2019 has been another great year for RH-ISAC! During the Retail Cyber Intelligence Summit in Denver, CO, RH-ISAC members came together to share ideas, collaborate, talk threat intelligence, and celebrate the year. RH-ISAC hosted an annual member meeting during the Member Gala as a way to honor our community, congratulate them on all that they do and to announce our Peer Choice Award winners!
As a membership organization, the Peer Choice Awards are an opportunity for members to recognize those in the community who show above-and-beyond dedication to sharing cyber intelligence on incidents, threats, vulnerabilities and associated threat remediation, and supporting the community as a whole in the overall effort to protect as one.
The awards program recognizes the winner’s contribution to the community and provides a forum for peer-nominated, peer-judged participation in cyber intelligence sharing.
We’ve got a recap of the winners to share and want to extend another hearty congratulation to them:
CISO of the Year: Benjamin Vaughn, CISO, Hyatt
The CISO of the year award honors exceptional leadership of a chief information security officer or equivalent from the RH-ISAC Core member community. This individual empowers their team to innovate, adapt and evolve their processes to fit the needs of the evolving threat landscape. They champion, nurture, support and encourage their team which results in high performance and outcomes.
Benjamin Vaughn is a highly successful leader and is constantly encouraging and supporting his team. He is the go-to person for briefings, product input, and guidance. As Marshall Lancaster, Global CIO of Hyatt explained, “At Hyatt, we care for people so they can be their best and Ben truly embraces this purpose in his role as chief information security officer. Ben’s vision, passion and expertise are unmatched in the industry and his leadership in protecting guest, colleague and customer information continues to advance our global cyber security strategy.” He added, “Ben’s dedication not only adds tremendous value to Hyatt’s business, it also extends to the RH-ISAC community to elevate the importance of cyber security in the retail and hospitality industries. Congratulations, Ben!”
Cybersecurity Team of the Year: Target
This peer nominated award is for exceptional achievement as a cybersecurity team. The organization, regardless of size, uses information sharing as a means to advance the collective defense of the retail and hospitality industry.
This is Target’s third time in a row winning this award. The Target team provides important information to the community and continues to lead the RH-ISAC in not only intel shared, but valuable intel AND analysis. Other RH-ISAC member teams have stepped up their game due to the expertise shared out of the Target team. Target understands how to share information as a means to advance the collective defense of the retail and hospitality industry and they are true ambassadors to our motto, “Protect as One.”
Rich Agostino, Target’s Chief Information Security Officer said of his team, “At Target, we think industries should come together to help advance capabilities in cybersecurity and we take this collaborative spirit to heart. I’m proud of the team’s efforts to consistently share intelligence with our peers, all while investing in developing their own technical skills and lending their time to help others enhance their programs.”
Cybersecurity Practitioner of the Year: Kyle Davis, Principal Cyber Threat Intelligence Analyst, Target
The recipient of this award will be a retail or hospitality cyber intelligence practitioner who has demonstrated significant time, energy and involvement to add value to the RH-ISAC organization by sharing threat intelligence, contributing content to webinars, events, or working groups. This individual is a dedicated champion for cyber intelligence sharing.
Kyle is constantly providing actionable and novel threat intelligence information to the RH-ISAC community. His continuous engagement with the ISAC drives other organizations to increase their engagement. Kyle’s willingness to collaborate and provide valuable insights puts him as one of the leaders in the IT space. His efforts have provided a foundation for others to follow.
“It is no surprise to our team that Kyle Davis is receiving such well-deserved recognition with the Cybersecurity Practitioner of the Year award.” Jodie Kautt, Vice President of Cyber Security at Target said.She added, “Kyle is dedicated to advancing the cybersecurity industry and this comes to life through his work in building Target’s capabilities and fostering our deeply engaged partnership with the RH-ISAC. We know that we have an opportunity to help build the next generation of cybersecurity leaders, and I’m proud of Kyle’s work in the industry to aid in this effort.”
Associate Company of the Year: Flashpoint
This peer nominated award is for exceptional support as an Associate member to the RH-ISAC organization and retailer member companies. They have displayed valuable support to RH-ISAC members by way of their offerings of thought leadership on agendas, webinars, blogs, newsletters, free or reduced rate of service, etc.
Flashpoint is constantly working to mature the retail and hospitality sectors. They support the RH-ISAC community by turning various data feeds into actionable intelligence within an entity. Flashpoint earned this award by providing exceptional support to the RH-ISAC community.
“We’re honored to have Flashpoint as an Associate member and glad to see them recognized by our members for their exceptional support or the RH-ISAC’s mission,” said Carlos Kizzee, VP of intelligence at the RH-ISAC. “As a member since 2016, Flashpoint has partnered with the RH-ISAC to provide tactical intelligence reports that brings value to the community on an ongoing basis. They have also participated in various cyber intelligence briefings and webinars. Congratulations, Flashpoint!”
Without the support and leadership of each member, the RH-ISAC could not have achieved the level of collaboration and the spirit of information sharing this year that further strengthened not only each of our member companies, but the industries we represent as a whole.
