2026 SC Award winner Cequence Security — Best API Security Solution  

As enterprises embrace cloud platforms, multi-cloud environments and mobile apps, APIs have emerged as a growing security concern and a frequent entry point for attackers. Failure to lockdown an API can result in unauthorized access to otherwise secure networks.   

The problem: These APIs often exist outside the visibility of security teams. They are developed quickly, updated frequently, and integrated with external services and partners. When poorly secured, APIs can expose sensitive data, enable account takeovers, or provide attackers with a pathway into otherwise well-defended networks. 

This year’s recognition of Cequence as the winner in the 2026 SC Awards Best API Security Solution category reflects the growing importance of tools designed specifically to address this risk. 

Cequence’s platform is designed around a foundational requirement for API security: visibility. The system automatically discovers and catalogs APIs across environments, helping organizations identify both known and previously undocumented endpoints. From there, it evaluates risk exposure, identifies potential vulnerabilities — including those associated with the OWASP API Security Top 10 — and monitors API traffic to detect malicious activity in real time. 

“This solution integrates with AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Akamai, Cloudflare, Kong, MuleSoft, and leading SIEM/SOAR platforms like Splunk and Datadog,” said Gary Long, SC Media Awards judge and principal of Long Professional Services.  

As agentic AI applications take hold, these systems can often operate autonomously, making decisions and initiating actions through API calls. Without proper governance, that automation can introduce new security risks. 

Cequence’s AI Gateway aims to address this emerging challenge by enabling organizations to safely connect AI agents to enterprise systems. The gateway leverages the platform’s API discovery and specification capabilities to automatically generate API definitions and access controls, reducing the manual effort typically required to secure these integrations. 

For organizations experimenting with AI-driven workflows, the approach offers a way to maintain traditional security oversight while enabling innovation. 

Cequence reports protecting more than 10 billion daily API interactions and securing billions of user accounts, with deployments across Global 2000 organizations and highly regulated industries.