On 21 & 22 May 2025, ECSO held the Fifth Edition of its flagship event: the ECSO Award Finals. This year’s event was held in The Hague, The Netherlands, hosted at the HSD Campus, with the support of our long-standing partners: Women4Cyber Foundation, Accenture, Secutity Delta (HSD), InnovationQuarter, KPN Ventures, the Municipality of the Hague, and TIN Capital. Over two action-packed days, the venue transformed into a vibrant meeting point for cybersecurity innovators, entrepreneurs, and decision-makers from across Europe.
The ECSO Award Finals serve as a unique platform to bring together key players from the European cybersecurity ecosystem. The event supports the community, spotlights cutting-edge innovation from start-ups and scale-ups, and cultivates opportunities for collaboration, knowledge exchange, and visibility at European level. The ECSO Award Finals 2025 also featured expert keynote speakers and panel discussions, offering attendees a front-row seat to emerging trends, strategic insights, and bold ideas shaping Europe’s cybersecurity future.
ECSO STARtup Award 2025
The first day featured the ECSO STARtup Award competition, where promising cybersecurity start-ups from across Europe pitched in front of a panel of expert judges. After a highly competitive round of pitches, Xiphera Ltd. from Finland, represented by Matti Tomiska and Kimmo Järvinen, was awarded the title of “Europe’s Most Promising Cybersecurity Start-up 2025”.
Xiphera specialises in hardware-based security, offering secure and highly optimised cryptographic IP cores designed for FPGAs and ASICs. With a comprehensive, in-house developed portfolio—including post-quantum cryptography solutions—and deep expertise in digital system design, Xiphera enables fast, cost-effective, and secure product development. Their cutting-edge approach and strong technical foundations ultimately convinced the judging panel to grant them the top title, despite the fierce competition.
We thank and applaud the other contendants, Attic Security, CYBALGORIS & VirtualMetric, for their outstanding contributions to this year’s ECSO STARtup Award.
ECSO CISO Choice Award 2025
On the second day, the spotlight turned to the ECSO CISO Choice Award, where a distinguished panel of Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) selected the European solution they believe best responds to today’s cybersecurity needs. Labyrinth Security Solutions from Poland, represented by Anastasiia Dorosh, was awarded the title of “Europe’s Most Promising Cybersecurity Solution 2025” for its unique deception-based approach to threat detection.
By creating realistic decoys across corporate networks, Labyrinth enables early detection of intrusions and delivers high-quality threat intelligence — reducing false positives and response times. Their practical, innovative solution ultimately convinced the jury, standing out among strong contenders.
We extend our thanks and congratulations to CalQRisk, CyberDesk, GuardedBox, Secdojo, Snowpack for being selected as finalists in this year’s ECSO CISO Choice Award. Your innovative solutions and strong pitches contributed to a truly competitive and inspiring edition.
Women4Cyber Entrepreneurship Award 2025
As part of our joint efforts to promote diversity in cybersecurity, ECSO and Women4Cyber also presented the Women4Cyber Entrepreneurship Award. This recognition celebrates women-led or inclusive companies making strides in the sector. In 2025, Breezy AI took home the award, applauded for their commitment to inclusive innovation and their promising cybersecurity solutions.
About ECSO’s Matchmaking Events
ECSO extends its sincere congratulations to the winners Xiphera Ltd., Labyrinth Security Solutions, and Breezy AI for their remarkable achievements! Their success highlights the strength of Europe’s cybersecurity innovation and reflects ECSO’s ongoing mission to foster a resilient and collaborative ecosystem.
We warmly invite everyone to stay engaged – many more pitching opportunities await throughout 2025! ECSO’s Matchmaking Events will continue to showcase Europe’s top innovators, and you’re welcome to join us. Check our event calendar to stay informed and be part of the journey.
