Cybersecurity’s leading lights were recognized at an award ceremony held yesterday in Orlando, Florida.

The special event, which took place at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort on day three of the (ISC)² Security Congress, was staged to honor the winners of the 2019 Information Security Leadership Awards (ISLA®) Americas. 

The ISLA Americas awards recognize outstanding leadership and achievement in workforce improvement among information security and management professionals throughout the private and public sectors in North, Central, and South America.

To be in the running for the award, cybersecurity professionals must have inspired change within the cybersecurity field. Only individuals working in the private and public sectors throughout the Americas, but outside of the U.S. federal government, are eligible for the prestigious accolade. 

“Each year, the ISLA Americas ceremony showcases what leaders in our field are doing to help us achieve our vision of inspiring a safe and secure cyber world,” said (ISC)² chief operating officer Wesley Simpson. 

“The winners are enabling positive change within their organizations and communities, and across the industry.”

Tomiko K. Evans picked up an award for Up-and-Coming Information Security Professional for introducing CyberRap to cybersecurity conferences. Evans is CEO and owner of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) cybersecurity firm Aerial Footprint, and vice president of information security at Palo Alto Networks. 

CISSP Andrés Velázquez took home an ISLA Americas award for Community Awareness for his Crimen podcast. Velázquez is the founder and president of MaTTica, the first forensic lab in the private sector in Latin America.

Another CISSP, Anna Harrison, scooped up the gong for Information Security Practitioner for her efforts to strengthen the nation’s cybersecurity. Harrison, who holds a master’s degree in computer science from Mississippi State University, is senior cybersecurity engineer at veteran-owned Alabama business H2L Solutions. 

The winner of the Senior Information Security Professional award was Cassio Goldschmidt, CSSLP, CAP, and head of information security at HVAC software creators ServiceTitan. Goldschmidt earned the accolade for his work in end-to-end security policy enactment and awareness.

This year, a judging committee comprising five seasoned industry professionals representing both North America and Latin America reviewed the nominations and selected the winners based upon specific criteria and eligibility requirements.