TrustKernel is proud to announce that its products have been honored with three 2026 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards. The team’s flagship hardware, the PlugMate secure computing device, won the Gold Award in the Hardware-Isolated Secure Workspace Platform category. Its proprietary operating system, PlugOS, received dual Silver Awards in the Privacy and Security Platform categories respectively. These peer-judged awards recognize outstanding innovation, leadership, and excellence across the global cybersecurity industry.
“We congratulate TrustKernel and its PlugMate ecosystem on this remarkable achievement of securing three 2026 Cybersecurity Excellence Awards,” said Holger Schulze, founder of Cybersecurity Insiders and organizer of the Cybersecurity Excellence Awards. “The integration of hardware isolation and seamless cross-platform usability sets a new benchmark for personal and enterprise-grade portable security.”
Designed and built by TrustKernel, the PlugMate device is a thumb-sized secure computing that delivers hardware-level isolation, universal cross-platform compatibility, and enterprise-grade privacy protection. Running TrustKernel’s custom-built PlugOS, it creates a fully isolated, trace-free secure workspace compatible with the mainstream USB-C devices, including iPhones, Android phones, tablets, Macs, and Windows PCs.
Powered by a MediaTek Helio G70 octa-core processor with 4GB RAM and 128GB encrypted storage, PlugMate operates independently in full isolation from the host device. No data residue is left behind after unplugging, establishing a new standard for physical isolation security. With a plug-and-play design that requires no complex setup, the 14.3-gram device delivers strong portability while supporting the full Android app ecosystem, which resolves the long-standing trade-off between strong security and user experience.
Developed from the ground up by TrustKernel, PlugOS is a hardware-isolated secure operating system built on zero-trust architecture. It features a multi-layered security framework centered on zero-tracking and zero-data collection. All user data is encrypted and stored locally, accessible only through a unique key. The system includes a granular firewall, peripheral control, and an irreversible mandatory data self-destruct mechanism. It requires no user registration, collects no personally identifiable information, and comes with a privacy-first browser and input method that block data harvesting at the source.
“We are deeply honored to be recognized across three critical categories in the Cybersecurity Excellence Awards,” said the TrustKernel Team, “Winning for our hardware platform, privacy architecture, and end-to-end security capabilities validates our vision. TrustKernel is making enterprise-grade, hardware-isolated protection accessible to everyone without sacrificing convenience or user control. We remain committed to pushing the boundaries of personal digital security.”
About TrustKernel
TrustKernel is the dedicated team that created the PlugMate hardware peripheral and its native PlugOS operating system. The team delivers a full-scenario personal digital security space via its thumb-sized, hardware-isolated PlugMate device and the locked-down PlugOS system. By separating work and personal data through true physical isolation, TrustKernel brings enterprise-grade security to everyday users in a portable, approachable form ushering in a new era of personal cybersecurity. The solution combines robust security, zero-data-collection privacy, cross-platform compatibility, and extreme ease of use, redefining simple, daily digital protection.
Learn more at the official PlugMate website.