The Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA) has recently announced at the 19th Annual UK Internet Industry Awards – colloquially dubbed the “ISPAs” – the Internet Hero Award went to Marcus Hutchins for his role in finding the “kill switch” for the WannaCry ransomware that affected hundreds of thousands of computers earlier this year. He tweets under the Twitter handle @MalwareTechBlog. The less coveted award, the Internet Villain Award, went to President Erdogan of Turkey for his role in “cracking down on online freedom of expression, including blocking Wikipedia and social media”.ISPs that were also honoured at the included Hyperoptic, Storm Internet, Talk Straight, Zen Internet, Luminet, Telappliant, Wifinity, Linksys, Kemp Little and Gigaclear.
ISPA Secretary General Nicholas Lansman said: “I would like to congratulate all the winners at this year’s ISPA Awards. There was strong competition this year, and we saw some real innovation and commitment to development among the nominations. The Hero and Villain Awards are a bit of fun, but – as ever – showcase today’s pressing issues online. Unsurprisingly, cyber security and the encroachment of government censorship online were two issues voters felt passionately about. Here at ISPA we’re pleased to say that they’re two issues we’ve been addressing with our members for a long time, and will, of course, continue to do so.”
A huge congratulations to those awarded!