Security Serious Unsung Heroes Awards
Have you, a friend or a colleague gone above the call of duty when it comes to protecting your organisation from cyber threats? Then come apply and get the recognition you or they deserve!
This is your chance to shine with a winning trophy that recognises all the hard work and dedication that goes into being a true cybersecurity professional.
The Security Serious Unsung Heroes Awards acknowledge the people who go above and beyond to keep us safe online. From mentors to educators, diversity champions to whole teams on the frontline of cybersecurity, the awards celebrate those who often don’t receive enough recognition for their actions.
Our mission is to educate the public, while doing so in a fun-filled way. The one constant event we host as part of this initiative is our annual awards ceremony, the ‘Unsung Heroes Award’, which celebrates those working hard behind the scenes to keep us safe.
The awards are a chance for the people, not products, on the front lines – whether it’s teaching others, working with law enforcement or battling cyber threats in organisations – to come together and receive the recognition they deserve. We would love your help in supporting the awards and nominating worthy individuals!
Key sponsors of the 2026 event include CultureAI, OneAdvanced, Filigran and The Zensory. The event is also supported by Pulse Conferences and CyberASAP.
Information Security Buzz, Computer Weekly and The IT Security Guru are media partners for the 2026 event.
The 2026 event will take place on the 20th October at Balfour St. Barts, London.
The Event
Security Serious Unsung Heroes Awards 20th October 2026
Now in its 10th year, the Security Serious Unsung Heroes Awards recognises the UK’s “Unsung Heroes in Cybersecurity”.
Have you, a friend or a colleague gone above the call of duty when it comes to protecting your organisation from cyber threats? Then come apply and get the recognition you or they deserve! This is your chance to shine with a winning trophy that recognises all the hard work and dedication that goes into being a true cybersecurity professional.
The 2026 nominations are now closed!
Join us on the 20th Oct 2026, 6pm BST at Balfour St Barts, London.
Our Supporters
Our Sponsors
categories
CYBER CORRESPONDENT
This award will go to the IT security writer/journalist who is completely on the ball and understands cybersecurity, demonstrating this through thought-provoking, well- written articles and interviews that help educate and inform his/her audience.
- Phil Muncaster, Freelance
- Ann-Marie Corvin, Cybernews
- Nicole Deslandes, TechInformed
- Jasper Hamill, Machine
- Ed Targett, The Stack
- Josh Milton, Metro
- Rob Waugh, Freelance
- Kate O’Flaherty, Freelance
GODFATHER/ GODMOTHER OF SECURITY
This award will go to someone who has been around the block and back and contributed greatly to the IT Security industry for more than 25 years.
- Dr. Emma Philpott, CEO at IASME
- Jarad Carleton, Global Market Research Director for Cybersecurity at Frost & Sullivan (UK)
- Andy James, Founder and CEO at Custodian360
- Samantha Swift, Director at Cyber Increment
- Allan Boardman, CyberAdvisor.London
- Derek Whigham, Esteemed Advisor
- Alan Jenkins, Fractional CISO at The Cyber Security Navigator
- Adrian O’Carroll, Senior Manager Information Security Review at Bank of Ireland
- Sue Milton, SSM Governance Associates
DATA GUARDIAN
Data has quickly become one of the most sought-after commodities. This award goes to the person who is always looking out for the interests of the everyday individual; making sure that customer and employee data are protected from prying eyes and their privacy is preserved.
- Danielle Sudai, Security Operations at Deliveroo
- Peter Slevin, Bank of Ireland
- Dr. Nithin Thomas, CEO at Klarytee Ltd.
- Sharjeel Qayyum Khan, Senior Security Architect at EPAM Systems
- Sodeeq Ipadeola Olalekan, Head of Digital Trust, Policy and Compliance/Greater Manchester Black Tech Expo
- Jonathan Armstrong, Partner at Punter Southall
- Oscar L. Garzon, Security Compliance Specialist at Thought Machine
CISO SUPREMO
CISOs play an important role in securing all aspects of the business and implementing programmes that increase the security posture of an organisation. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it – this award will recognise the best.
- Brian Brackenborough, CISO at LMU
- Amar Patel, CISO at Fundsmith
- Hazel McPherson, Senior Director of Cyber Products at IASME, Former CISO
- Alison Dyer, CISO at the BBC
- Andrea Litherland, CISO at Domestic & General
Simon Riggs, CISO at OneAdvanced - Paul Colnan, CISO and Director of Platform Engineering at NewDay UK
- Martyn Booth, CISO
- Deborah Saffer, Director Information Security at Liberty International Insurance
- Chris Gunner, vCISO at Thrive
- Toks Oladuti, Global CISO at Dentons
SECURITY AVENGERS
Security is not a one person job, this award will recognise the best IT security team and how they averted a security disaster or persevere in the fight to keep their organisations safe from cyber threats.
