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SANS Difference Makers Awards

The SANS Difference Makers Awards shine a light on the cybersecurity practitioners who are leading innovative developments in the industry, who’ve made outstanding security achievements, and who are contributing back to the InfoSec community in ways that deserve recognition.
Difference Makers Awards2024 Categories & FinalistsAdvisory BoardFAQPast Winners

Watch the Replay: 2024 SANS DMA Ceremony

The 2024 Difference Makers Awards ceremony was livestreamed on LinkedIn, YouTube, and Facebook on Sunday, December 15, 2024. We're sending out a huge THANK YOU to our incredible community for nominating and voting for this year's Difference Makers, and for tuning in to celebrate them!

Congratulations to all the 2024 Award Winners and Nominees — your work is truly inspiring, and we're so proud to honor your contributions to cybersecurity. See you next year for more amazing stories and achievements!

Interested in Sponsoring the 2025 DMA's?

If you'd like to learn more about how your organization can be involved in the 2025 ceremony, email us at differencemakers@sans.org.

Watch on LinkedIn Watch on YouTube

Why are the DMAs special? 

There are thousands of cyber security practitioners out there who are quietly succeeding and making breakthroughs every day in advancing security. It's time to recognize these individuals and teams.

At the SANS Cyber Defense Initiative conference in December 2024, SANS held its annual celebration of the most dedicated and innovative people who made a difference in security in 2024. 

This prestigious annual awards program honored individuals and teams in the cyber security community who have made a measurable and significant difference in security. Through their implementation of security processes or technology, each person has raised the bar in enabling secure business operations and reducing risk.

We expanded the awards to include top mentors, content creators and the most influential champions focused on building the next generation. We've also partnered with on Chris Cochran and Ron Eddings from Hacker Valley Media as they share our passion for supporting the unsung heroes of cybersecurity and the humans at work behind the technology.

The common denominator in each nominee is their willingness and ability to do what SANS calls 'Fight the Good Fight' in advancing the state of practice in cybersecurity.

Difference Makers Awards 2024 Categories & Finalists

CategoryDescriptionNomineesWinner - CommunityWinner - Committee

Article or Book of the Year

Published content in book or article form that makes a significant contribution to cybersecurity literature.

Russian Information Warfare - by Dr. Bilyana Lilly

The Mighty Threat Intelligence Warrior - by Nicole Hoffman

Stronger Together: Women in Cybersecurity - by David Meece and Emily Zakkak

Cyber for Builders: The Essential Guide to Building a Cybersecurity Startup - by Ross Haleliuk

Teaching Cybersecurity: A Handbook for Teaching the Cybersecurity Body of Knowledge in a Conventional Classroom - by Tamara Shoemaker, Daniel Shoemaker and Ken Sigler

Stronger Together: Women in Cybersecurity, by David Meece and Emily Zakkak

Cyber for Builders: The Essential Guide to Building a Cybersecurity Startup, by Ross Haleliuk

People’s Champion of the Year

Deeply supports the community through mentorship and/or social media presence provides valuable resources and connections for others in the field. Devotes significant time and energy to fostering talent and support those getting into cybersecurity.

Gianna Whitver

Tennisha Martin

David Meece

Lynn Dohm

Confidence Staveley

Caitlin Sarian

Confidence Staveley

Lynn Dohm

Diversity Champion of the Year

Devotes significant time and energy to fostering talent and increasing representation and participation of under-represented minorities.

Tennisha Martin

Lynn Dohm

Stacey Champagne

Jamie Johnson

Aastha Sahni

Tennisha Martin

Lynn Dohm

Innovation of the Year (Open-Source or Product Tool)

Using unique approaches to succeed through innovation and risk-taking and/or creating an open-source tool of significant value.

