PRESS RELEASE: Cambridge Global CEO Jake Braun Honored with Multiple Cybersecurity Excellence Awards
March 6, 2018 (Washington, DC) – This past month CEO of Cambridge Global Advisors (CGA) Jake Braun was named recipient of three awards for his work in raising awareness around cyber threats facing U.S. democracy and election infrastructure, such as those attempted by Russia during the 2016 elections.
One of the cyber industry’s most coveted programs, the 2018 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards annually honor individuals and companies that demonstrate leadership in information security. With over 400 entries, Braun was nominated and won respective honors in all categories for which he was nominated:
Cybersecurity Consultant of the Year (Bronze)
The Cybersecurity Excellence Awards specifically recognized Braun’s work with DEFCON – the world’s largest, longest-running hacker conference – where Braun led the creation of DEFCON’s first-ever Voting Machine Hacking Village. The Village assembled more than 25 pieces of election equipment including voting machines and pollbooks still widely used in U.S. elections today and made them accessible to thousands of hackers who were encouraged to test the technology and expose cyber vulnerabilities for educational purposes.
Commenting on the honors, Braun said: “I am deeply proud of these awards, which, to me, demonstrate that election security isn’t just a hacker thing. The 2018 elections are getting underway, and it’s critical we approach this issue as the national security concern it is. We must do all we can to protect the vote – and our democracy – from foreign enemies that want to sow discord and distrust.”
Beyond his work with DEFCON, Braun has partnered with institutions and organizations including the University of Chicago and the Atlantic Council to focus on forwarding of policies and best practices that will help election administrators better safeguard the vote from cyberattacks in 2018 and beyond. In October, Braun worked with the Atlantic Council to release an award-winning report about the DEFCON Voting Village’s findings. This report is still being used by U.S. national security leaders to inform new policies to secure the critical infrastructure of the U.S. election system.
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Cambridge Global Advisors is a strategic advisory services firm with deep expertise at the global, national, state and local levels. CGA assists clients in the management, development, and implementation of their programs, practices, and policies – with a special emphasis on homeland and cybersecurity. CGA works with government, non-profit organizations, and Fortune 500 companies to provide consulting and project management services as well as public diplomacy, stakeholder engagement, and communications. To learn more, visit www.cambridgeglobal.com or follow on Twitter at @camb_global