- balena
- Cyber House Party
- Revenge Porn Helpline
- Cyber and Resilience Engagement (CARE) Team
- BCON Collective, Bridewell
- Information Security Review Team, Bank of Ireland
BEST EDUCATOR
This award will go to a professor, lecturer or teacher who leads by example to inspire and motivate the next generation of cyber security professionals.
- Nora Alhelal, DPhil Researcher in Cybersecurity at University of Oxford
- Dr. Lata Nautiyal, Senior Lecturer in Cyber Security at University of Roehampton
- Dr. Chi Opara, Teesside University
- Dr. Manimuthu Arunmozhi, Assistant Professor at Aston University / CEO at QSAFE
- Dr. Vasilis Katos, Professor of Cyber Security at Bournemouth University
- Dr. Vasileios Karagiannopoulos, University of Portsmouth – Co-Chair of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Ethics Committee and Co-Director of Centre for Cybercrime and Economic Crime
BEST ETHICAL HACKER/PEN TESTER
This award will go to the person who understands and knows how to look for weaknesses in security systems and uses the same knowledge and tools as a malicious hacker, but in a lawful and legitimate manner.
- Rashmi Sharma, Technical Specialist – Application Security at Fidelity International
- Dom Mortimer, Head of Red Team at WorkNest Secure
- Aawart Kc, Cybersecurity Researcher
- James Mason, Managing Security Consultant FSAS at NCC Group
- Rodrigo Favarini, Security Testing Manager at Bank of Ireland
Channel champion
This *BRAND NEW* category celebrates the unsung heroes of the channel! If you know someone who’s gone above and beyond to support partners and customers, champion internal projects that boost morale (and sales) and support colleagues or have taken sales stratospheric in an unconventional way, nominate today!
- Lindsy Betts, Regional Director of Channel at Zenity
- Ryan Davis, Channel Account Manager at CultureAI
- Brigantia Team
- Ian Kilpatrick, Chair and Co-Founder of Tech Channel Ambassadors
- Olly Carter, Forescout
SECURITY LEADER/ MENTOR
The winner of this award will be someone in industry who leads a team or mentors individuals, taking the time to show them the ropes and ensure those coming through the ranks are prepared for the future.
- Nadine Hickey, Senior Manager Information Security – Cyber Research at Bank of Ireland
- Dave Harbourne, Incident Response Manager at Bank of Ireland
- Peter Slevin, Bank of Ireland
- Amar Patel, CISO at Fundsmith
- Dr. Emma Philpott, CEO at IASME
- Dr. Manimuthu Arunmozhi, CEO at QSAFE
- Hazel McPherson, Senior Director of Cyber Products at IASME / Former CISO
- Anthony Young, Bridewell
- Tinesh Chhaya
- Adrian O’Carroll, Bank of Ireland
- Valerio Dei, Bank of Ireland
- Robert Fitzsimons, Huntress
- Mark Adjei, Head of Cyber Security Risk UK at HSBC
- Emma Fadlon, Director at CyberASAP
- Meera Tamboli, DFIR Analyst
- Sidra Mobeen, Cybersecurity Global Delivery Leader
- Rashmi Sharma, Technical Specialist – Application Security at Fidelity International
CYBERSECURITY WELLBEING ADVOCATE
Cybersecurity can be a stressful industry to work in. In fact, as many as 45% of senior cybersecurity professionals have considered quitting as a result. This award goes to the individual who makes every effort to look after the mental health and general wellbeing of their peers/colleagues.
- Nadine Hickey, Bank of Ireland
- Leroy Stanford, Head of Infosec at Ocado
- Amelia Hewitt & Rebecca Taylor, Cyber Agony Aunts
- Jonathan Ellwood, Head of Cyber Incident Exercising and Response (Standard Level) at IASME
- Tristan Warr, Spring Hill Counselling
- Brigantia Team
- Janet Bonar Law, Information Security Manager Culture and Awareness at Channel 4.
- Nasser Arif, Cyber Security Manager at NHS
- Nikki Webb, Custodian360/Cyber House Party
BEST SECURITY AWARENESS CAMPAIGN
In order to increase education on cyber threats and digital behaviours within the workplace, Security Awareness campaigns are often a vital part of getting the message out. This award will honour the campaign and the individuals who organised the campaign.