David Bianco, Ryan Fetterman, Sydney Marrone for ‘The PEAK Threat Hunting Framework’

Dr. Mark Carney

Christian Peter

Jean-Pierre Lesueur

Mick Douglas - Infosec Innovations - Concierge

SGM Michael Bozman

David Bianco, Ryan Fetterman, Sydney Marrone for ‘The PEAK Threat Hunting Framework’

Mick Douglas - Infosec Innovations - Concierge

Podcast, Livestream or Video Series of the Year

Podcast or video of live-streamed content that makes a significant contribution to the industry.

Bare Knuckles and Brass Tacks

Dani Woolf - Audience 1st

Simply Cyber Daily Cyber Threat Brief

BHIS: Talking bout the news

Paul's Security Weekly

Simply Cyber Daily Cyber Threat Brief

Bare Knuckles and Brass Tacks

Rising Star

Newer practitioners contributing in the industry - to keep an eye on.

Jack Sharpe

Rich Greene

Apurv Singh Gautam

Keyur Rajyaguru

Yaamini Barathi Mohan

Yaamini Barathi Mohan

Rich Greene

Team of the Year

A team who has done extraordinary work in the industry.

Black Girls Hack

KC7 Team

709th Cyberspace Squadron, Air Force Technical Applications Center’s Cybersecurity Team

Splunk SURGe

Sygnia Incident Response Team

Black Girls Hack

709th Cyberspace Squadron, Air Force Technical Applications Center’s Cybersecurity Team

Practitioner of the Year

An individual who has done extraordinary work in the industry.

Ian Whiffin

Immanuel Chavoya

Thomas Roccia

Nikki Robinson

Genie Sugene Gan

Nikki Robinson

Nikki Robinson

CISO of the Year

Displayed extraordinary leadership skills, dedication to their team and passion for fostering an inclusive, thriving team environment.

Annessa O. McKenzie

Matt Hillary

Ira Winkler

Kayla Williams

Raj Badhwar

Kayla Williams

Kayla Williams

Cybersecurity Company of the Year

A community-minded company that offers high-quality products and services, demonstrates strong ethical standards, and exhibits exemplary leadership within cybersecurity.

ExtraHop

MITRE

Splunk, a Cisco company

Dragos

risk3sixty

MITRE

MITRE

Lifetime Achievement Award

Transcends categories; has made substantial contributions to cybersecurity over many years.

