CSO Awards UK
The annual CSO30 and Next CSO awards are an acknowledgment and celebration of the initiatives developed by Security and IT professionals.
The CSO 30 Awards recognises UK security professionals – including CSOs, CISOs, Heads of Security, anyone involved in security projects or equivalent – within the UK for demonstrating outstanding business value, innovation and thought leadership within their organisation.
Next CSO Awards is the annual awards and mentoring programme helping aspiring security managers to develop their careers, build their network and improve their skillsets.
How does it work?
Award submissions can be made directly or on behalf of an individual, such as from a line manager or senior executive (for example, an organisation’s CISO or CSO).
All entries will be reviewed by an expert judging panel and the winners will be announced at the live awards ceremony, which will be co-located with the CSO 30 Awards UK on 27 November 2025 at the Intercontinental Park Lane.
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How to apply for the 2025 CSO Awards UK
Application process:
Enter yourself, or apply on behalf of one of your team members.
The application process has been redesigned to attract diverse candidates through a new platform.
The awards submission is made up of questions for the applicant to share the achievements of the organisation and teams. Not all questions need to be answered, but they can be used as a guide to share what has been achieved. As always, we intend to showcase great examples of cybersecurity initiatives, IT projects, and customer benefits through technology.
The CSO Award winners will be invited to an awards dinner on Thursday, 27th November 2025.
Detailed steps on how to enter:
- Register an account.
- Start your entry (save it in progress).
- Submit your entry to be judged.
- You can return to your entry to make any changes yourself (up until the Entry Deadline: Thursday, 4 September 2025).
Application criteria:
To be eligible to apply for the CSO Awards, applicants must be the most senior Cybersecurity, Security decision-maker within their organisation. The applicant must also have been at their current organisation for one year up until the date CSO Award submissions open.
Consultants, IT vendors, software/hardware suppliers and market research or information services companies will not be eligible for the CSO Awards. Additionally, individuals currently in the 2025 NextCIO or 2024 NextCSO cohorts will not be considered.
Applicants must also be living and working in the UK and be available for the second stage of the application process.
Applications will not be published, and only shared with the judging commitee.
2025 Judges
