HackWednesday

Awards & Recognition

Nominate someone who deserves to be recognized.

HackWednesday wants to surface the people whose work actually moved security forward, especially the builders, responders, researchers, and quiet defenders who are often overlooked.

Start a nominationView nominee tracks
An editorial recognition board for nominations and awards.
Use nominations to spotlight people whose work improved security in durable, practical ways.

Nominee tracks

What kinds of contributions we want to recognize.

Security Pioneer

People whose work shaped internet security, AI security, cryptography, privacy, or the public-defense ecosystem over time.

AI Security Builder

Researchers, founders, and engineers building safer model infrastructure, agent guardrails, secure tooling, or practical defenses.

Quiet Defender

Under-recognized operators, incident responders, educators, and maintainers whose work meaningfully improved security outcomes.

Student or University Contributor

Emerging talent from universities, labs, and research groups helping move AI security and quantum readiness forward.

Selection criteria

What makes a strong nomination.

The nominee created measurable security impact, not just attention.

Their work helped defenders, researchers, users, or the broader public-interest security ecosystem.

The nomination includes evidence such as papers, tools, disclosures, talks, incident response work, or sustained community leadership.

The story behind the nomination is specific enough to teach something useful to readers.

Nomination packet

What to include when you nominate someone.

  • Nominee name, role, and organization
  • A short summary of why they matter
  • Two or three concrete accomplishments
  • Links to source material, official pages, papers, tools, or reporting
  • Your name and how you know their work