Gene Spafford

Carmen Marsh

Lisa Ventura MBE

Tony Sager

Stephen Northcutt

Ira Winkler

Tony Sager

Stephen Northcutt

Advisory Board

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Chris Cochran
Chris Cochran is a dynamic cybersecurity industry leader known for his unique blend of technical expertise and creative storytelling. With roots in the US Marine Corps and a distinguished tenure at organizations like the National Security Agency, US Cyber Command, Mandiant, and Netflix, Chris has been at the forefront of threat intelligence, Incident Response, and security operations. In 2019, Chris co-founded and led Hacker Valley Media as CEO until passing the reins to Ron Eddings in 2023. Chris created several award-winning media properties during this time, including Technically Divided and Webby-nominated Hacker Valley Studio.
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Lynn Dohm
Lynn Dohm is the Executive Director of Women in CyberSecurity (WiCyS). From her experience in the cybersecurity education sector to active involvement in grant-funded programs and nonprofits, Lynn advocates and spreads awareness on the importance of diversifying the cybersecurity workforce.
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Ron Eddings
Ronald Eddings is the Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Hacker Valley Media. He is a cybersecurity professional, and content creator whose ingenuity, dedication, and ambition have earned him a reputation as a trusted industry leader.
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Ross Haleliuk
Ross is a cybersecurity leader and a startup founder. Outside of work, Ross is a startup advisor, angel investor, and a frequent contributor to leading tech media such as TechCrunch, Forbes, VentureBeat, and Dark Reading. Ross is an author of ‘Venture in Security’, an award-winning blog with over 500,000  annual readers,  widely regarded as the number one independent source about the business side of cybersecurity. His book, ‘Cyber for Builders: The Essential Guide to Building a Cybersecurity Startup’, became an instant Amazon best seller, got the SANS ‘Book of the Year’ award, and is recognized as a critical read for aspiring and early-stage security entrepreneurs and experienced founders alike.
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Delisha Hodo
Delisha comes from an educational non-profit background, spending 5 years supporting K12 students and their families through the college process. Her passion for serving and supporting students inspired her transition into higher education and cybersecurity, where she now leads a team of advisors as the Assistant Director of Advising for SANS Technology Institute.
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Tia Hopkins
Tia Hopkins has spent more than two decades in the IT and IT Security industry and is currently the Field CTO & Chief Cyber Risk Strategist at eSentire. Additionally, Tia is an adjunct professor of Cybersecurity, a women’s tackle football coach, and a LinkedIn Learning Instructor. Tia is also pursuing her Executive MBA and PhD in Cybersecurity and is committed to building the cybersecurity talent pipeline by promoting diversity through empowerment, education, and mentorship.
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Dave Kennedy
Named one of the Top 10 IT Security Influencers in the World by CISO Platform, Dave has more than 20 years of experience in the security industry. As Binary Defense Co-Founder and Chief Hacking Officer, his experience and expertise guide our cybersecurity solutions, including the development of our proprietary managed detection and response technology.
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Rob T. Lee
Rob Lee is the Chief Curriculum Director and Faculty Lead at SANS Institute and runs his own consulting business specializing in information security, incident response, threat hunting, and digital forensics. With more than 20 years of experience in digital forensics, vulnerability and exploit discovery, intrusion detection/prevention, and incident response, he is known as “The Godfather of DFIR”.
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Kate Marshall
Kate Marshall has dedicated her career to making complex cybersecurity concepts easier to understand and more accessible to leaders and decision-makers. As the Director of Summits at the SANS Institute, Kate has led a talented team of operational and content creatives, producing high-quality training events throughout the country. These events bring together thought leaders and experts in the field, solidifying SANS as the most trusted source of information security training. She has also worked closely with technical authors developing training courses, building events and creating marketing strategies – all with a goal of making cybersecurity more approachable.
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David Meece
David Meece is a seasoned IT and cybersecurity professional with expertise in security engineering, intrusion detection, cybersecurity research, and teaching Security + courses. His academic background includes a bachelor's degree in CIT and master's degrees in Information System Management and Business Administration (MBA), reflecting a strong blend of technical expertise and business acumen.  He is a multiple award-winning cybersecurity practitioner and co-author of the award winning Stronger Together: Women in Cybersecurity, a book that showcases over 100 accomplished women experiences and insights within the industry. He is an active member and contributor in WiCyS, Simply Cyber, Bsides, and many other groups within the Cybersecurity community.
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Yaamini Mohan
Yaamini is a passionate cybersecurity professional with years of experience in ethical hacking, cloud security and incident response, having worked with organizations like RSA Security and Dell Technologies. Her expertise spans building innovative security tools to address gaps she observed in the industry. An advocate for diversity and inclusion, Yaamini serves as the Vice President of Women in Cybersecurity, Austin, and actively volunteers for initiatives like the Colors of Inclusion chapter and Secure Diversity. She is a frequent speaker at industry conferences such as BSIDES, HACK RED CON, and CYBERCON.
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Becky Pinkard
2023 Infosec Hall of Fame inductee, recipient of the 2022 Global Cyber Security Leadership Award - Editor's Choice (Global), previously appointed to the '100 Global CISOs for 2020' list and awarded 'CISO of the Year, 2020' by SC Awards Europe, Becky Pinkard is a renowned practitioner and commentator on the information security sector, and has been working in information technology and security since 1996.
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Confidence Staveley
Confidence Staveley is the founder and executive director of CyberSafe Foundation, a non-governmental organization dedicated to improving inclusive and safe digital access in Africa. She believes that Africans – especially the most vulnerable – should not only have access to technology, but should also be equipped with cyber risk and mitigation strategies. Confidence recently facilitated CyberSafe's collaboration with the UK Government to implement a cybersecurity intervention in response to the heightened cyber attacks during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, Africa's first afro-beats cybersecurity awareness song was released, reaching over 10 million Nigerians with information about cybersecurity hygiene.
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Lillian Teng
Lillian Teng is currently the Senior Director of Cyber Intelligence at Capital One. A graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service (Go Hoyas!), she joined the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) as a Cyber Special Agent in 2003, where she began tracking government backed cyber actors and served in both the Middle East and Asia.
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Wendi Whitmore
Wendi Whitmore serves as senior vice president for Unit 42 at Palo Alto Networks. She is a globally recognized cybersecurity leader, with two decades of experience building incident response and threat intelligence teams that have helped clients solve some of the world’s largest breaches. Wendi leads Unit 42, a team of elite incident responders and world-renowned threat researchers.
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Kayla Williams
Kayla is the CISO at Devo Technology, a cloud-native security data analytics platform. She is an analytical and results-driven professional with experience in management of cybersecurity incidents, compliance management, corporate risks, information security, project and program management, and organizational controls surrounding many different aspects of business. Kayla also is accomplished in the development of key methods for organizations to strengthen productivity, enhance operational performance, and improve financial and operational controls. 
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Robert Wood
Robert Wood is the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). He leads enterprise cyber security, compliance, privacy, and counter intelligence functions at CMS and ensures the Agency complies with secure IT requirements while encouraging innovation.
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Sounil Yu
Sounil Yu is the author and creator of the Cyber Defense Matrix and the DIE Triad, which are reshaping approaches to cybersecurity. He's a Board Member of the FAIR Institute; fellow at GMU Scalia Law School's National Security Institute; guest lecturer at Carnegie Mellon; and advisor to many startups. Sounil is the co-founder and Chief AI Safety Officer at Knostic and previously served as the CISO at JupiterOne, CISO-in-Residence at YL Ventures, and Chief Security Scientist at Bank of America.
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Emily Zakkak
Emily Zakkak is a cybersecurity professional with expertise in security engineering, cyber defense, and threat detection. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and has been recognized for her contributions in the cybersecurity community. She is the co-author of Stronger Together: Women in Cybersecurity, a book that highlights experiences and insights from women in the industry. Emily has worked extensively on implementing security controls, identifying vulnerabilities, and developing strategies to mitigate cyber threats. She is passionate about enhancing security resilience through proactive defense mechanisms and stays engaged in the cybersecurity community.

