If you’ve spent any time in or around the information security industry you’ll know there are a huge number of awards ceremonies throughout the year.

Each offers a great opportunity to those lucky enough to be nominated and lavish praise for the fortunate few who gather the largest number of votes from their peers.

But there is a downside to the awards business – the same people keep on winning.

That’s not to say they are unworthy – they’re all great people – but if they have one thing in common it’s the fact that they win by and large based upon the fact that they are large characters, known by thousands of people, and perhaps less so because of what they actually do.

That’s where a new set of awards from information security consultancy firm Eskenzi PR comes in.

Its awards scheme – called the Security Serious Unsung Heroes Awards – aims to zero in on an entirely different breed of character – the type who works hard behind the scenes to get things done without necessarily looking for any kind of recognition.

Taking place on 3 October, during Eskenzi PR’s Security Serious Week (2-6 October), you can nominate your own “unsung hero” if they fall into one of the following categories:

  • Godfather of Security (sponsored by GSK)
  • Security Avengers (sponsored by Canon)
  • Best Security Awareness Campaign
  • Security Leader/Mentor (sponsored by Lastline)
  • Fraud Fighter (sponsored by Mimecast)
  • Captain Compliance (Sponsored by Gigamon)
  • Cyber Writer (sponsored by SE Labs)
  • Apprentice/Rising Star (sponsored by (ISC)²)
  • Best Educator (sponsored by Crest)
  • CISO Supremo – Retail (sponsored by Barracuda)
  • CISO Supremo – CNI
  • CISO Supremo – Finance (sponsored by 1E)
  • CISO Supremo – Manufacturing (sponsored by Firemon)
  • CISO Supremo – Media & Entertainment
  • CISO Supremo – Telecoms & ISPs (sponsored by Corero)
  • CISO Supremo – Charity – (sponsored by Charities Security Forum)

As Yvonne Eskenzi, Director of Eskenzi PR says,

So, if you’d like to place one or more votes (you have up until 31 July so get cracking) you can do so via the Security Serious Unsung Heroes Awards page and, even if you don’t care to nominate anyone, don’t forget Eskenzi PR has lined up an all new virtual conference that will take place throughout the week that will focus on building awareness and bridging the cyber skills gap through creativity and diversity.