Women in Security Awards Aotearoa: The Winners

Recognising excellence in security. We celebrate the winners and finalists of the inaugural Women in Security Awards Aotearoa.

Indigenous Awareness

Tash Bettridge is a strong and enthusiastic advocate for greater access to technology, the implementation of it to disadvantaged communities, and cyber security training for indigenous Maori.

Tash has a strong connection with her whakapapa and recognises the importance of connecting Indigenous people with technology through an understanding of traditional Maori tikanga.

Tash has worked tirelessly for diversity in the NZ Cyber Sy landscape, most recently participating and presenting at the annual WiSy seminars. Tash also co-established an online community, New Zealand Network for Women in Security (for physical and virtual meetups).

In doing this, she has woven traditional Maori manaakitanga that has meant typically introverted people, have greater access to resources and are now regular contributors to content and support.

Educator

Ngaire Kelaher PSP, CPP has worked hard on her professional development in order to ensure her students gain as much theoretical knowledge with practical experience as possible.

Ngaire is the first woman, and first Maori woman, to lead the New Zealand Chapter of ASIS International. Recently, Ngaire has facilitated presentations by global security thought leaders and sector influencers to improve access to knowledge and learning programmes.

Ngaire is one of very few double ASIS certified professionals, and the only woman to hold both CPP and PSP designations in New Zealand. She has delivered training and presentations across both private and public sectors.

Ngaire’s understanding of training systems and processes mitigate the risk of low completion rates typically associated with low paying jobs, with many of her students over the years having transitioned into senior operational and management roles.

Ngaire Kelaher

Thought leader

Kendra Ross makes it her business to keep up-to-date on national and international security events and trends so that she can share her learned knowledge with others in NZ and around the globe.

Kendra is always available to help businesses and individuals. Money is not her motivator. She believes that a cyber safe NZ is possible with collective participation. Kendra is strongly motivated to see people succeed.

Kendra is the founder of First Tuesday and has provided her energy and enthusiasm to information security for over 12 years through this group. She is a board member of CERTNZ and an active advocate for personal information security, sharing cyber smart tips to help all New Zealanders.

She is a strong advocate for cyber security as part of tertiary education and has led the formation of Project Wednesday, a networking group for students and people new to cyber security.

Kendra Ross

Consultant

Sai Honig CISSP, CCSP is a recent recipient of the IFSEC Global Top Influencer in Security in the Cyber Security category. Originally from the U.S., Sai has worked in a variety of fields following achieving a BSc degree in Aerospace Engineering.

Sai has volunteered across multiple organisations, including the Grameen Foundation. Sai’s work with the Foundation culminated in her being the recipient of the U.S. President’s Volunteer Service Award in 2013.

Sai has demonstrable experience leading teams, advising C-Suite executives and boards on cyber security best practice, including establishing and delivering child awareness campaigns in New Zealand through ISC2. Sai is also a member of Cloud Security Alliance APAC Research Advisory Council.

Sai has served as a director of ISC2, co-established the New Zealand Network for Women in Security, in addition to becoming a director of the Black Cybersecurity Association.

Rising Star

In the short time since founding Security Lit in February 2020, Ankita Dhakar has built a strong team and acquired noteworthy key clients with a revenue of 10+ million, and a vision to go global.

Ankita inspires everyone she works with, demonstrating by example that you can achieve your goals by believing in your vision, trusting your team, and giving back to your community.

Only 27 years old, Ankita founded her company on the values of commitment, integrity and collaboration, and she lives those values daily.

Ankita has built a cyber security company despite having neither the technical background nor formal education, and she has lived in New Zealand for just five years. Far from letting these factors stop her, she has a plan and vision to create an environment in NZ where businesses and individuals don’t need to worry about their digital assets.

Engineer

Grace Lee is a Security Engineer and Penetration Tester at Cyber Research. Her role involves planning and implementing security measures for information systems and computer networks.

Grace has been working in the security Industry in Aotearoa for the past four years and she holds a number of security certifications including OSCP which only a few women in this country have.

Grace is adept at all aspects of SOC operations including threat hunting, SIEM operation and management. She is also regularly involved in penetration testing and red team projects.

Coming to New Zealand from Korea, Grace excelled as a student at the University of Canterbury. She is an active member of the New Zealand Network for Women in Security and Tech Women New Zealand where she has presented her security research.

Executive

Natasha Hallett is Senior Advisor Maritime National Security at Maritime NZ, and she is acknowledged for her dedication and commitment to improving maritime security both in New Zealand and the Pacific.

The international relationships Natasha has built up have provided ports in NZ exposure to agencies such as the US Coastguard and Pacific Islands, resulting in improving their overall knowledge of security risks and controls.

Natasha has inspired the Port Security personnel she works with to aim for a higher standard of Maritime Security, and to work with the other agencies in this space to help achieve better results.

The benefit from Natasha’s work is across multiple agencies, regions and port companies. The relationships she has built have not only benefitted the New Zealand ports, but also in the Pacific, and further afield as the work she does is acknowledged by other agencies and countries.

Natasha is committed to lead from the front, responsible for bringing together international security agencies that are traditionally lead at senior level by men though the development of trust and integrity. The positive feedback and support she has from these agencies is unheralded.