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Cybersecurity Excellence Awards Reveal Nomination Shift from AI Hype to Governance Execution

Washington DC, USA, Mon, Feb 17, 2026, CyberNewswire

EBy Eric WallaceFeb 17, 20262 min read

Washington DC, USA, Mon, Feb 17, 2026, CyberNewswire

The Cybersecurity Excellence Awards have released early nomination insights for the 2026 program, indicating a shift in focus from broad AI positioning to governance frameworks, identity architecture, and measurable accountability.

Compiled by Cybersecurity Insiders, the analysis is based on over 200 submissions received in anticipation of the RSA Conference 2026.

Agentic AI categories are among the fastest-growing segments of the 2026 program.

Autonomous systems are transitioning from pilot to production stages more rapidly than governance frameworks can adapt, introducing risks such as shadow AI deployments and autonomous agents acting unpredictably without sufficient safeguards.

Nominations reflect these challenges, emphasizing oversight mechanisms, governance structures, and operational controls designed to bridge the gap between AI adoption and enterprise security readiness.

These trends align with findings from Cybersecurity Insiders’ independent research portfolio, including the 2026 CISO AI Risk Report, the 2026 Cloud Security Report, and the 2026 Zero Trust Report ( https://www.cybersecurity-insiders.com/research-library/ ).

Agentic AI and Governance: Nominations are distributed across platform and governance categories, including autonomous SOC copilots, ISO 42001-aligned governance frameworks, and human-in-the-loop safeguards. Submissions include platforms deploying autonomous agents and solutions designed to govern, constrain, and monitor them. Identity Lineage: Identity-related nominations have grown year-over-year, with increased participation in non-human identity (NHI) and identity security posture management (ISPM) categories. Submissions emphasize identity lineage capabilities to trace the origin, context, and lifecycle of machine identities across hybrid environments. Data Security Foundation: Nominations across DSPM, governance, and security data layer categories position data security as a foundational element of AI risk management, focusing on visibility into AI-driven data access, cross-cloud governance, and policy enforcement.

Compiled by Cybersecurity Insiders, the analysis is based on over 200 submissions received in anticipation of the RSA Conference 2026.
Eric Wallace · Thehackingpost

“Our research has documented the widening governance gap around AI, identity, and data for more than a year. Agentic AI is moving from pilot to production, and governance frameworks are still catching up,” said Holger Schulze, founder of Cybersecurity Insiders.

“This year’s nominations confirm that vendors are now responding, but the market is still early. The vendors who win will be the ones who can prove their governance frameworks work under pressure.”

Submissions for the 2026 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards remain open through Fri, Feb 21, 2026, in advance of the RSA Conference 2026 at https://cybersecurity-excellence-awards.com/

About the Cybersecurity Excellence Awards

Now in its second decade, the Cybersecurity Excellence Awards are a global recognition program honoring companies, products, and professionals advancing cybersecurity worldwide.

Presented by Cybersecurity Insiders, the awards highlight innovation, leadership, and operational impact across the cybersecurity ecosystem.

Learn more at https://cybersecurity-excellence-awards.com/

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Cybersecurity Insiders is an independent research and strategic intelligence platform serving over 600,000 cybersecurity professionals globally.

Its research analyzes the performance of enterprise security strategies under operational pressure, identifying measurable gaps between intent and real-world risk exposure.

Through data-driven analysis and CISO-informed insight, Cybersecurity Insiders informs security decision-making, vendor evaluation, and industry benchmarking.

More information is available at https://www.cybersecurity-insiders.com/

holger.schulze@cybersecurity-insiders.com

Based on reporting by Cyber Security News.

AI transparency. This article was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence and published under human editorial oversight. AI systems can make mistakes. Read how we use AI (EU AI Act, Art. 50).
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