Portnox wins third SC Award for authentication technology

Portnox has won the 2026 SC Award for Best Authentication Technology, its third consecutive year of recognition in the category.

The honour reflects demand for authentication tools that can manage a broader range of identities across corporate systems, as companies face rising pressure to control access for employees, devices, machines and AI systems alongside traditional user accounts.

Portnox was recognised for its cloud-based authentication and access platform, designed to apply policy controls across networks, applications and infrastructure. The platform combines network access control, zero trust network access, RADIUS and TACACS+ in a single interface.

The award was judged by a panel of industry leaders and members of the CyberRisk Alliance CISO community. Now in their 29th year, the SC Awards recognise products, organisations and individuals working in information security.

The recognition comes during a period of expansion for Portnox. The company recently raised USD $37.5 million in a Series B funding round and debuted on the Inc. 5000 list.

A Forrester Total Economic Impact study cited by Portnox found customers saw a 75% reduction in exposure to breach costs from addressable attacks. The company also said its approach can cut the time needed to access enterprise resources by up to 80%.

Authentication shift

Portnox's market position is tied to a broader shift in how businesses approach identity and access management. Security teams are increasingly expected to make access decisions based not only on who a user is, but also on device condition and the risk associated with a connection.

That has put more pressure on older systems built around passwords and on-premise hardware. Portnox argues that cloud-delivered access control can reduce operational complexity while giving security teams more central visibility across distributed environments.

"Winning this award reflects our team's commitment to helping enterprises modernize access security for a far more dynamic and complex environment," said Denny LeCompte, Chief Executive Officer of Portnox. "As attack surfaces expand and organizations need to secure not just human users, but also machine, device and emerging AI identities, legacy approaches are no longer enough. Portnox is helping enterprises move beyond password-dependent security toward continuous, cloud-native access control that strengthens protection, improves operational agility and creates a better user experience."

An awards judge highlighted the product's fit with existing enterprise security tools.

"Portnox Cloud achieves operational continuity, enterprise resilience, measurable risk reduction, and support for modern environments, devices, and users, closing gaps in traditional tools," said Dr. Ed Harris, Global Director of Information Security at Mauser Packaging Solutions and an SC Media Awards judge. "It seamlessly integrates with IAM, MDM, and EDR/XDR, enabling faster digital transformation."

Market context

Authentication has become a more prominent issue for corporate security buyers as organisations spread workloads across cloud services, offices and remote locations. At the same time, companies are trying to reduce dependence on passwords and shift to certificate-based and passwordless methods.

Vendors are also trying to tie identity decisions more closely to broader security operations. That includes monitoring device posture, isolating threats and quickly revoking access when risk changes.

CyberRisk Alliance, which oversees the awards, said judges focused on practical impact in real-world security environments.

"The SC Awards celebrate excellence and innovation in cybersecurity, recognizing the people and technologies driving real progress," said Kelley Damore, Chief Content Officer at CyberRisk Alliance. "Being named a winner is a powerful validation from peers and experts who understand what it takes to deliver real-world security impact."