SC Awards is a annual industry award recognizing excellence in Technology. Organized by SC Media / CyberRisk Alliance, it covers the North America region. Established in 1998.
The SC Awards are run by SC Media and its parent CyberRisk Alliance and are, by the organizer's account, cybersecurity's most prestigious awards program — now in their 29th year (2026 edition), making the program one of the longest-running honors in information security. Entries are evaluated by an independent panel of industry experts drawn from CyberRisk Alliance's community, including CISOs, Women in Cyber members, and other practitioners, who judge on innovation, leadership, and impact.
The 2026 program spans 33 specialty categories grouped into Trust Awards (products and services), Excellence Awards (companies and leaders), and a newer Resilient CISO Award for transformational security leaders. Finalists are announced virtually in early March, and winners are revealed at an in-person reception held alongside the RSA Conference in San Francisco. For vendors, being an SC Awards finalist or winner is a widely used credibility signal in a crowded security market — SC Media states the program reaches an audience of 1.2 million cybersecurity professionals.
Entry is open to vendors, service providers, and professionals with current North American (U.S. and Canada) operations across commercial, government, educational, and nonprofit sectors. Published fees are $400 per entry at the early-bird rate and $625 at the standard rate. Nominations for the 2026 cycle opened October 15, 2025 and closed January 26, 2026 — plan for a mid-October open and late-January close. Strong entries lead with measurable customer outcomes and third-party validation rather than feature lists, since judging panels are practitioner-heavy.