The third annual Security Serious Unsung Heroes Awards winners were revealed in a fun and inspiring celebration at St Bart’s Brewery in London. The awards celebrate the people, not products, of the cybersecurity industry.
From the best ethical hackers and cybersecurity’s rising stars to the best sales leader and the coveted Godfather/Godmother 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 immensely witty Clive Room, Chair of the White Hat Ball Committee, who added a great sense of fun and flair to the event. The winners were branded with titles like Fraud Fighter 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 cybersecurity 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 cyberskills 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 Canon, CREST, CyberArk, Cybereason, Gigamon, Intelisecure, Janrain, Operatix, Publicis Groupe and Mimecast, who all make it possible to hold the free event.
The awards ceremony was held in the same week as the cybersecurity industry’s first ever flash mob which took place in London outside Tower Hill tube station in Trinity Square Gardens.
The event aimed to raise awareness of cybersecurity and get the general public thinking more seriously about it.
As part of Security Serious Week and Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the event gathered together the great and good from the UK cybersecurity industry, government and businesses to come and show off their best security advice, offering hints and tips for being more secure.
The full list of winners at the Security Serious Unsung Heroes Awards included:
Apprentice/Rising Star
Runner up: Katie Burnell, Dtex Systems
Winner: Millie Coombes, Plymouth University
Best Cyber Security Sales Leader
Runner up: Justin Shaw-Gray, Synack
Winner: Mark Coates, Dtex Systems
Best Educator
Runner up: Prof Carlos Cid, Royal Holloway University
Winner: Prof Natalie Coull, Abertay University
Best Ethical Hacker/Pentester
Winner: Gemma Moore, Cyberis
Best Security Awareness Campaign
Runner up: Institution of Civil Engineers – “Shaping a digital world”
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
Runner up: Tony Morbin, SC Magazine
Winner: Danny Palmer, ZDnet
Data Guardian
Runner up: Toyin Adelakun, Trusthaus
Winner: James Arden, TalkTalk
Fraud Fighter
Winner: Helen Williams, TITAN
Winner: Jennie Williams, TITAN
Godfather/Godmother of Security
Runner up: Charlie McMurdie, PwC
Winner: Ian Glover, CREST
SecDevOps Trailblazer
Winner: Meera Rao, Synopsys
Winner: Allan Yung, Immersive Labs
Security Avengers
Runner up: City of London Crime Prevention Association
Winner: The Paranoids (Oath)
Security Leader/Mentor
Runner up: Jitender Arora, Deloitte
Winner: Nicola Whiting, Titania
