The Center for Internet Security, Inc. (CIS®) makes the connected world a safer place for people, businesses, and governments through our core competencies of collaboration and innovation. We are a community-driven nonprofit, responsible for the CIS Critical Security Controls® and CIS Benchmarks™, globally recognized best practices for securing IT systems and data. We lead a global community of IT professionals to continuously evolve these standards and provide products and services to proactively safeguard against emerging threats. Our CIS Hardened Images® provide secure, on-demand, scalable computing environments in the cloud. CIS is home to the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center® (MS-ISAC®), the trusted resource for cyber threat prevention, protection, response, and recovery for U.S. State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial government entities, and the Elections Infrastructure Information Sharing and Analysis Center® (EI-ISAC®), which supports the rapidly changing cybersecurity needs of U.S. election offices. To learn more, visit cisecurity.org or follow us on Twitter: @CISecurity.
Alan Paller, Center for Internet Security (CIS) co-founder, former CIS Board member, and founder of the SANS Institute and SANS Technology Institute—the nation's first regionally accredited specialized cybersecurity college and graduate school—was well-known within the cybersecurity industry for building the cyber talent pipeline. He is also credited with driving change in the public and private sectors to adopt security controls that would result in near-term and quantifiable improvements in cybersecurity resiliency.
Paller’s influence on the cybersecurity industry is vast and multi-threaded. His ideas and work were audacious—yet pragmatic, high-tech—yet propelled by human touch, and business-driven—yet visionary and inspiring.
In recognition of Paller’s legacy, and in particular, his role as a CIS co-founder and Board member, we honor his memory through the Alan Paller Laureate Program. The Alan Paller Laureate Program will award up to $250,000 annually to eligible organizations, academic institutions, or individuals whose pilot projects, proofs of concept, or existing programs are aligned with the outlined program objectives and requirements and will be selected through an annual competitive application process. Administration or overhead costs will not be permitted as part of the funding.
Annual Program Timeline
- Grant Solicitation Announcement: January
- Application Period: February - March
- Award Announcement(s): Mid-May
Eligibility
- U.S.-based individuals, academic institutions, and nonprofit organizations with 501(c) status are eligible to apply.
- Organizations with active 501(c) status that serve beneficiaries outside of the U.S. are eligible to apply.
Preferred Project Areas
CIS seeks to fund a diverse set of projects that are focused on improving cybersecurity by:
- Making cybersecurity controls demonstrably more effective, simpler, and more automated
- Developing and equipping highly skilled cyber experts
- Improving the teaching of cyber defense at every level
Areas of Emphasis
For the 2025 cycle the Board offers the following specific areas of emphasis for proposals intended to address the Preferred Project Areas.
- Projects which make use of applied Generative AI tools and techniques.
- Projects which can achieve large scale of use, either through simplicity, low-cost, or easy adaptability to a large variety of audiences or situations.
- Projects which specifically target users or enterprises which are “underserved” by the commercial marketplace because of high cost, complexity, or market failure.
Selection Criteria
The Alan Paller Laureate Program Board of Directors will evaluate proposals based on factors that include:
- Innovative and unique nature of the project
- Near-term impact on one or more preferred project areas and/or areas of emphasis
- Clearly defined measurable outcomes
- Viability of proposed sustainability plan
- Comprehensiveness of the applicant’s proposal and the information requested
- Submission of the proposal in the correct requested format and within program deadlines
Questions?
- AlanPallerLaureateProgram.Mailbox@cisecurity.org
Alan Paller, Center for Internet Security (CIS) co-founder, former CIS Board member, and founder of the SANS Institute and SANS Technology Institute—the nation's first regionally accredited specialized cybersecurity college and graduate school—was well-known within the cybersecurity industry for building the cyber talent pipeline. He is also credited with driving change in the public and private sectors to adopt security controls that would result in near-term and quantifiable improvements in cybersecurity resiliency.
Paller’s influence on the cybersecurity industry is vast and multi-threaded. His ideas and work were audacious—yet pragmatic, high-tech—yet propelled by human touch, and business-driven—yet visionary and inspiring.
In recognition of Paller’s legacy, and in particular, his role as a CIS co-founder and Board member, we honor his memory through the Alan Paller Laureate Program. The Alan Paller Laureate Program will award up to $250,000 annually to eligible organizations, academic institutions, or individuals whose pilot projects, proofs of concept, or existing programs are aligned with the outlined program objectives and requirements and will be selected through an annual competitive application process. Administration or overhead costs will not be permitted as part of the funding.
