Ok, so you’re staring down that Fortress Cybersecurity Awards form and wondering how to boil months—maybe even years—of solid security work into a few paragraphs. The kind that won’t just get skimmed and filed under “meh,” but actually get read, understood, and maybe even celebrated.
The truth? You don’t need flash. You don’t need some “thought leadership” voice. You just need to say what happened, why it mattered, and how it helped someone stay more secure.
Here’s how to do exactly that.
Get to the Point—Fast
Judges don’t need a slow ramp-up. No origin stories. No market trend recaps. They already know the space, the threats, and the jargon.
What they don’t know yet is what you actually did.
- What specific problem did you address?
- Who experienced that problem?
- What changed after you showed up?
For instance, if your tech stopped a wave of credential-stuffing attacks for a mid-size bank, just say that. Plain language is always better than “our innovative platform proactively mitigates authentication risk vectors.” Cut the fluff and give them facts.
Show the Numbers, Even If They Aren’t Wildly Impressive
Metrics make things real. Even modest numbers help judges understand what success looked like.
- Cut incident response time by 35%? Say it.
- Detected 92% of phishing attempts pre-inbox? Definitely mention it.
- Reduced the average threat dwell time from 14 hours to 4? That’s golden.
Even if you’re working with internal data or pilot numbers, real results—ones you can back up—land better than generic impact statements. Nobody needs inflated stats. They want believable outcomes that make sense in context.
Drop in a Real-World Example
People remember stories way more than bullet points. Even the most technical judges appreciate when you put your results into a real-life situation.
Did a school district avoid downtime after a ransomware scare because your platform kicked in? Did a financial services client cut SOC alert fatigue in half because of your dashboard redesign?
Anonymize the name if you need to. Just paint the picture. Context builds credibility. Judges start to visualize the tech in action, not just on paper.
Be Clear About What Sets You Apart
Ok, so everyone’s using “real-time detection” and “AI-driven insights” in their descriptions. Judges see those terms way too often, and they don’t move the needle unless they’re tied to something specific.
Ask yourself: what are you doing differently from the rest? Even small things can stand out if you can explain them well.
Maybe your platform identifies MFA fatigue patterns in a unique way. Maybe you’ve integrated your threat model into a legacy system most vendors avoid. Say that. That’s the stuff that matters—and it doesn't need to sound fancy.
Keep It Straightforward
Skip the jargon salad. Skip the stuff that sounds like it was ripped from your Series A pitch deck. Judges don’t need to be sold to—they just need a clear view of what the tech is, what it solved, and how it worked.
- Don’t say “seamless integration with enterprise ecosystems.”
- Say “worked with our client’s old SIEM and didn’t require new training.”
They’ll thank you for it—and remember it longer.
See What Actually Helps Win (For Real)
So, here’s the move that most folks miss: we’ve already laid out what helps nominations rise to the top. We gathered direct feedback from judges, broke it down into clear traits, and published it in one guide.
No buzzwords. No filler. Just actual advice based on how real winners wrote their entries.
📥 Download the full Fortress Cybersecurity Awards nomination guide and see what makes a submission land. If you’re serious about winning, it’s absolutely worth the scroll.