For over 25 years, the SC Awards Europe have stood as the longest-running and most prestigious cybersecurity competition. The awards, organised by SC Media, are the definitive awards platform for honouring the dedicated community of people and organisations who keep our digital world safe.

The final entry deadline is almost here, but the window to join the industry elite is not yet closed. Remember to enter before the SC Awards Europe Final Entry Deadline on 26 February -- this is the final chance to enter!

Download the entry kit here or start your entry now. Need more information? Check out key entry information here and review the awards categories to see where you may fit.

In a digital world where an unseen war is waged every second, this is your final opportunity to stand among the defenders on the walls and the innovators building our shields.

What We Celebrate: Innovation, Excellence and Leadership

The SC Awards Europe celebrate the most innovative solutions, teams and leaders in the industry. This is the ultimate celebration of the people who protect us all in one of the most complex markets globally.

We honour those who demonstrate outstanding leadership, innovation and excellence in their relentless mission, recognising contributions across our wide range of categories including Excellence Awards for Threat Solutions and Industry Leadership and Professional Awards like the Rising Star and CSO/CISO of the Year.

Our judging panel is made up of industry leaders from a variety of backgrounds, each bringing a wealth of expertise and knowledge in their respective fields.

And you can be a part of it! Judge recommendations are still being accepted. Do you or a colleague want to join the panel?

You can still join the judging panel or nominate a colleague via our nomination form. You’ll be in excellent company! Join cybersecurity luminaries like ISC2 CISO Jon France, our chair of judges and others, including Bhanuprakash Madupati, technology leader, Minnesota Department of Corrections; Kam Karaji, Director of Cyber Security and Risk Management, National Football League; Katy Anton, Director Cybersecurity Architecture, JP Morgan, and so many more.

The SC Awards judging process is designed to ensure fairness and credibility in reviewing all entries. The judging process operates in two stages.

In the first stage, each judge reviews each entry independently. This stage allows for each judge to draw on their own expertise to evaluate the entry against established criteria from the entry kit. Each entry is reviewed by a minimum of five (5) judges and an average is taken per entry to ensure this is a rigorous process.

All judges are asked to disclose if they have any vested interest in any of the entries. Where a judge has a vested interest, this is accounted for and all scores are reviewed for unfair bias.

In the second stage, our lead panel meets to review the results from the independent scoring and to verify the winners. This stage is crucial in maintaining the integrity of the process, as the judges take a more holistic view of the entries.

You can see the confirmed 2026 jurors here. If you'd like to get involved by joining the judging panel, please nominate yourself or a colleague via this nomination form.

For more information about this, or if you have any additional questions that aren’t addressed in the entry kit, please contact our team.

Don’t forget: If you’re planning to enter into five (5) or more categories, you will receive a discount of £100 +VAT per entry as long as there are five or more entries submitted upon checkout. The discount will automatically be applied. For more information about this, or if you have any additional questions that aren’t addressed in the entry kit, please contact our team.

Sharon Florentine Editorial Director

Sharon Florentine is the editorial director for CyberRisk Alliance’s Channel Brands and acting editorial director for SC UK. She is responsible for setting strategy and editorial direction and developing content for news, features, analysis and other written content, moderates live webcasts, and oversees research projects. Sharon has previously held key editorial, content and leadership positions at DevOps.com, Security Boulevard, CIO.com, Ziff Davis Enterprise, and CRN, among others.