Annual Program Timeline
- Grant Solicitation Announcement: January
- Application Period: February - March
- Award Announcement(s): Mid-May
Eligibility
- U.S.-based individuals, academic institutions, and nonprofit organizations with 501(c) status are eligible to apply.
- Organizations with active 501(c) status that serve beneficiaries outside of the U.S. are eligible to apply.
Preferred Project Areas
CIS seeks to fund a diverse set of projects that are focused on improving cybersecurity by:
- Making cybersecurity controls demonstrably more effective, simpler, and more automated
- Developing and equipping highly skilled cyber experts
- Improving the teaching of cyber defense at every level
Areas of Emphasis
For the 2025 cycle the Board offers the following specific areas of emphasis for proposals intended to address the Preferred Project Areas.
- Projects which make use of applied Generative AI tools and techniques.
- Projects which can achieve large scale of use, either through simplicity, low-cost, or easy adaptability to a large variety of audiences or situations.
- Projects which specifically target users or enterprises which are “underserved” by the commercial marketplace because of high cost, complexity, or market failure.
Selection Criteria
The Alan Paller Laureate Program Board of Directors will evaluate proposals based on factors that include:
- Innovative and unique nature of the project
- Near-term impact on one or more preferred project areas and/or areas of emphasis
- Clearly defined measurable outcomes
- Viability of proposed sustainability plan
- Comprehensiveness of the applicant’s proposal and the information requested
- Submission of the proposal in the correct requested format and within program deadlines
Questions?
- AlanPallerLaureateProgram.Mailbox@cisecurity.org
CIS Annual President's Award
Description of Award:
The CIS Annual President’s Award is presented annually to one CIS staff member who, in the past year, has made a significant impact on or contribution to CIS, and who exhibits exemplary leadership in their role and across CIS.
This award is intended to honor those who:
Exhibit exemplary job performance
- Have made outstanding contributions and commitment to advancement of the CIS Mission and/or Strategic Goals
- Contribute time and energy to improving CIS’s corporate culture, and encourage others to do the same
- Are committed to providing the highest standard of customer service to internal and/or external customers, members and partners
- Are dedicated to continual professional development, and actively engage and enable others to realize their full leadership potential
- Provide a positive influence on and encouragement to their colleagues
CIS recognizes that the efforts that each member of the CIS Team contribute on a daily basis are what help make our workplace culture and mission a success. While the President’s Award honors one outstanding candidate annually, one or more nominees may also be named as Star Performers for their contributions and dedication to the CIS Leadership Principles. Additionally, CIS remains committed to recognizing individual staff contributions throughout the year through our Spot Bonus program.
Criteria for the CIS Annual President’s Award:
Staff who are nominated must:
- Have been employed at CIS for at least one year;
- Demonstrate the CIS Leadership Principles and lead by example;
- Contribute to the CIS culture and mission on a daily basis through service and example;
- Be nominated by a fellow CIS employee (there are no limits on the number of nominations a staff member may make for individual candidates, but each nomination must be submitted on a separate form);
- Be in good standing (employees experiencing performance issues are not eligible)
Examples of activities or contributions that would be appropriate for the nomination may include the following:
- Significant contributions to the CIS mission through their efforts in support of internal or external stakeholders
- Individual or team awards or recognition; including recognition through the Spot Bonus program
- Volunteer activities, for example service with CIS Cares, the IDEA Alliance, other volunteer efforts within CIS and/or Volunteerism in the community
Nomination Restrictions:
- Members of the CIS Annual President’s Award Review Committee are not eligible to submit a nomination
- Staff who are Senior Directors and above are not eligible to receive the CIS Annual President’s Award or a Star Performer Award
- Previous CIS Annual President’s Award recipients are ineligible for future CIS Annual President’s or Star Performer Awards
- Previous Star Performer awardees are ineligible for a future Star Performer Award, but are eligible to be named a CIS Annual President’s Award recipient
Prize Award:
The CIS Annual President’s Award and Star Performer Awardee(s) will be announced at the end of the calendar year. The President’s Award honoree will receive $5,000 and a personalized gift of recognition. The Star Performer awardee(s) will receive $2,000 and a personalized gift of recognition.
Questions? cis_corporate_communications@cisecurity.org