ISC2 Announces 2020 Global Achievement Awards Honorees

Recipients represent excellence across regional boundaries and awards honor those at every phase of a cybersecurity career for giving back to the profession

Clearwater, FL, August 13, 2020 – ISC2 – the world’s largest nonprofit association of certified cybersecurity professionals – today announced the list of honorees for its 2020 ISC2 Global Achievement Awards, which recognize and celebrate the most outstanding annual and lifetime achievements in the field of cybersecurity. Recipients will be highlighted during the association’s 2020 Security Congress, which will take place virtually in November.

“While we won’t have the opportunity to honor them in person this year at our ISC2 Security Congress, we would like to recognize and celebrate the outstanding work that these professionals from around the world have done to inspire a safe and secure cyber world,” said Wesley Simpson, COO, ISC2. “The Global Achievement Awards shine a spotlight on a wide range of public and private sector cybersecurity practitioners who have achieved greatness in our field and give us an example worth following.”

ISC2 Global Achievement Awards

These awards recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to cybersecurity and the information security industry, honoring their tireless efforts and standards of excellence. Honorees were nominated by qualified colleagues, mentors and peers.

The ISC2 Senior Professional Award recognizes individuals who have significantly contributed to the enhancement of the information security workforce by demonstrating a leadership role in an information security workforce improvement initiative, program or project. This year there are three recipients of the award globally:
- From North America: Jack Freund, CISSP, CISSP-ISSMP, head of cyber risk methodology at Cyber Assessments, Inc., for his work with the NIST Applied Cybersecurity Division on behalf of the nonprofit FAIR Institute to map together the NIST CSF Risk Assessment and the Risk Management Strategy domains to the OpenGroup’s FAIR risk taxonomy and risk analysis standards.
- From Asia-Pacific: Troy Hunt, founder, Have I Been Pwned, for adding new APIs to his website, which allows internet users to check whether their personal data has been compromised by data. The site has nearly three million active email subscribers and contains records of almost eight billion accounts.
- From EMEA: Dr. Katalin Szenes, CISSP, security and audit consultant, is the EMEA recipient for her work in setting up the Security specialization at Obuda University in Hungary, and for educating IT professionals in that country on cybersecurity.
The ISC2 Mid-Career Professional Award recognizes individuals who are at the mid-career stage and have demonstrated commitment and achievement in managing or implementing a vital component of a cyber, information, software, infrastructure program/project. This year’s two recipients are:
- From North America: Lieutenant Kim Do, CISSP, information systems and communications officer for the U.S. Navy, who collaborated with Naval Surface Forces Pacific and Navy Information Warfare Pacific on a groundbreaking initiative for network scanning aboard surface ships that resulted in measurable improvements to her ship’s vulnerability management program which senior officers believe could be scaled to the entire fleet.
- From Asia-Pacific: Dongyoung Roh, senior researcher at The Affiliated Institute of Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, for development and standardization of cryptographic algorithms, a key technology for data security in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The ISC2 Rising Star Professional Award recognizes the accomplishments and contributions of an up and coming professional who has made a significant impact in the information security industry early in their career. This year’s recipient is Katia Dean, system engineer, Anavation LLC and founder, Katia’s Cylife, from North America. Dean created a website to help people understand the field of cybersecurity and provide educational content, while also connecting them with job opportunities in the profession.
The ISC2 Government Professional Award recognizes government information security leaders whose commitment to excellence has helped to improve government information security and to advance an in-demand workforce. This year’s two recipients are:
- From North America: Darcy Saint-Amant, CISSP, Colonel, U.S. Army, who helped to create a collaborative, U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)-wide community of interest and drafted a DoD Zero Trust Cybersecurity Strategy while building consensus to shift from a network-centric to a data-centric paradigm.
- From EMEA: Yuval Segev, director audit & methodology, Israel National Cyber Directorate, who implemented a national IT system that enables organizations in the Israeli economic market to anonymously review the state of their information security and controls.

ISC2 Board Awards

The Board Awards recognize outstanding contributions and achievements in the field of cybersecurity over the course of a career. The following award recipients were hand-selected by the ISC2 Board of Directors.

