EC-Council Honors Chief Risk Officer of Commercial Bank Of Ceylon PLC as CISO of the Year

(PRWEB) October 16, 2013

“It was an exciting day for all involved and we are very proud to have the opportunity to recognize such a dynamic and up-and-coming security professional,” says Jay Bavisi, President of EC-Council, of the awards ceremony at the Global CISO Forum. Sanath Manatunge, Chief Risk Officer of Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC was chosen from dozens of other top professionals nominated for the honor. EC-Council established the CISO of the Year award to recognize the pioneers of the information security industry. According to Bavisi “Recognizing the best information security executive at our annual Hacker Halted conference felt important to the industry as we all need to work together to secure the world’s organizations – from the front line technical people all the way up to the top of corporations and governments.”

Manatunge wasn’t the only executive to be recognized by EC-Council, however. There were an impressive list of finalists as well, including Justin Dolly, ServiceNow VP & Chief Information Security Officer; Nikesh Dubey, AGC Networks Inc. Senior Cybersecurity Specialist/Security Projects Manager; Edward    Goetz, Exelon Corporation VP & CISO; Muhammad Saleem, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia CISO; Gary Sheehan, ASMGi Chief Security Officer; and Paul Swarbrick; NATS, the UK National Air Traffic Service Chief Information Security Officer and Head of Cyber Security. Finalists traveled from around the world to attend the Forum and awards ceremony to participate in the keynotes, panels, and networking events taking place at the Global CISO Forum.

This global award recognizes Manatunge's pioneering efforts in introducing a dedicated, independent IT Risk Management Function at Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC in 2012. The Bank was the first local bank to undertake such an initiative which has contributed greatly in strengthening the information security and operational risk management strategy of the Bank. What set Manatunge apart from the pool of applicants was the amount of innovation he’s achieved in his short time at the Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC.

The largest private bank in Sri Lanka, Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC is the only Sri Lankan bank to be ranked among the world’s top 1,000 banks for three successive years. Recognized as the ‘Best Bank in Sri Lanka’ for 15 consecutive years by Global Finance Magazine, Commercial Bank has also won multiple awards as the country’s best bank from The Banker, FinanceAsia, Euromoney and Trade Finance magazines.

The Bank is highly reliant on its IT infrastructure and the information it contains for its day-to-day operations as well as for its long-term strategies. Consequently, risk management plays a critical role in protecting the Bank’s information assets, as well as processes from IT-related risk. Manatunge has been able to establish the Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC as a role model to other Banks by setting a higher benchmark in the areas of information security and risk management that will contribute to the financial services industry as a whole. Manatunge was nominated for this recognition by Boshan Dayartne, the CEO of CICRA Holdings.

About the EC-Council CISO Program:    
EC-Council’s CISO Program (http://www.eccouncil.org/ciso/) has three components: CISO Events, the Certified CISO (C|CISO), and CISO Resources – a repository for white papers and articles geared toward a CISO crowd. EC-Council’s CISO Events are invitation only and geared specifically for high-level, executive information security professionals. Combining keynotes with panel discussions, the events are opportunities for CISOs from around the world to hash out the trends and challenges of information security among their peers. The C|CISO is a certification recognizing an individual’s cumulative experience and expertise in executive information security management. Overseen by a board of seasoned and distinguished professionals, the C|CISO Program has certified over 700 IS executives from around the world.

For more information about EC-Council’s CISO Program, please visit http://www.eccouncil.org/ciso/

About EC-Council
The International Council of E-Commerce Consultants (EC-Council) is a member-based organization that certifies individuals in various e-business and security skills. EC Council is the owner and developer of the world-famous E-Council Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator (C|HFI), Certified Security Analyst (ECSA), License Penetration Tester (LPT) programs, and various others offered in over 60 countries around the globe. These certifications are recognized worldwide and have received endorsements from various government agencies including the US Federal Government via the Montgomery GI Bill, and the US Government National Security Agency (NSA) and the Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS) certifying EC-Council’s Certified Ethical Hacking (CEH), Network Security Administrator (ENSA), Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator (CHFI), Disaster Recovery Professional (EDRP), Certified Security Analyst (E|CSA) and Licensed Penetration Tester (LPT) program for meeting the 4011, 4012, 4013A, 4014, 4015 and 4016 training standards for information security professionals and most recently EC-Council has received accreditation from the American National standards Institute (ANSI).

For more information about EC-Council, please visit http://www.eccouncil.org

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