Celebrated at a moving virtual awards ceremony, the Top Women in Security ASEAN Region Awards 2023 recognised and hosted women finalists from across Southeast Asia, with winners telling their stories and motivations in entering the security sector.
A number of women told reflective stories of dreaming of being superheroes from a young age through to feeling they entered the field of cybersecurity by being ‘at the right place at the right time’. All agreed the awards presented an ideal platform to be recognised and to have a voice.
As the organisers and facilitators of the awards, MySecurity Media congratulates the Top 30 Finalists and a special thank you to the esteemed panel of judges who had a challenging task in scoring nominations this year.
AND… the Winners are…
Top Woman in Security ASEAN Region – REGIONAL AWARD WINNERS
- Vesta Matveeva (Singapore)
- Maria Francesca Del Rosario (Philippines)
- Marie Elaine Ibanez (Philippines)
Cybersecurity Award
- Vesta Matveeva (Singapore)
- Marie Elaine Ibanez (Philippines)
- Priyanka Jayakumar (Malaysia)
Maria Francesca Del Rosario (Philippines)
Risk & Resilience Award
- THAM Mei Leng (Singapore)
Security Trainer or Educator
- Priyanka Jayakumar (Malaysia)
Security Researcher
- Anastasia Tikhonova (Singapore)
Cyber Risk Leader (open category)
- THAM Mei Leng (Singapore)
Security Professional Ambassador (open category)
- Vesta Matveeva (Singapore)
- Maria Francesca Del Rosario (Philippines)
- Clement Arul (Malaysia)
Top Women in Security ASEAN Region – Country Award
- Singapore – Vesta Matveeva
- Malaysia – Priyanka Jayakumar
- Brunei – Jasmine Wong
- Philippines – Marie Elaine Ibanez | Maria Francesca Del Rosario
- Thailand – Parichart Jiravachara
- Cambodia – THEAT MouyNgim
- Myanmar – May Oo Khaing
About the Awards
The Top Women in Security ASEAN Region Awards form part of a global campaign by the Women in Security & Resilience Alliance (WISECRA). This initiative is open to all ASEAN member countries and follows successful awards in 2022, 2021 and was launched with the Top Women in Security Awards held during 2020 in Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines.
As an ‘Industry Community’ orientated awards the feedback has been deep and meaningful. The awards ceremonies and the acceptance speeches from the Finalists is a testament to what the awards mean to participants and the value given for professional recognition and development.
Year to year we have gathered unique industry partnership arrangements, bringing together key chapters of premier, global security industry associations and professional women in security groups in Singapore. Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia and including the ASEAN Region Women in Security Network.
Nominations generally include women holding senior security roles including CISO, Global Head of Cyber Threat Prevention, Operation Director, Senior Business Director, Executive Director – Information & Cyber Security Risk, Security Lead – Cybersecurity GRC and Threat Exposure Management lead.
Nominees (other than for Open Category Awards) must be women with more than three years of experience in the security industry, be that in cybersecurity, electronics, physical, protective and risk management roles. Self-nominations are welcome. Open Category Awards are open to all.
One In Tech, an ISACA Foundation, is supporting the Top Women in Security ASEAN Region Awards. SheLeadsTech is the banner program of One In Tech, dedicated to building a gender diverse and inclusive global community of cyber professionals. Initiated in 2017, SheLeadsTech empowers women to enhance their professional skills and advocate for their career advancement. SheLeadsTech also brings global awareness to the lack of gender diversity in all levels, particularly chief and executive positions, within tech fields. One in Tech, through the Top Women in Security ASEAN Region Awards is kindly offering a Professional Development Bundle to the Top 30 Finalists for 2023.
This will include:
- Free one-year ISACA professional membership, giving access to career advancement events and webinars;
- One free ISACA course from CRISC or CISM;
- Connection to ISACA’s mentoring program and access to certified digital trust professionals as mentors or mentees; and
- Access to additional ISACA and OIT resources.
All Winners and Finalists will receive a Top 30 Women in Security ASEAN Region Awards Certificate.
