Recognition highlights persistent protection for sensitive information that preserves document usability for collaboration and AI workflows.
Menlo Park, October 8th, 2026 — Confidencial, a data-centric security platform for unstructured data, has been named Overall Encryption Solution of the Year in the 2026 Cybersecurity Breakthrough Awards, presented by Cybersecurity Breakthrough. The recognition follows the company’s 2025 Encryption Innovation Award from the program.
As organizations bring more documents into AI workflows, they face a growing challenge: protecting sensitive information while preserving the search, collaboration, and processing that make those documents valuable. Confidencial addresses this challenge through granular encryption that protects sensitive content within a document while leaving the remaining information usable.
Traditional encryption protects databases, backups, and network traffic, but securing information within documents requires a more precise approach. Whole-file encryption can restrict access to an entire document, complicating workflows that require people or systems to use only selected information. Confidencial enables organizations to protect sensitive elements—including personally identifiable information, protected health information, financial terms, privileged content, and intellectual property—without locking down the entire file.
Confidencial’s patented technology binds protection to the sensitive content itself, helping that protection persist as documents are copied, shared, or moved. Access is based on authorization, allowing different users to view different information within the same document. The approach also enables organizations to govern which information AI systems are authorized to access.
“Organizations should be able to protect sensitive information and still put their data to work,” said Stewart Walchli, CEO of Confidencial. “Our technology protects the sensitive parts of a document while preserving the usability of the remaining content. This recognition builds on last year’s Encryption Innovation Award and reinforces the importance of protection that stays with the data as organizations collaborate and expand their use of AI.”
The technology originated in DARPA-funded research at SRI International, where it was developed to help coalition partners share documents while ensuring each participant could access only authorized information. Today, Confidencial’s technology is protected by 12 granted patents.
A common cryptographic engine supports discovery and classification, persistent encryption, secure external sharing with post-send revocation, and controls over AI access to sensitive content. The architecture is designed for cryptographic agility, enabling customers to adapt to evolving cryptographic requirements without redesigning applications or workflows.
Confidencial’s deployments demonstrate its use across complex enterprise environments. For example, a biopharmaceutical customer uses the platform to support more than 25,000 external users and 3,000 communicating organizations, with document access logged, while an AmLaw 50 firm’s global rollout has scanned more than 40 terabytes across more than 7,400 cloud sources, with a 91-terabyte on-premises scan underway.
About Confidencial
Confidencial helps enterprises put sensitive data to work without losing control of it. Built on patented, DARPA-funded cryptographic research from SRI International, Confidencial uses selective encryption to protect sensitive information within documents, files, and data pipelines while preserving native formats and existing business workflows. Protection and access controls travel with the data wherever people, applications, or AI use it, helping organizations collaborate, adopt AI, and share information more securely. The company is privately held and based in Menlo Park, CA.
Media Contact
RedIron PR for Confidencial
Kari Ritacco
kari@redironpr.com
About Confidencial
Confidencial is an advanced data protection platform that embeds cryptographic protection directly into sensitive and unstructured data. Built on technology developed at SRI International under DARPA funding, Confidencial enables organizations to protect, share, and govern sensitive data across AI pipelines, collaboration tools, and third-party workflows without disrupting how people work. Confidencial is ISO 27001 certified, HIPAA compliant, and PCI DSS compliant. Learn more at confidencial.io.
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