Dr Keith Nicholson, founder of Cyber Security Scotland, has been awarded the title of “Security Specialist of the Year” in the 2020 UK Computing Digital Leaders Awards.
The award ceremony was done remotely and as the Security Specialist title was introduced Keith describes how he felt.
“It was wonderful to be nominated at all and then to see my name listed on screen with the other three finalists felt great. I was not expecting to win but was already well-pleased to be listed against finalists from the Bank of Eqypt, Neustar and Simply Business – all large London-based multinational companies. And here’s me sitting in the north of Scotland almost 700 miles away.”
“Then when my name was read out as the winner I actually gasped in disbelief. I just stared at the screen with my name under ‘Security Specialist of the Year’. I was astonished. To be recognised for my expertise by my peers in the industry is very rewarding.”
The nomination and award was for Keith’s work in creating a new security standard framework. This has now been adopted by the Scottish Government as a standard in cyber security which all public bodies are being encouraged to follow.
In making the award the judges said that Keith had “Demonstrated impressive work that could truly change the face of cyber security across the UK.”
“That is a remarkable statement” said Keith. “The new framework was the product of over a year’s work, so it’s great to see this recognised with such an incredible accolade.”
Dr Nicholson was already known as a leading cyber security expert, he serves on the Scottish Government’s National Cyber Resilience Advisory Board and in addition to advising clients across all sectors is currently with the Scottish Health Competent Authority to review the cyber security provisions of every heath board.
Keith concluded “I love my work, making a difference to organisations security and helping to improve public services. To be given such recognition for work I enjoy is truly wonderful.”