Nominations for the fifth annual Security Serious Unsung Heroes Awards are open.
Intended to recognize the people who significantly contribute to the information security industry, whether in the classroom, in law enforcement or within corporate organizations, nominations are now open and will remain open until August 31 2020. The Unsung Heroes Awards will take place on Tuesday October 13 via a virtual cocktail event.
A total of 14 awards are open for nomination, including a new award added this year to recognize those helping to keep UK businesses safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. The categories are:
- Captain Compliance
- Godfather/Godmother of Security
- Cyber Writer
- CISO Supremo
- Security Avengers (best team)
- Best Security Awareness Campaign
- Security Leader/Mentor
- Apprentice/Rising Star
- Best Educator
- Best Ethical Hacker/Pen Tester
- Channel Champion
- DevSecOps Trailblazer
- Data Guardian
- COVID Hero
The Unsung Heroes Awards, created by Eskenzi PR and Smile on Fridays, have been sponsored by KnowBe4, Protiviti and Qualys. Yvonne Eskenzi, director of Eskenzi PR and founder of the Security Serious Unsung Heroes Awards, said: “It's true that 2020 might feel like a year worth forgetting, but cyber-criminals certainly haven't given up. There must be some incredible superstars out there in cybersecurity keeping businesses and their remote workers safe – and we want to thank those people.
“We need everyone’s help to nominate those security professionals they think are worthy of acknowledgement and bring a little joy back into this year!"
Previous award winner Quentyn Taylor, director of information security EMEA for Canon Europe, said that it is really important to support these kinds of efforts. “The Unsung Heroes Awards recognize the real people in information security, not just the ones you see in the magazines every single time,” he said. “Not just the ones who get put on the news whenever there’s an incident, but the ones who maybe don’t have time to do that but are soldiering away in the background to make the world a safer place, and that’s why these awards have credibility.”