Top cybersecurity professionals from across the Federal government and industry gathered on Thursday evening at Morton’s in Washington, D.C., to honor the 2024 Cyber Defenders Award winners.
This year’s class of Cyber Defenders is going above and beyond in advancing the mission, leading cybersecurity modernization, and defending against threats.
“I’m really pleased to have some of our Cyber Defenders here tonight,” said Caroline Boyd, Principal of Government Programs for MeriTalk, at the awards ceremony held as part of MeriTalk’s Tech Tonic. “We know a lot of you that have been the heart and soul of the cybersecurity community within Fed IT.”
Check out the complete list of winners and hear what some of them had to tell us at the award presentation last night:
“It’s a big award, and for us, it’s a validation of what we do and being part of the community of Federal agencies and private sector organizations. It’s a big deal for us being a newer entrant into the market. What I think the award program really does is build that community of people that are interested in helping agencies become more secure,” said Gaurav (GP) Pal, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of stackArmor. “So, we appreciate that from the MeriTalk team.”
“This award means a lot to me. In the cyber community, we’re constantly working on helping to defend our entire digital estate and we’re working day by day. So, to be recognized like this is amazing,” said Carolyn Duby, Federal CTO and Cybersecurity GTM Lead at Cloudera.
“This award is really important because it demonstrates that cybersecurity is a team sport. But when we have a field of team players that lift each other up and recognize the work that we’ve put in sometimes in the shadows, it kind of lets us come to the front. So, it’s nice to see,” said Candice Frost, Director of the Integrated Department of Defense Account at Nightwing.
“So many people I know their work, but I just don’t know who’s behind the work. So, that’s the best part of this evening,” Frost added. “We have people that have defended the NFL, NBA, baseball, all the way to our national security, to dams and water supply, I mean, you name it, someone here has touched it and defended it for our country.”
“It feels amazing to be recognized for the work and the SCuBA program that I run. We’re an open source program, not just dedicated to defending the Federal government. We’re focused on defending anyone and everyone who uses cloud SAAS, so the award recognition is awesome,” said Chad Poland, Product Manager, Secure Cloud Business Applications (SCuBA) Project, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
“I am honored. It’s wonderful being in such great company because I probably know about 50 percent of the recipients, so there’s just a lot of people that I’ve met in my career – and they’re all excellent in cyber,” said Nat Bongiovanni, Chief Technology Officer, NTT DATA Federal Services.
“I’m humbled to be recognized as a Cyber Defender alongside my dedicated colleagues in government and industry. It’s inspiring to collaborate with folks who share the unwavering commitment to improving our nation’s cyber defenses. Together, we’re making a positive impact for our citizens,” said Gary Barlet, Public Sector CTO, Illumio.
“It’s been an honor to be selected as Cyber Defender award winner here. It’s always a collective effort, and it’s really great to get together with colleagues that all have common interests and serve the common mission working with our Federal customers. It’s a team effort and I’m just proud to be a participant,” said Steve Hoffman, President, Fortinet Federal.
“I am grateful especially to my fearless leader Susan Wedge at IBM for her endorsement support. I think it’s wonderful to be honored among a really strong group of professionals,” said Alice Fakir, Partner, Federal Cybersecurity Services Partner, IBM.
“It’s just great to be a part of this mission, and when your customers recognize you for helping to support the mission and make a difference, that means everything. The credit actually goes to my team who are all amazing,” said Bill Rucker, President, Trustwave Government Solutions.
“It’s very humbling be honored tonight, special thanks goes out to our marketing team and Andrew Scott who increased our awareness of the program,” said Kyle Dewar, Director, Technical Account Management, Tanium.
“I’m very humbled to accept this award. I operate in the shadows very often, but when our work is recognized, it’s a good feeling,” said Robert (Tyler) Gaylik, Lead Information Technology Specialist, Federal Emergency Management Agency.
We’ll also be celebrating this year’s Cyber Defenders class at the Innovation Intersection: Cyber and AI Honors event on October 3 at Planet Word in Washington, D.C., and look forward to meeting you there.