The best cyber security leaders of 2026.
Most lists like this are bought. This one is the judged outcome of the 2026 Cyber Security Awards: people the independent panel recognised on the evidence, ranked by the award they earned.
The 2026 honourees
Ranked by the standing of the award each earned. Every name below is a real winner of the 2026 programme.
- 1
Fene Osakwe · Cyber Security Leader of the Year 2026
Recognised for building resilient security strategy across financial institutions, telecoms and governments; a Forbes Technology Council member and repeat honouree (Personality of the Year, 2025).
- 2
Prof. Victor Chang · Cyber Security Professional of the Year 2026
Professor at Aston Business School whose FedAvgVChang architecture lets organisations share threat intelligence through federated learning without exposing raw data.
- 3
Paul Jackson · Cyber Security Influencer of the Year 2026
APAC leader for Kroll’s cyber risk and investigations practice; two decades shaping incident response and digital forensics across the region.
- 4
Jim West · Cyber Security Advocate of the Year 2026
Founder of TopCyberPro, training and mentoring newcomers to close the skills gap; earlier named Cyber Personality of the Year (2021).
- 5
Jubilian Ho Hong Yi · Rising Star 2026
Penetration tester at Ensign InfoSecurity who presented at Black Hat Europe Arsenal and mentors aspiring defenders while still early in his career.
How this list is built: it contains only real winners of the 2026 Cyber Security Awards, a programme judged by an independent panel. We do not sell placement, and the list is not influenced by sponsorship. See how winners are chosen.
About this list
How were these leaders selected?
They are the individual winners of the 2026 Cyber Security Awards, chosen by an independent panel that scored each nomination against published criteria. See the methodology page for the full process.
Can someone pay to be on this list?
No. The list contains only judged winners. Placement cannot be bought, and sponsorship has no bearing on who appears or where.
How often is the list updated?
It reflects the most recent edition and is refreshed each year as a new cohort is recognised. The 2026 cohort is the current one.