Cyber security guru is award finalist
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Caithness-based cyber security expert Dr Keith Nicholson has shown he is not resting on his laurels with another potential award to add to his collection.
He is a finalist for Security Specialist of the Year in the 2020 UK Computing Digital Leaders Awards.
On learning about the selection, Dr Nicholson, who runs Cyber Security Scotland (CSS), said: “This came as a complete surprise and I feel both delighted and rather humbled to be selected as one of four finalists from all across the UK.
"I am the only finalist from Scotland and CSS is by far the smallest firm represented in the final. The other finalists are from are multinational financial and technology companies, so we are punching well above our weight. It shows that niche expertise and innovation are key success factors, and these are not restricted to large companies."
He went on to say how 2019 had been "a fantastic year" for the company, with CSS winning multiple business awards. This year, Dr Nicolson has been nominated for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award and is a finalist in the IoD Director of the Year Awards. He said 2020 has been "a remarkable year" for his company.
"This award, however, is for my specialist expertise in cyber security, rather than a business award, and as such is especially welcome recognition from my peers in the industry," he added.
Dr Nicholson is renowned as a leading cyber security expert, serves on the Scottish Government’s National Cyber Resilience Advisory Board and is the author of the Cyber Resilience Framework that has been adopted by the Scottish Government as a standard in cyber security and which all public bodies are encouraged to follow.
He continued: “Once again, this further demonstrates that it is perfectly feasible to create a successful business and gain personal recognition when based in Caithness rather than in a large city. When I tell people where CSS is based it comes as a shock. I enjoy that, it’s a great ice-breaker with new clients.”
