These Are the 14 Cybersecurity Leaders and Teams at the Forefront of Safeguarding Trust

Synack's 2021 Guardians of Trust Awards honor the hard work and dedication of cybersecurity professionals from leading organizations worldwide

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., June 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- As cyber attackers have rocked consumers' trust over the past few months and led senior U.S. administration officials and corporate leaders to call the recent scourge of ransomware "a national security threat,'' cybersecurity professionals are fighting every day behind the scenes to keep organizations safe.

Their work is often unrecognized and even unseen, but it keeps the digital infrastructure and systems that we all rely on daily from succumbing to attacks. The Guardians of Trust Awards recognize outstanding individuals and teams that are leading the industry in proactively pursuing excellence not just in security, but in trust. In today's digital world, gaining hard-won trust is an incredibly difficult challenge and the work that goes into maintaining it is all too often under-appreciated.

Synack launched these crowdsourced awards in 2019 to recognize those unsung professionals that go above and beyond to protect consumers, stakeholders and brands. Nominations were sourced from our most respected community members and trusted security teams across all industries. Winners were chosen by Synack's Guardians of Trust Awards Committee with comprehensive expertise in leading security organizations and building trusted brands.

This year's winners have demonstrated that they protect their customers first, display innovation in cybersecurity practices, represent excellence in the protection of their brands and never settle for the status quo.

The 2021 Guardians of Trust Award Winners include:

• Most Trusted CISO: Betsy Wille, Abbott 
• Most Trusted CISO: Mike Baker, GDIT
• Most Trusted Pioneer CISO: Jason Lewkowicz, Cognizant
• Most Trusted Pioneer CISO: Daniel Hooper, Varo Money
• Most Trusted Security Team North America: Domino's
• Most Trusted Security Team North America: Abacus Insights
• Most Trusted Security Team, EMEA: bp
• Most Trusted Security Team, EMEA: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
• Most Trusted Security Team, EMEA: RSA Insurance Group 
• Most Trusted Solution Partner: Azure Security Modernization, Microsoft
• Most Trust Partner, EMEA:  Ignition Technology
• Most Trust Partner, North America: Trace3
• Most Trusted Federal Consulting Partner: Accenture Federal Services
• Most Trusted Hacker: Özgür Alp, Synack Red Team

For all of the winners, trust is an essential tenet in their roles as security professionals. It's ingrained in how they do their jobs and also how they communicate the importance of security across their organizations.