Annual Security Serious Awards nominations announced

The convenors of the Security Serious Unsung Heroes awards have announced the safety professionals and organisations nominated for the 2023 version of the annual ceremony, which recognises cyber execs, lecturers, lecturers and leaders working to make the trade not solely safer, but in addition extra various.

Sponsored by corporations together with coaching specialist KnowBe4, cyber intelligence platform Decipher Cyber, safety advertising and marketing and lead gen company Bora, and The Zensory, builders of a mindfulness cellular app for safety execs, this would be the eighth time the awards have been held.

“With the advancements of technology recently, it’s easy to forget that, ultimately, in any sector, people are at the core. The cyber security community abounds with individuals who are passionate about keeping their businesses and the public safe from the threat of cyber crime,” mentioned Yvonne Eskenzi, co-founder and director at awards organiser Eskenzi PR.

“And just as important, there are those who better the community from within by improving diversity and inclusion or advocate for the mental health and wellbeing of co-workers. The Security Serious Unsung Heroes Awards are a brilliant way for us to give back to and celebrate the efforts of the cyber security community.”

This 12 months’s awards have been judged by a panel of safety specialists, together with famend safety educator, creator and social engineer Jenny Radcliffe, Holly Foxcroft, who heads up neurodiversity in cyber analysis and consulting at Stott & May and was herself recognised as Diversity Champion in 2022, and KnowBe4 lead safety consciousness advocate and part-time film star, Javvad Malik.

The awards span 12 classes, and the nominees in every are:

Godfather/Godmother of Security

• Tarnveer Singh – CISO, The Exeter

• Ian Glover – former president of CREST

• Nikki Webb – international channel supervisor, Custodian360

• Mike Gillespie – managing director, Advent IM

• Dominic Grunden – co-founder, Co-CEO, and CSO at SecurME.AI 

• Adam McElroy – group head of cyber threat, Bank of Ireland

• Shan Lee – CISO, DocPlanner

• Alan Calder – founder and government chairman, IT Governance Ltd

Cyber Writer

• Michael Hill – UK editor, CSO Online

• Olivia Powell – editor-in-chief, Cyber Security Hub

• Craig Fretwell – blogger and YouTuber

• Kevin Poireault – information reporter, Infosecurity Magazine

• Anastasios Arampatzis – cyber safety content material author, Bora

• Eleanor Dallaway – editor, Assured Intelligence

• Kate O’Flaherty – freelance cyber safety author

Data Guardian

• Tarnveer Singh – CISO, The Exeter

• Anne Hinchcliffe – compliance and data safety marketing consultant

• Alex Shelley – cyber expertise supervisor, OWASP

• Ayan Mohamed – founder, Digitech Oasis

CISO Supremo

• Tarnveer Singh – CISO, The Exeter

• Heather Lowrie – CISO, University of Manchester

• Dominic Grunden – co-founder, co-CEO, and CSO at SecurME.AI 

• Adam McElroy – group head of cyber threat, Bank of Ireland

• Shan Lee – CISO, DocPlanner

• Rob Bainbridge – CISO, Woolworths SA

• Ian Brown – CISO, Spectris

Security Avengers

Best Educator

• Natasha Harley – founder, Cyber Talent Partners

• Bennett Arron – author, comic and speaker

• Professor Alison Wakefield – University of West London

• Professor Madeline Carr – UCL

• James Bore – director, Bores Group and tutor at CAPSLOCK

• Professor Daniel Dresner – University of Manchester

Best Ethical Hacker/Pentester

• Niall Buckley – penetration tester, DigitalXRAID

• Ben Edwards – penetration tester, DigitalXRAID

• Matt Lorentzen – principal marketing consultant, Cyberis

Security Leader/Mentor

• Tarnveer Singh – CISO, The Exeter

• Nikki Webb – international channel supervisor, Custodian360

• Dominic Grunden – co-founder, co-CEO, and CSO at SecurME.AI 

• Adam McElroy – group head of cyber threat, Bank of Ireland

• Alex Shelley – cyber expertise supervisor, OWASP

• Lisa Ventura – founder, Cyber Security Unity

• Callum Bryant – head of safety testing, DigitalXRAID

• Joe Boyle – CEO Salt Communications

• Martin Price – cyber lead, NHS

• Lianne Potter – head of safety operations, Asda

• Stuart Coulson – cyber safety ecosystem challenge supervisor, University of Manchester

• Damon Rands – founder and CEO at PureCyber

• Lemuel Valdez – supervisor, KPMG

Wellbeing Advocate

• Nikki Webb – international channel supervisor, Custodian360

• Alex Shelley – cyber expertise supervisor, OWASP

• Andra Zaharia – creator, Cyber Empathy Podcast

• Qasim Armstrong – senior penetration tester, PureCyber

• Zoe Rose – regional info safety staff lead, Canon Europe

Security Awareness Campaign

Diversity Champion

• Lisa Ventura – founder, Cyber Security Unity

• Nikki Webb – international channel supervisor, Custodian360

• Andra Zaharia – creator, Cyber Empathy Podcast

• Rebecca Taylor – menace intelligence information supervisor for the Counter Threat Unit, Secureworks

• Sophie Powell – co-founder, CyberLadies Groups

• Alice Conibere – junior safety researcher, Secure Impact

• Eleanor Dallaway – founder, Assured Intelligence

Apprentice/Rising Star

• Kieran Baumann – penetration yester, DigitalXRAID

• Elise Ghent – president of CyberLadies@Warwick

• Hedvig Mareng – president of CyberLadies@Coventry

• Ruta Baltiejute – DevSecOps lead, Asda

• Ross Mitchell – marketing consultant, Cyberis

• Alice Conibere – junior safety researcher, Secure Impact

• Zöe Langmead-Jones – communications and engagement coordinator for digital futures, University of Manchester

• Ayan Mohamed – founder, Digitech Oasis

The winners will likely be announced at an occasion in London on the night of 18 October, halfway by Cyber Security Awareness Month.