SIS is proud to announce that Chris Beggs, founder and Principal CEO (Global) of SIS, has been named Cyber Consultant of the Year (SME) at the 2026 Australian Cyber Awards.

The category recognises consultants whose work is central to the commercial success and growth of their organisation, and who contribute to Australia’s wider cyber and national security capability. The award acknowledges Chris’s role in establishing SIS as a specialist in industrial and operational technology (OT) cyber security, and his ongoing work to advance OT security across the businesses and critical infrastructure that rely on it.

SIS was also recognised as a finalist in two further categories on the night: Cyber Professional of the Year, Industries, Logistics and Critical Infrastructure, and GRC Provider of the Year. The three nominations, spanning consulting, professional and provider categories, reflect the breadth of the team’s capability and its standing across the sector.

The recognition also marks a wider shift in the field. Industrial and OT cyber security has long been treated as an extension of IT, applied to systems that were never designed with the same assumptions. The control systems, networks and infrastructure that keep essential services running call for distinct expertise and a different approach to risk. To see this work acknowledged on its own terms, rather than as a sub-category of IT, is a significant milestone for SIS and for the broader OT security community.

SIS extends its thanks to Cyber Daily and the judging panel, and congratulates every finalist and winner recognised across the evening.