Cynomi names winners of 2026 cyber advisory awards

Cynomi has named the winners of its 2026 Cyber Advisory Excellence Awards, which recognise individuals and teams in the MSP, MSSP and virtual CISO market.

Winners were selected across six categories covering leadership, team performance, emerging talent, community work and cyber resilience. The recipients are Jason Collins of FIT Technologies, Reut Weitzman of Check Point Horizon MDR, Abacus, Tinuola Anthonia Tomori of CybariK, Ann Westerheim of Ekaru, XCeptional and Kristina Oršanić Kopić of Deutsche Telekom.

The awards focus on the service provider segment of the cybersecurity market, where managed service providers, managed security service providers and external security advisers are playing a larger role in risk management for small and mid-sized organisations.

Jason Collins, CISO at FIT Technologies, received the Transformational Cyber Leader Award. Reut Weitzman, Director of Cyber Resilience and Response at Check Point Horizon MDR, won the Women in Cyber Leadership Award.

Abacus was named Cyber Advisory Team of the Year, while Tinuola Anthonia Tomori of CybariK received the Emerging Cyber Leader Award. Ann Westerheim, Founder and President of Ekaru, won the Community Champion Award.

The Cyber Resilience Impact Award was split between a team and an individual. XCeptional, which operates in San Diego and Longmont, took the team honour, while Kristina Oršanić Kopić, Cybersecurity Consultant at Deutsche Telekom, received the individual award.

Service provider focus

The programme highlights a growing part of the cybersecurity industry as more businesses rely on outsourced expertise instead of building large in-house security teams. Providers in this market often combine compliance support, risk assessment, incident planning and strategic advice within a single service model.

The awards are intended to recognise people and organisations shaping cyber advisory work. Cynomi also highlighted the breadth of the field, from proactive guidance and virtual CISO services to security posture management, governance, risk and compliance, and broader risk management.

Tim Coach, Chief Evangelist at Cynomi, described the scope of the field in a statement accompanying the awards.

"Cyber advisory is a broad category. It spans proactive guidance, virtual CISO services, security posture management, GRC, and risk management, but what matters most is meeting clients where they are and giving them the guidance and proactive, strategic support they need to reduce risk and protect business continuity," said Tim Coach, Chief Evangelist at Cynomi.

He added: "Our award winners are demonstrating that kind of excellence and helping build more resilient organizations in the process."

Community efforts

Alongside the awards, Cynomi outlined its broader work with service providers through community and training initiatives. These include a weekly MSP Growth Community where MSPs, MSSPs, virtual CISOs and cybersecurity practitioners exchange practical lessons and case studies from their client work.

The company also runs a GTM Academy for partners looking to formalise how they position and sell security services. According to Cynomi, it is designed to help providers standardise delivery and reduce dependence on a small number of senior specialists.

That reflects a broader market trend as service providers look for repeatable ways to deliver security advice across a larger client base. For many firms, the challenge has been how to package what was once highly customised consultancy work into services that can be sold and delivered more consistently.

Recognition programmes such as this also underline competition for talent in cyber advisory, particularly among firms serving mid-market customers. As demand for external security guidance grows, providers are placing greater emphasis on leadership, team development and community visibility as markers of credibility.

The list of winners shows the range of organisations now active in the market, from specialist providers and consultancies to larger telecoms and security groups. It also suggests that cyber advisory is no longer limited to technical operations, but is increasingly judged by how effectively providers connect security work with business continuity and organisational resilience.

XCeptional and Kristina Oršanić Kopić were recognised in the Cyber Resilience Impact category for client-facing work focused on resilience outcomes.