Published on the 03/11/2022 | Written by Heather Wright

Scam simulators, malware free initiatives among winners… 

New Zealand’s leading lights – people, products and initiatives – on the cybersecurity front were honoured this week at the iSanz Awards. 

Seven awards were presented, including two individual awards and a new Hall of Fame entry, at a gala awards evening in Wellington for the eighth annual iSanz (Information Security Awards of New Zealand).

Spark was the big winner, with members of its team claiming both individual awards, while the company’s Cyber Defence Tribe, with more than 100 IT and cyber security experts protecting the company’s vast network infrastructure, was named winner of the Best Security Team award.  

From within that team came the winner of the Best Senior Security Practitioner – a new award this year – with cyber defence tribe chapter area lead Nyuk Loong Kiw taking out the category, while Spark’s Amina Aggarwal took out the Up-and-coming Cyber Security Star category.  

“The current threat landscape is incredibly diverse.”

Alastair Millar, principal advisory consultant at Aura Information Security, and Todd Skilton, CISO at Toka Tū Ake EQC were finalists for Best Senior Security Practitioner, with the Ministry of Justice’s Saptarshi Karmakar (Rik) and Katherine Lennnox-Steele from Unisphere and Cyber Tribe finalists for the Up-and-coming Cyber Security Star.  

The awards come amid a backdrop of increasing cybersecurity challenges – and awareness. 

Kendra Ross, iSanz board chair, says the current threat landscape is incredibly diverse with digital attack surfaces having increased as remote and hybrid work take precedence. 

“Thankfully, we’re lucky to have the very best in cybersecurity talent to protect and defend against those who would exploit and do us harm online,” Ross says.  

Best Security Project or Awareness Initiative went to Education Arcade, edging out Sharesies and Mindshift to claim the award with its NFT scam simulator. 

The simulator is designed for those at risk of falling prey to NFT scams and teaches people how to spot and avoid deceptive or malicious NFTs. Judges commented on the simulator’s accessible, quirky, interesting and interactive nature and noted that returns to learners will be ‘immeasurable’. 

Mindshift didn’t leave empty handed, however, with the company – which has been an iSanz finalist for the past three years and was a multiple finalist this year – taking out the Best Start-up or New Business Award for its work providing cyber security awareness campaigns and training 

DataMasque and Blacklock Security were the other finalists in the category.   

A malware free networks initiative from the National Cyber Security Centre saw it claim the Best Security Product or Service Award, ahead of Blacklock Security and Mindshift.  

The NCSC’s Malware Free Networks initiative launched last November to help increase cyber resilience of Kiwi organisations. Judges commented on the strength of the initiative’s design and implementation and its ability to improve security across the country while also protecting users’ privacy.  

The final award of the evening was the Hall of Fame Award, presented to Aura and RedShield founder Andy Prow. Prow is a board member for the New Zealand Internet Task Force and is active globally, including as a partner for a Silicon Valley VC investing in Kiwi tech startups and a lead advisory for one of the UK’s largest cyber-insurance brokers. 

“These awards are the preeminent national opportunity to reflect on the extremely high standard, variety and innovation of people and businesses who work tirelessly across New Zealand’s information security sector to see off malicious digital threats,” Ross says.  

 

The full list of winners is: 

Best Security Project or Awareness Initiative 

Winner: Education Arcade for its NFT scam simulator 

Finalists: 

• Sharesies for firewall deployment across its New Zealand and Australian networks by Fastcom.  
• Mindshift for its small business cybersecurity training. 

 

Best Security Product or Service 

Winner: National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) for its malware free networks initiative 

Finalists: 

·  Blacklock Security for its self-service penetration testing platform 

·  Mindshift for its tailored programmes of cybersecurity training  

 

Best Security Team 

Winner: Spark’s Cyber Defence Tribe 

Finalists: 

• Kordia’s Vulnerability Management Team. 
• Toka Tū Ake EQC’s Information Security Team. 

 

Best Start-Up or New Business 

Winner: Mindshift 

Finalists:  

• DataMasque 
• Blacklock Security 

 

Best Senior Security Practitioner 

 Winner: Nyuk Loong Kiw, chapter area lead at Spark Cyber Defence Tribe. 

Finalists:  

• Alastair Miller – Principal Advisory Consultant at Aura Information Security.  
• Todd Skilton – Chief Information Security Officer at Toka Tū Ake EQC.  

 

Up-and-coming Cybersecurity Star 

Winner: Amina Aggarwal from Spark 

Finalists:  

• Saptarshi Karmakar (Rik) from the Ministry of Justice.  
• Katherine Lennox-Steele from Unisphere, and Cyber Tribe. 

 

Hall of Fame Award 

Andy Prow