and local authority stakeholders
- Diversity Champion: Segan Ebenezer Olaniyan, Information Security Analyst II at Kraken Technologies
- Apprentice/Rising Star: Jordan Daglish, Acumen Cyber
- Cyber Scribe: Dr. Runli Guo, Reducing Blast Radius LinkedIn newsletter
- Voice of Security: Cyber Agony Aunts podcast and Ant Davis, creator of The Awareness Angle
- Best Academic Entrepreneur: Dr. Peter Garraghan, CEO of Mindgard
Winners Highlight the Importance of Community and Collaboration
Among those recognised was Olly Carter of Forescout, who received the Channel Champion Award for his contribution to the cybersecurity channel ecosystem.
Carter said: “It’s a real honour to be recognised with the Channel Champion Award, but the truth is that nobody achieves anything in the channel alone! I’m incredibly fortunate to work alongside such a talented, passionate, and committed team at Forescout, and some truly fantastic partners.
“For me, the channel has always been about people, relationships, trust and working together to achieve something special.”
The Voice of Security Award was jointly awarded to the Cyber Agony Aunts podcast, hosted by Rebecca Taylor and Amelia Hewitt, and cybersecurity content creator Ant Davis.
Taylor and Hewitt said: “Cyber Agony Aunts comes from a very real place for us – it’s all about community, honesty and reminding people that behind the technology, cyber is ultimately about people.
“We’ve had some incredibly open conversations, plenty of laughs and a few tears along the way, so to see the podcast recognised like this is something we’re incredibly proud of. This award belongs just as much to our guests and the community as it does to us.”
Nikki Webb, Director at Custodian360, was recognised as Cybersecurity Wellbeing Advocate for her work supporting people across the industry.
Webb said: “Our industry asks a lot of people, long hours, high pressure, and the weight of protecting others. Looking after the people behind the screens matters just as much as the technology itself, and I’m so proud to see that recognised.”
Recognising Education, Innovation and Awareness
The awards also highlighted the importance of making cybersecurity more accessible through education, awareness and research.
Dr. Chidimma Opara received the Best Educator Award for her contribution to inspiring the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.
Reflecting on her win, Opara said: “What makes this award so special is knowing that the work I love doing as an educator is making a meaningful difference in motivating the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.
“If my students leave my classroom feeling valued, believing in themselves a little more, and inspired to reach their potential, then I know I am doing something worthwhile.”
Meanwhile, Cyber Local received the Best Security Awareness Campaign Award, recognising a collaborative initiative involving academic institutions, local organisations and cybersecurity specialists.
Emily Rosenorn-Lanng, CEO and Co-Founder of Cyber Innovations Ltd., as well as pioneer of the Cyber Local project, said: “Ours has always been about helping people feel confident and supported when something goes wrong online, so to win Best Security Awareness Initiative, in a category full of such strong work, means a huge amount to me, to the Cyber Innovations team and to everyone who worked on it with us.”
The newly introduced Cyber Scribe category was awarded to Dr. Runli Guo for her LinkedIn newsletter, Reducing Blast Radius, which explores emerging cybersecurity challenges, particularly those associated with agentic AI.
Guo explained: “Agentic AI is quickly becoming the most discussed topic in cybersecurity, yet the associated threats and risks aren’t always fully understood. With the rapid rate of change in this space, CISOs and architects simply don’t have the time to read every update.”
She added that her work focuses on sharing practical insights and hands-on demonstrations to help security professionals understand and reduce the potential impact of emerging threats.
Dr. Peter Garraghan, CEO of AI security company Mindgard, was also recognised with the Best Academic Entrepreneur Award, highlighting the role of academic research and commercial innovation in addressing new cybersecurity challenges.
A Decade of Celebrating Cybersecurity’s Unsung Heroes
The ceremony was hosted by Yvonne Eskenzi and Clive Room, Director of Pulse Conferences, with winners selected by a judging panel comprising representatives from across the cybersecurity industry, academia and media.
This year’s judges included Alex Scroxton of Computer Weekly, Sam Soares of CultureAI, Joe Pettit of Bora, Emma Fadlon of CyberASAP, Beth Maundrill of Infosecurity Magazine, Stuart Coulson of HiddenText and Holly Foxcroft of OneAdvanced, alongside Eskenzi and Room.
The evening also raised £250 for NSPCC Childline through a charity raffle.
Now in its tenth year, the Security Serious Unsung Heroes Awards continues to recognise the individuals whose contributions extend beyond technical expertise, celebrating mentorship, collaboration, community engagement and the people helping to make cybersecurity a more inclusive and supportive profession.
Further information about the awards is available at www.securityserious.com.
