Global cybersecurity win for SA woman

A South African woman has won the People’s Choice Award at the Cybersecurity Woman of the Year awards in Las Vegas.

Anna Collard, SVP of content strategy at KnowBe4 Africa, was presented with the prize at the event, which recognises exceptional women in the cybersecurity industry for their expertise, leadership, and impact.

This year’s competition saw nominees from 62 countries judged across nine categories by a panel of international adjudicators.

Collard was named to the top three for the People’s Choice Award, with the winner determined through a popularity vote.

Says Collard: “Winning the award is an incredible honour, especially considering that the other finalists in the category are highly accomplished women: Jen Easterly, the Director of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and Alex Keedy, the director of Operations at ZeroFox.”

Collard’s accolade adds to her impressive list of awards and accomplishments. 

In 2022, she was recognised as the IFSEC Global Influencer in Security. In 2020, she received the ISACA South Africa President’s Award. Her achievements also include being featured in the UK’s IT Security Guru’s list of the 21 Most Inspiring Women in Cyber in 2021. 

She was also honoured as one of the Top 100 Women in Cyber, on a global scale, by Cyber Defence Magazine in both 2020 and 2021. In 2020, she was recognised as one of the Top 50 Women in Cybersecurity in Africa. She received the Women in Tech Innovations Africa 2020 Award for Southern and Central Africa at Africa Tech Week.

A certified business analyst with multiple security certifications, Collard is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on the Future of Metaverse for 2023-2024. She is a board member of the MiDO Cyber Academy Programme, aimed at underserved communities in South Africa to bridge the cyber skills divide.