Finalists have been announced for the 2018 Information Security Leadership Awards (ISLA^®) Government. The ISLA Government program recognizes the ongoing commitment and achievements of individuals and teams whose initiatives, processes or projects have led to significant improvements in the security posture of a U.S. department, agency or government (state, local or federal).

“Some projects are not well-known to either the public or the information security professional community. Recognizing a practitioner through the ISLA awards provides awareness of some of the important projects happening throughout the government.” – Kris Thomas, CISSP, 2018 Nominator

The awards ceremony will take place at the (ISC)² Secure Summit DC event on Tuesday, May 8^th at 12 p.m. as a luncheon. Finalists and winners will be recognized in front of as many as 800 cybersecurity professionals in attendance for the conference.

The finalists for this year’s ISLA Government program are:

• Up-and-Coming Information Security Professional:
  • Mark Bacharach, CISSP, Innovation Fellow at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the EPA’s Continuous Monitoring Dashboard
  • Matthew Boehlke, Associate IT Security Analyst at Kent State University for their Security Automation Initiative
• Workforce Improvement:
  • Aung Htein, Administrator at the Office of Information Systems and Technology, for the U.S. Department of Labor Employment & Training Administration’s Cybersecurity Awareness Campaign
  • Khalid Hasan, Senior OIG Manager for Information Technology, for the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency Federal Audit Executive Council IT Working Group FISMA Metrics
• Technology Improvement:
  • Michael Sherwood, Director of Technology and Innovation, for Las Vegas’ Smart City Security Initiatives
  • Peter P. Le, Information Technology Specialist, for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Cloud Management
• Process/Policy Improvement:
  • Glenn Hernandez, Captain and Chief Information Security Officer, for U.S. Coast Guard Cybersecurity Strategy
  • Jothi Dugar, Chief Information Security Officer, for Accelerated Security Efficiency in National Institutes of Health Clinical Center Systems
• Most Valuable Industry Partner (MVIP):
  • Nicholas Andersen for Invictus International Consulting, LLC Defense Intelligence Agency IA Enterprise Program
  • Tom Suder for the ATARC Report: Navigating the Future of Mobile Services
• Community Awareness:
  • Matt Goodrich, JD, Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) Director for the FedRAMP Tailored policy
  • Eric Trias, CISSP, Commander, for Cyberspace Support Squadron’s National Cyber Security Awareness Month team

We received more nominations this year than in previous years, and are extremely grateful to our diligent ISLA Government judging committee, which included:

• Devon Bryan, CISSP – Executive Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer, Federal Reserve System, National IT
• Michael Stoner, CISSP – Chief Information Security Officer, Federal Government Civilian Agency
• Steven Hernandez, CISSP, CAP, SSCP, CSSLP, HCISPP – Chief Information Security Officer and Director of Information Assurance Services, U.S. Department of Education

We hope you will join us in celebrating these extraordinary professionals who have contributed to the improvement in the security posture of a department, agency or government throughout the year.