(ISC)² announces finalists for its 6th annual Americas Information Security Leadership Awards

Clearwater, FL, August 25, 2016 — (ISC)²^® (“ISC-squared”) today announced the finalists for its sixth annual Americas Information Security Leadership Awards (Americas ISLA^®) program. (ISC)² is pleased once again to celebrate the accomplishments of private and public sector industry leaders outside of U.S. federal government throughout the Americas who are inspiring change within the information security workforce. Recipients will be announced during the sixth annual (ISC)² Security Congress on the evening of September 14, 2016.

The keynote speaker at this year’s ceremony will be Jim Davis, the creator of Garfield. Garfield, the iconic cartoon cat featured in the Garfield & Friends comic, is the new spokescat for the Center for Cyber Safety and Education’s Safe and Secure Online program. The Center is the charitable arm of (ISC)², and the Safe and Secure Online program aims to educate children, parents and seniors about how to remain safe in the cyber world.

Americas ISLA is part of (ISC)²’s Global Awards Program, which aims to recognize the achievements of outstanding industry professionals who have led a workforce improvement initiative, program or project. The program recognizes professionals who are leading initiatives that result in a more proficient, resilient information security workforce in Central, North and South America.

“We are excited to provide a platform like the Americas ISLA program to honor the challenging, and often unrecognized, work that security professionals are doing behind the scenes to help protect all of us,” says (ISC)² CEO David Shearer. “These leaders are truly making a difference in advancing the cybersecurity workforce. I look forward to recognizing them and hearing Jim Davis, in a rare public appearance, talk about keeping children safe online at the gala in Orlando.”

The 2016 Americas ISLA finalists are as follows:

• Bently Au, CISSP, Chief Vehicle and Information Security Officer, Toyota Motor Sales (U.S.A.)

Project: Enterprise Information Security Program for Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

• Diego Andres Zuluaga Urrea, Information Security Officer, ISAGEN S.A. (Colombia)

         Project: Colombian Energy Sector Cyber Security Improvement

• Dr. Eric Cole, Principal, Secure Anchor (U.S.A.)

         Project: Detection of Computer System Intruder Access

• Mack Bhatia, Senior Practice Director, Enterprise Integration (U.S.A.)

         Project: Enterprise Integration – SOC 2 and SOC 3 Compliance

• Marco Tulio Oliveira de Moraes, CISSP, Cybersecurity Leader, AES (Brazil)

         Project: Information Security Practitioner Web Security

• Jennifer Chermoshnyuk, Paralegal, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP (U.S.A.)

         Project: Continuing Legal Education Program

• Edward Skaife, CEH, CPT, Systems Administrator / IT Security, Forward Health Group, Inc. (U.S.A.)

         Project: Cybersecurity Solutions at Forward Health Group, Inc.

• Deidre Diamond, Founder and CEO, CyberSN (U.S.A.)

         Project: Hang Together

• Sandra Toner, Sr. Technical Specialist, ICF International (U.S.A.)

         Project: Online Cybersecurity Awareness Tools

This year, a judging committee of eight members of the (ISC)² North American and Latin American Advisory Boards reviewed the record number of nominations, and selected the finalists based upon specific criteria and eligibility requirements. (ISC)² officials will honor the Americas ISLA recipients on Wednesday, September 14, 2016 during a gala dinner and ceremony in Orlando, FL at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville at Universal CityWalk.

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(ISC)² is an international nonprofit membership association best known for its award-winning Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP^®) certification, with additional certification and education programs that holistically address security. Our membership, 120,000 strong internationally, is made up of sought-after cyber, information, software and infrastructure security professionals who are making a difference and helping to advance this new industry. Our vision to inspire a safe and secure cyber world reaches the general public through a commitment to social responsibility via our charitable foundation – The Center for Cyber Safety and Education^TM. For more information on (ISC)², visit http://www.isc2.org, follow us on Twitter or connect with us on Facebook.