SANS Instructor and ICS Expert Jason Christopher Named Cybersecurity Leader of the Year by EnergySec

BETHESDA, Md., Aug. 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- SANS Institute, the global leader in cyber security training and certifications, today announced that SANS certified instructor Jason Christopher has been named the recipient of EnergySec's Cybersecurity Leader of the Year Award for 2019. Mr. Christopher was recognized by the Industrial Control System (ICS) community and staff at EnergySec for his exceptional contributions to the ICS security community.

Jason plays a significant role in Axio's Energy & Utilities business where he is instrumental in providing the senior leadership of leading organizations with actionable visibility into their cyber risk. In doing so he enables the leadership team to focus on the right decisions to drive their businesses forward. He also successfully led Axio's efforts in the area of cybersecurity metrics, and was the lead architect for the Public Power Cybersecurity Scorecard, providing nearly 2,000 utilities with access to an online cybersecurity measurement and improvement platform. Prior to Axio, Mr. Christopher was the federal technical lead at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), where he managed efforts on smart grid security standards and the Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) version 5 rulemaking. He regularly shares insights and best practices while teaching the SANS ICS456: Essentials for NERC Critical Infrastructure Protection course, enabling students to achieve the first, and only, independent certification for NERC CIP expertise via the GCIP (GIAC Critical Infrastructure Protection) certification.

"The energy sector is the most critical lifeline for our society, and I am lucky to work in the awesome community that protects it," said Jason Christopher. "It's humbling to be recognized by a group of peers, especially one with a mission like EnergySec's, and I hope to continue to make a difference for the industry and support meaningful projects across our sector."

Jason is the Chief Technology Officer at Axio, a leading cyber risk management SaaS company. Bringing to bear over 15 years of cybersecurity and ICS security experience, Jason led the research for cybersecurity metrics and information assurance at the Electric Power Research Institute, and was the technical lead for Cybersecurity for Energy Delivery Systems Operations program at the US Department of Energy, where he managed the nation's risk management and incident response capabilities for the sector, including the Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model program and other research efforts with utilities, national labs, and energy companies.

For a schedule of upcoming SANS ICS:456 Essentials for NERC Critical Infrastructure Protection courses being taught by Christopher, visit: https://www.sans.org/instructors/jason-christopher

About EnergySec
The Energy Sector Security Consortium, Inc. (EnergySec) is a United States 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation formed to support energy sector organizations with the security of their critical technology infrastructures. Through our membership program, we support collaborative initiatives and projects that help enhance the cybersecurity resiliency of these organizations.

About SANS Institute
The SANS Institute was established in 1989 as a cooperative research and education organization. SANS is the most trusted and, by far, the largest provider of cyber security training and certification to professionals at governments and commercial institutions world-wide. Renowned SANS instructors teach over 60 different courses at more than 200 live cyber security training events as well as online. GIAC, an affiliate of the SANS Institute, validates a practitioner's qualifications via over 35 hands-on, technical certifications in cyber security. The SANS Technology Institute, a regionally accredited independent subsidiary, offers master's degrees in cyber security. SANS offers a myriad of free resources to the InfoSec community including consensus projects, research reports, and newsletters; it also operates the Internet's early warning system--the Internet Storm Center. At the heart of SANS are the many security practitioners, representing varied global organizations from corporations to universities, working together to help the entire information security community. (https://www.sans.org)

SOURCE SANS Institute