The ISC2 Harold F. Tipton Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded to Yves Le Roux, CISSP, from France. Le Roux is a security and privacy expert who has spent five decades in information and network security, standardization, privacy, compliance and risk. The Tipton Award is presented by the ISC2 Board of Directors as the highest tribute bestowed in the information security industry. Named after Harold F. Tipton, CISSP, known as the “George Washington of information security,” the award honors his memory and the tradition of passionately promoting and enhancing the information security profession by serving over the long term with excellence and distinction.
The Fellow of ISC2 Award was established to honor and distinguish an elite information security professional who has made outstanding contributions throughout their career to the information security profession. This year’s recipient is Bonnie Butlin, co-founder and executive director of the Security Partners’ Forum (SPF), who resides in Canada. Under the SPF banner, Butlin created the Women in Security and Resilience Alliance (WISECRA – which engages a growing network of women in security and resilience associations/groups globally), and also serves as an Expert Network Member in Cybersecurity with the World Economic Forum.
The James R. Wade Service Award is awarded by the ISC2 Board of Directors to acknowledge the involvement of those volunteers who merit special distinction for their sustained and valuable service to ISC2. This year’s honoree is Hymavathi Pandyaram, an identity management specialist with Nulli – Identity Management in Canada and an active member of the ISC2 Alberta Chapter in the Edmonton community, who shares her knowledge of cybersecurity and makes an extensive effort to educate seniors, children and their parents, as well as small firms about safe internet practices.
The ISC2 Diversity Award, which honors an individual who represents the core values of ISC2 through significant contributions in driving a more diverse workforce in the cybersecurity community, is presented to Kristin Paget, who currently resides in the U.S. Ms. Paget is a transgender woman who has continually promoted and represented diversity through her positions as “Hacker Princess” in the security departments of several leading technology companies, including Apple, Tesla, Lyft and currently, Intel.

ISC2 CEO Award

The ISC2 CEO Award recognizes members who have made a significant impact on the cybersecurity community through dedicated and exceptional volunteer efforts. Nominations are made solely by ISC2 Board members and executive staff. As selected by outgoing CEO David Shearer, this year’s recipients are:

Yves Le Roux, CISSP, security and privacy expert, for his deep dedication to helping grow ISC2 across the EMEA region.
James Packer, CISSP, CCSP, head of cyber security, EF Education First, for his volunteerism and support of the cybersecurity industry, including as President of the ISC2 London Chapter and as the current Chair of the ISC2 Chapter Advisory Council.

ISC2 Chapter Recognition Awards

The Regional ISC2 Chapter Recognition Awards are presented to official chapters of ISC2 within each region that best promote the vision of ISC2 by inspiring a safe and secure cyber world. Each chapter has demonstrated a well-rounded offering of activities and services designed to benefit its members and affiliates, while making a significant contribution to the profession and its local community through the core focus areas of the ISC2 Chapter Program of Connect, Educate, Inspire and Secure. This year’s recipients in each region are:

North America – Northern Virginia Chapter - the chapter has leveraged their geographical region throughout 2019 to build strong relationships with organizations, universities and programs to educate the local community on cybersecurity, including partnering with the Center for Cyber Safety and Education to promote online safety to over 100 local children through the Garfield’s Cyber Safety Adventures program at local schools.
Asia-Pacific – Chennai, India Chapter – as one of ISC2’s longest-standing chapters, it held several joint-programming events in 2019 with other security professional organizations to create visibility amongst targeted interest groups, with the goal of encouraging others to take a proactive role in inspiring a more safe and secure cyber world through education, certification and networking.
EMEA – Nigeria Chapter – the group not only hosted regular educational meetings, it also celebrated Cyber Security Awareness Month (Be Cyber Conscious), by hosting weekly webinars and hosting a National Conference just three months after it’s official formation, which consisted of speaker presentations and panel discussions.
LATAM – Peru Chapter – with 76 percent of its members without certification, the chapter has the unique opportunity to engage security professionals and showcase the importance of gaining their certification and hosts an average of 11 meetings per year.

ISC2 would like to thank the Global Achievement Awards judging committees and the Chapter Advisory Council for their help in the selection process. A special thanks also goes out to the members of the ISC2 Board of Directors who judged the Board Awards, including Gabriel Bergel, CISSP, Dr. Earl Crane, CISSP, Biljana Cerin, CISSP, SC Leung, CISSP, CCSP, Lori Ross O’Neil, CISSP and Yiannis Pavlosoglou, CISSP.

For more information on the Global Achievement Awards program, including descriptions of each award category and eligibility details, please visit: https://www.isc2.org/About/Award-Programs

To learn more about the CCSP certification, please visit: https://www.isc2.org/Certifications/CCSP

About ISC2

ISC2 is the world’s leading member organization for cybersecurity professionals, driven by our vision of a safe and secure cyber world. Our more than 600,000 members, candidates and associates around the globe are a force for good, safeguarding the way we live. Our award-winning certifications – including cybersecurity’s premier certification, the CISSP® – enable professionals to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and abilities at every stage of their careers. ISC2 strengthens the influence, diversity and vitality of the cybersecurity profession through advocacy, expertise and workforce empowerment that accelerates cyber safety and security in an interconnected world. Our charitable foundation, The Center for Cyber Safety and Education, helps create more access to cyber careers and educate those most vulnerable. Learn more and get involved at ISC2.org. Connect with us on X, Facebook and LinkedIn.

Media Contact:
Amanda Steinman
Senior PR Manager
ISC2
asteinman@isc2.org