SCOTLAND’S cyber security community was celebrating last night (30 November) as the seventh annual Scottish Cyber Awards recognised the achievements of individuals, organisations and academics from across the industry.
Run by the Cyber and Fraud Centre – Scotland and hosted by comedian Fred MacAulay, the awards took place at the Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh for the first time in their history and saw the distribution of 14 prizes to worthy recipients from across the sector.
SmartSTEMs, a charity working to engage young people from all backgrounds with science, technology, engineering and mathematical (STEM) subjects, emerged doubly victorious after winning both the Community Award, sponsored by CyberScotland, and the Champion of Champions Award, sponsored by Adarma.
The newly introduced Financial Fraud Team of the Year Award, jointly sponsored by Bytes and Secureworks, went to Police Scotland’s Edinburgh Fraud Triage Hub, recognising the team’s knowledge and commitment to the fight against cyber fraud.
The awards also acknowledged promising new talent within the industry, with the Waterstons-sponsored Young Person of the Year Award going to Allan Goodwill of NatWest Banking Group and the Best New Start-up 2023 accolade, sponsored by Closed Door Security, being awarded to CyberLock. The New Emerging Talent from Education 2023 award, a new category sponsored by Beyond Blue, was won by Allena Matheson-Dear of Weir Group. Meanwhile the prize for Leading Education Programme 2023, sponsored by ID Cyber Solutions and EC-Council, recognised the efforts of leaders within the industry to educate the next generation of cyber security specialists, and was awarded to CyberFirst Programme.
Several categories served to encourage further diversity within the cyber security sector, with Sonia Kumar of Element Materials Technology taking home the Inspiring Woman of the Year 2023 award, sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group, while Timi Adegunwa of Black and Scot triumphing in the Diversity Programme 2023 category, sponsored by Hampden & Co.
Keith McDevitt of the Scottish Government was also recognised for his immense contribution to the industry and dedication to building cyber resilience in Scotland with the Lifetime Achievement Award, sponsored by LogRhythm.
As well as recognising both individual and collective contributions to the cyber security sector this year, the event served as an opportunity for figures across the industry to unite, network and celebrate their successes.
Jude McCorry, CEO of the Cyber and Fraud Centre – Scotland, said: “The innovation, ingenuity and dedication celebrated last night is more crucial now than ever. With the threat of cybercrime intensifying, we, the cyber security community, know that we have a battle ahead of us. It is therefore both reassuring and inspiring to see the skills and expertise demonstrated by all the winners and nominees last night, and we were honoured to bring industry figures together to acknowledge all that we’ve accomplished in 2023”.
