2026 SANS Difference Makers Awards

Help us acknowledge the unsung heroes in cybersecurity

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2026

Tuesday, December 15 in Washington, DC

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Who are the Difference Makers?

The SANS Difference Makers Awards recognize cybersecurity professionals who go above and beyond, including practitioners, educators, researchers, and community builders whose work quietly shapes the field. Nominations are open to the entire community. Nominees do not need to be a SANS customer, student, or instructor.

Categories We're Recognizing in 2026

Community Champion of the Year

Recognizes a practitioner who has built or grown something the community now depends on, such as a meetup, mentorship program, open forum, or body of free work.

Innovation of the Year (Open-Source or Product Tool)

Recognizes a tool, open-source project, or technical innovation that changed how defenders do the work, not just how people talk about doing it.

Rising Star of the Year

Recognizes an early-career practitioner who is already producing work that senior professionals pay attention to.

Practitioner of the Year

Awarded across four disciplines: Cyber Defender, ICS/OT Defender, Red Teamer or Offensive Operator, and DFIR/Threat Intelligence Forensicator.

Media Creator of the Year (Podcast, Livestream or Book)

Recognizes a person creating technical content the field actually returns to.

CISO of the Year

Recognizes a security leader whose program holds up under scrutiny, not just in a press release.

Cybersecurity Company of the Year

Recognizes an organization the community trusts to do right by its customers and the field at large.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Recognizes a career's worth of contribution to cybersecurity and the people in it.

An Evening of Recognition

Each December, the cybersecurity community gathers to recognize its own. The Difference Makers ceremony brings nominees, past winners, SANS instructors, and practitioners from across the field for an evening built around the people doing the work, not the companies marketing to them.

Date

Tuesday, December 15, 2026

Venue

Westin Washington, D.C. Downtown, Potomac Ballroom

Details

In-person ceremony, followed by an after-hours reception in the Magnolia Room

Voting

Public community vote plus advisory board review

A Night Built for the Community, by the Community

December 15 · Washington, D.C.

The ceremony takes place in the Potomac Ballroom at the Westin Washington, D.C. Downtown. After the awards are presented, the evening moves into the Magnolia Room for an informal after-hours reception, where nominees, past winners, and practitioners get to connect.

DMA 2025 attendee seated table crowd photo

Watch the 2025 Ceremony

Experience the highlights below, including the award presentations, the moments nobody saw coming, and a room full of peers committed to strengthening the cybersecurity community.