Whitby man honoured to earn cybercrime commendation in London ceremony

Martin Smith, 70, founder of cyber security company The Security Awareness Special Interest Group, was awarded the honour in a recent ceremony at London’s historic Guildhall, for his “professionalism and dedication to cybersecurity, and his commitment to promoting policing’s cybercrime response to businesses across the UK”.

Mr Smith, who still works, full-time from home, said: “My Commendation means a lot to me, it’s a proper award.

"It reflects the efforts of so many others with whom I work in countering cybercrime in the UK and I accept it in that spirit.

"But the framed certificate gets to stay on my desk.”

The Commendation reads: “Martin has been a strong supporter of our work to improve the police response to cybercrime and encouraging businesses to be more engaged with policing.

Martin is founder of the influential Security Awareness Special Interest Group that supports the police in its fight against cybercrime.

"He has been a leading business advocate promoting closer partnership with police.

"We have benefited from his unrivalled network and standing within the industry to help build the credibility of the police cybercrime response over the last few years.

"Under his leadership, SASIG co-host and deliver our annual NPCC Business Cyber Conference and are active promoters of the Cyber Resilience Centres and Police CyberAlarm.

"Martin has been a powerful advocate on our behalf, and we thank him for his outstanding support.”