From AI Hype to Cybersecurity Governance: Cybersecurity Excellence Awards Reflect Shift in Industry Focus

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A Shift in Focus: Cybersecurity Excellence Awards Nominees Emphasize Governance Over AI Hype

The Cybersecurity Excellence Awards has released early insights into this year’s nominations, revealing a significant shift in the focus of cybersecurity vendors. Rather than emphasizing artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, nominees are now highlighting governance frameworks, identity architecture, and measurable accountability.

According to an analysis of over 200 submissions, the fastest-growing categories in the 2026 program are those related to autonomous systems, which are moving from pilot to production at a rapid pace. However, this shift has introduced new risks, including the deployment of shadow AI systems that operate outside of security oversight and autonomous agents that act unpredictably without adequate safeguards.

Emphasis on Oversight Mechanisms and Governance Structures

In response, nominees are emphasizing oversight mechanisms, governance structures, and operational controls designed to close the gap between AI adoption and enterprise security readiness. This trend is reflected in the findings of independent research reports, including the 2026 CISO AI Risk Report, the 2026 Cloud Security Report, and the 2026 Zero Trust Report.

Divide in the Agentic AI Space

The nominations highlight a divide in the agentic AI space, with vendors focusing on either autonomous platforms or governance frameworks designed to constrain and monitor them. Identity-related nominations are also on the rise, with an emphasis on identity lineage capabilities that track the origin, context, and lifecycle of machine identities across hybrid environments.

Data Security Reasserts Itself as a Critical Foundation

Data security has reasserted itself as a critical foundation for AI risk management, with nominees focusing on visibility into AI-driven data access, cross-cloud governance, and policy enforcement.

“The widening governance gap around AI, identity, and data has been a concern for over a year,” said Holger Schulze, founder of Cybersecurity Insiders. “This year’s nominations confirm that vendors are responding, but the market is still in its early stages. The vendors who succeed will be those who can demonstrate effective governance frameworks under pressure.”

Submissions for the 2026 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards are open until February 21. The awards program, now in its second decade, recognizes companies, products, and professionals advancing cybersecurity worldwide.