ISPA UK Unveils Internet Hero and Villain Shortlist for 2017 Awards

The Internet Service Providers Association UK (ISPA) has today published a short-list of people and companies that could win this year’s annual Internet Hero and Internet Villain awards, which will be held at Café de Paris in London’s West End on 13th July 2017.

At this point I must admit to a certain degree of shock because my own name has been added among the nominations for Internet Hero, although I strongly feel as if Marcus Hutchins (he found the killswitch for the WannaCry malware) and all of the others short-listed are far more deserving. Generally I don’t get time for such events so hopefully I’m not the winner 🙂 .

Meanwhile in the lair of Internet Villains we find the likes of President Erdogan (Turkey), who has been busy cracking down on online freedom of expression, and the Valuation Office Agency (+HM Treasury) for “adding to the cost of broadband rollout with its excessive business rates revaluation.”

Nicholas Lansman, ISPA Secretary General, said:

“The Internet Hero and Villain awards are a fun and light-hearted way of recognising the great and good (and the not so good) in the Internet Industry. With Brexit looming, the UK’s thriving digital economy has never been more important, which is why we at ISPA are so pleased to recognise those who enable and drive the UK’s digital economy.

The rather less coveted “Internet Villain” award is also a valuable opportunity to look at those who hinder this vital industry. We at ISPA look forward to finding out who will win on the evening of July 13th.”

The 2017 Hero Shortlist

* Marcus Hutchins, @MalwareTechBlog – for finding the WannaCry killswitch, shining a light on the tech community’s fight against cyber crime

* Mark Jackson, the editor of ISP Review – for providing a helpful, user-friendly guide to the ISP market for the last 18 years for consumers and industry alike

* National Cyber Security Centre – for stepping up Government’s cyber security capabilities

* Global Network Initiative & Access Now – for an international campaign highlighting the huge economic cost and social impact of internet shutdowns around the world

The 2017 Villain Shortlist

* WannaCry hackers – for the ransomware attack that hit a fifth of NHS trusts

* Treasury and the Valuation Office Agency – for adding to the cost of broadband rollout with its excessive business rates revaluation

* Russia’s communications regulator – for threatening to ban encrypted messaging apps

* President Erdogan – for cracking down on online freedom of expression, including blocking Wikipedia and social media