BCNET cybersecurity leader Antonio Brandao wins ISACA community award

Antonio Brandao, director of cybersecurity services at BCNET, has received the 2026 ISACA Community Leadership Award through the ISACA Vancouver Chapter. The honor recognizes his volunteer work, mentoring, and cybersecurity education across British Columbia’s post-secondary and security communities.

Why it matters: - The award spotlights a BCNET leader whose work reaches beyond one organization and into British Columbia’s higher education and cybersecurity ecosystem. - Brandao’s role matters because post-secondary institutions, researchers, and security teams are facing rising cyber risk with limited resources. - The recognition also underscores the value of mentorship, community education, and practical knowledge-sharing in cybersecurity.

What happened: - Antonio Brandao, director of cybersecurity services at BCNET, received the 2026 ISACA Community Leadership Award. - The ISACA Vancouver Chapter presented the award. - The award recognizes sustained, high-impact contributions to the professional cybersecurity community. - Brandao is a member of the ISACA Vancouver Chapter. - The announcement follows Brandao’s recent promotion at BCNET. - Brandao also serves as an advisor to Operation: Defend the North Vancouver 2026, 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 helps strengthen cybersecurity readiness across the province’s post-secondary and research sector. - His chapter involvement has included volunteer education, mentorship, and knowledge sharing across higher education and security communities. - Brandao has spoken at BCNET CONNECT, BSides Vancouver, the TRU Privacy and Security Conference, VanTUG, siberX, and ISACA Vancouver. - His presentations have covered the dark web, threat intelligence, attacker behaviour, and red-team activity in higher education. - His dark web sessions focus on how stolen credentials are traded and how audiences can understand the topic in practical terms. - Brandao mentors professionals in the ISACA Vancouver Mentorship Program. - His mentoring supports people building careers in cybersecurity, governance, risk, and assurance. - Brandao also draws on his experience as an immigrant from Brazil to support newcomers entering the field. - He has advised start-ups, including Cyber Armour. - He organized hands-on learning events such as the BCNET CONNECT Capture-the-Flag competitions. - Brandao previously served as a Brazilian Army Lieutenant Colonel and coordinated operations for 1,500 personnel. - He spent seven years as a cybersecurity professor at Brazil’s Academia Militar das Agulhas Negras. - At BCNET, he advanced internally from SIEM Systems Administrator to Cybersecurity Architect to director of cybersecurity services. - The nomination said Brandao represents community leadership in the fullest sense, citing his work strengthening cybersecurity, mentoring professionals, supporting newcomers, helping start-ups, and making cybersecurity knowledge more accessible and actionable.

Between the lines: - The award reflects how cybersecurity leadership is increasingly measured by community impact, not just technical operations. - Brandao’s background in military leadership, academia, and hands-on security work gives his public education efforts extra credibility. - His profile also suggests BCNET is using public-facing education and collaboration as part of its broader cybersecurity strategy.

What’s next: - Brandao is expected to continue advising Operation: Defend the North Vancouver 2026 ahead of the October exercise. - His community education work is likely to reach a wider public audience through that initiative. - He will also continue his mentoring, speaking, and cybersecurity outreach through BCNET and the ISACA Vancouver Chapter.

The bottom line: - Brandao’s award recognizes a cybersecurity leader whose influence extends well beyond his job title and into the province’s broader security community.