Double win for Cyberman
Congratulations to Nasser Arif who picked up two national awards for his work in cyber security.
“I’m not usually lost for words,” said the cyber security manager who picked up his first award in the Diversity in Cyber category of the NHS England Cyber Associates Network.
Judges recognised Nasser’s work on promoting neuro diversity in cyber security and the value of employing people across the spectrum.
He is an advocate for encouraging peers to feel confident in being their true selves at work. In his free time, he also worked with NHS England to launch a dedicated neurodiversity workspace on the CAN forums.
Nasser said: “Attributes like hyper attention to detail and a natural flair for problem solving can be very useful skills in the cybersecurity world.
"It has been a passion project for me so to be recognised for that is fantastic. It is a conversation we need to have within the NHS so I was pleased to be shortlisted but never thought I would win.”
Nasser was in for an even bigger surprise when he also picked up the Pete Rose Outstanding Achievement Award for his contribution to cyber security.
This includes articles in the media, organising staff activities and events, speaking at national cyber conferences and shifting the culture to make cyber security more accessible to everyone.
“Cyber security is traditionally quite a serious technical subject so I always try to make it as informative and fun as possible otherwise you just lose people. The reaction of colleagues has been lovely and it’s nice to get that external validation.”