FAQ

  • This prestigious annual awards program, created by John Pescatore and our late founder Alan Paller, honors individuals and teams in the cyber security community who have made a measurable and significant difference in security. You can read more and view lists of previous winners at the links below.

  • Anyone can make a nomination! We want to hear from people all around the industry.

  • Complete all fields on the nomination form. The more detailed and specific your nomination, the better. The nomination should focus on work performed in the past couple years.

  • No! Nominations are free and open to anyone who wants to share great news about people and projects that deserve to be celebrated by the cybersecurity community.


  • Yes, and no! People and teams can receive multiple nominations, but it won’t add weight to the selection process.

  • Two things: The nominations will be summarized, and we’ll post a new survey form for the public to vote for their choice in each category. At the same time, the SANS Advisory Board, made up of a panel of SANS instructors and industry practitioners, will review the nominations and make their selection. There will be two winners in each category – the People’s Choice winner and the SANS Advisory Board winner.

  • The SANS Advisory Board represents a collective of SANS instructors and industry practitioners.

  • Nominations Open – Friday, August 1, 2025

    Nominations Close – Monday, September 15, 2025

    Voting Opens – Monday, September 22, 2025

    Voting Closes – Wednesday, October 8, 2025

    Finalists announced – Monday, October 13, 2025

  • There will be two winners per category – one selected by a popular vote and one selected by a SANS/industry committee.

  • There will be a simple form available online.

  • Sunday, December 14 in Washington, DC at SANS Cyber Defense Initiative 2025.

  • The awards ceremony will be by invitation-only, but it will be livestreamed here on LinkedIn, YouTube, and Facebook. Choose your channel of choice, and select "Attend/Notify Me" on the landing page to be notified as the event date approaches.