SOFTSWISS Group CSO Evgeny Zaretskov wins Top Global CISOs Award 2026

Evgeny Zaretskov, group chief security officer at SOFTSWISS, has won a Top Global CISOs Award 2026, the company announced. The award is organised annually by Cyber Defense Magazine and forms part of the 14th annual Cyber Defense Awards. The company said Zaretskov was selected from thousands of candidates worldwide.

According to the company announcement, the judging panel recognised Zaretskov's work in translating complex risks for senior management, preventing security breaches and data loss, meeting regulatory requirements and building risk management programmes with measurable impact. The company said he leads the global cybersecurity strategy for a technology ecosystem serving more than 1,500 brands worldwide.

The company said the award is Zaretskov's second international cybersecurity recognition this year, after his inclusion in the 2026 HotTopics Global CISO 100 list. The Cyber Defense Awards recognise CISOs as first responders in cyberspace, protecting organisations from cybercriminals, cyberterrorists, malicious insiders and nation-state attacks while managing risk and compliance demands, according to the announcement.

Gary Miliefsky, editor of Cyber Defense Magazine, said the magazine was pleased to name Zaretskov a winner among a small group of information security professionals in the 2026 awards, and that winners would be announced at CyberDefenseCon 2026 on 20 October.

Zaretskov said cybersecurity creates the conditions for businesses to operate with confidence, and that in iGaming reliability begins with security. He said the recognition reflects his teams' commitment to building a secure and resilient technology environment that partners can trust.

SOFTSWISS said security underpins business continuity, operational resilience and long-term partner trust, which it described as central values of its positioning as a strategic partner for operators in regulated markets. The company also cited its iGaming Trends 2027 report, which it said shows compliance increasingly being integrated into product architecture and reliability increasingly defining the choice of a technology partner. The report is available for free download, according to the announcement.