- Leroy Stanford, Head of Infosec at Ocado
- Ashley Pereira, CISO at Peabody
- Cyber Mindfulness at Channel 4
- Cyber Local: Cyber First Aid for Dorset
- Sodeeq Ipadeola Olalekan, Greater Manchester Black Tech Expo
- CSIDES – South West Cyber Event
- Bank of Ireland -World Cup Phishing Derby
- Rashmi Sharma, Fidelity International
DIVERSITY CHAMPION
This award will recognise an individual who is pushing for greater diversity and inclusion within the industry – whether they’re advocating for change in recruitment/HR policies, mentoring others, serving as a role model etc.
- Esther Edonkumoh, Senior Operational Risk and Cyber Analyst at Bank of England
- Aoife Ogden, Bank of Ireland
- Segun Ebenezer Olaniyan, Information Security Analyst II, Kraken Technologies
- Rishika Desai, BforeAI
- Hazel McPherson, Senior Director of Cyber Products at IASME / Former CISO
- Jessie Auguste, Software Engineer at CybSafe
- Nasser Arif, Cyber Security Manager at NHS
- NeuroCyber
- Natasha Harley, People & Culture Specialist at Cyber Chain Alliance
- Richard Ticho (Producer)/Yvette Freeman (Director) – WOMEN IN SECURITY Documentary
- Emma Mackenzie, Cyber Governance Lead
APPRENTICE/RISING STAR
Our future cyber welfare depends largely on these rising stars. Whether in formal education, under employment or doing extraordinary research of their own, the winner of this category will show great promise with his/her technical or practical ability.
- Jasmin Rai, Technology Resilience Manager at Howden
- Jordan Daglish, Acumen Cyber
- Nasser Arif, Cyber Security Manager at NHS
Emma Mackenzie, Cyber Governance Lead
Ryan Cleary, Senior CIRT Analyst at Bank of Ireland - Róisín Webb, Management Associate at Bank of Ireland
- Kiranjit Kaur Shergill, Vulnerability Manager, Barclays
- Aurelia Brzezowska, Cyber Security Analyst at Barclays
- Adeola Adelodun, WHSmith
CYBER SCRIBE (BLOGS, NEWSLETTERS)
The *BRAND NEW* Cyber Scribe category will celebrate the cybersecurity industry’s best cyber blog or newsletter, including those published on Medium, Substack or LinkedIn. It’s for spotlighting those who bring insightful commentary and expert analysis to the cyber conversation.
- Tassos Arampatzis, Head of Quality Control at Bora
- Jane Waterfall, Content Writer at IASME
- Adam Pilton, The Cyber Detective’s Notebook (LinkedIn Newsletter)
- Rishika Desai, BforeAI
- Sharjeel Qayyum Khan, Senior Security Architect at EPAM Systems
- Labs @ ITRES
- Dr. Runli Guo – Reducing Blast Radius (LinkedIn Newsletter)
VOICE OF SECURITY (PODCASTS)
This *BRAND NEW* category will celebrate the industry’s best podcasts and vodcasts. Know a podcast that’s informative and entertaining? Seen a vodcast that has thought provoking guests or riveting stories? We want to celebrate them!
- Francis Gorman, The Entropy Podcast
- Amelia Hewitt & Rebecca Taylor, Cyber Agony Aunts
- Ant Davis, The Awareness Angle, TikTok
- The Cyber Escape Room Co. Podcast
- Clearly Cyber, PRPR
- Meera Tamboli, DFIR Analyst
Best Academic eNTREPRENEUR
This *brand new * category celebrates the academics who have taken bold ideas beyond the research environment and turned them into viable, real-world businesses. These future-focused innovators have identified a genuine gap in the market and transformed cutting-edge research into solutions with the potential to make a meaningful impact.
- Dr. Peter Garraghan, Mindgard
- Manimuthu Arunmozhi, CEO at QSAFE
- Dr. Halima Ibrahim Kure, Senior Lecturer in Cyber Security, University of East London/Founder & CEO, AssetGuard+ Ltd.
- PingChen Lin, CEO of CybPass
- Professor Vasilis Katos, CTO of Cyber Innovations
- Richard Allmendinger, CEO and Co-Founder of Veribee
- Gizem Acar Tekin, CEO and Co-Founder of Photarix
- Xavier Bellekens, CEO and Founder of Lupovis
JUDGES
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