Antonio Brandao wins 2026 ISACA Community Leadership Award

BCNET cybersecurity leader Antonio Brandao has received the 2026 ISACA Community Leadership Award through the ISACA Vancouver Chapter for sustained contributions to British Columbia’s cybersecurity community. The award highlights his mentoring, volunteer education and broader work supporting post-secondary institutions, professionals and newcomers in the field.

Why it matters: - Antonio Brandao’s recognition spotlights the role community leaders play in strengthening cybersecurity capacity across British Columbia. - The award underscores the value of mentorship, volunteer education and knowledge sharing in a sector facing rising risk and limited resources. - Brandao’s work connects higher education, security professionals, startups and newcomers, widening access to practical cybersecurity expertise.

What happened: - Antonio Brandao, director of cybersecurity services at BCNET, was named a recipient of the 2026 ISACA Community Leadership Award. - The ISACA Vancouver Chapter presented the award. - The recognition honors sustained, high-impact contributions to the professional cybersecurity community. - The announcement followed Brandao’s recent promotion at BCNET and his advisory role with Operation: Defend the North Vancouver 2026. - Operation: Defend the North Vancouver 2026 is a national cybersecurity exercise scheduled for October 2026.

The details: - BCNET is a not-for-profit shared services consortium serving 44 post-secondary member institutions across British Columbia. - Brandao works to strengthen cybersecurity readiness across the province’s post-secondary and research sector. - Brandao’s chapter involvement has included volunteer education, mentorship and knowledge sharing. - Brandao has spoken at BCNET CONNECT, BSides Vancouver, the TRU Privacy and Security Conference, VanTUG, siberX and ISACA Vancouver. - His talks have covered the dark web, threat intelligence, attacker behavior and red-team activity in higher education. - Brandao’s dark web presentations focus on how stolen credentials are traded. - Brandao mentors professionals through the ISACA Vancouver Mentorship Program. - Brandao supports people building careers in cybersecurity, governance, risk and assurance. - Brandao draws on his experience as an immigrant from Brazil to support newcomers entering the field. - Brandao has advised startups including Cyber Armour. - Brandao organized hands-on learning through BCNET CONNECT Capture-the-Flag competitions. - Brandao is a former Brazilian Army lieutenant colonel who once coordinated operations for 1,500 personnel. - Brandao spent seven years as a cybersecurity professor at Brazil’s Academia Militar das Agulhas Negras. - Brandao advanced internally at BCNET from SIEM Systems Administrator to Cybersecurity Architect to his current role. - The award nomination cited Brandao’s work strengthening cybersecurity, mentoring professionals, supporting newcomers, helping startups and making cybersecurity knowledge more accessible and actionable. - Brandao also advised the Operation: Defend the North Vancouver 2026 organizing committee ahead of the October exercise.

Between the lines: - The award reflects a broader shift in cybersecurity toward community-based capacity building, not just technical defense. - Brandao’s mix of military, academic and operational experience likely helps him translate security concepts into practical guidance for varied audiences. - His profile suggests BCNET is using senior technical leadership not only for internal readiness, but also for sector-wide education and outreach.

What’s next: - Brandao’s advisory work will continue ahead of the October 2026 Defend the North exercise. - His ongoing mentoring, speaking and education efforts are likely to extend his influence beyond BCNET and into the wider British Columbia cybersecurity community. - The award adds momentum to Brandao’s public-facing role in cybersecurity awareness and skills development.

The bottom line: - The ISACA award recognizes Brandao not just for technical leadership, but for building a stronger cybersecurity community across British Columbia.