Terms of Service

1. Agreement to these Terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") form a binding agreement between you and Cal Security & Forensics LLC, a Texas limited liability company ("Cal Security & Forensics", "we", "us", "our"), governing your access to and use of calsecforensics.com, its tools, training content, certification programme, and any related services (together, the "Services").

By accessing or using the Services, creating an account, or completing a purchase, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Services.

If you are using the Services on behalf of an organisation, you represent that you have authority to bind that organisation, and "you" refers to both you and that organisation.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account or purchase a subscription. The Services are not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13. If we learn that we have collected such information, we will delete it.

You may not use the Services if you are barred from doing so under the laws of your jurisdiction, or if you are subject to sanctions administered by the United States government or are located in a jurisdiction subject to comprehensive US sanctions.

3. Accounts

Registration. Some features require an account. You agree to provide accurate information and to keep it current.

Security. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials and for all activity under your account. Notify us promptly at [email protected] if you suspect unauthorised access.

One person per account. Accounts are personal and non-transferable. You may not share your credentials, and you may not permit another person to access training content, laboratory exercises, or the certification examination using your account. Team subscriptions provide individual seats, each requiring its own account.

Accuracy of identity. Certificates are issued in the name on your account. You are responsible for ensuring that name is accurate. We are not obliged to reissue certificates due to information you supplied incorrectly.

4. The Services

Tools. We provide browser-based forensic, cryptographic and security analysis tools. Except where expressly stated, these execute entirely within your browser and the data you enter is not transmitted to us. The Blue Team threat-intelligence lookup is an exception and is described in our Privacy Policy.

Training content. We provide structured courses, lessons and hands-on laboratory exercises. Access depends on your subscription tier.

Certification. We offer the Cal Security & Forensics Analyst ("CSFA") certification. Section 8 governs it.

Availability. We aim to keep the Services available but do not guarantee uninterrupted access. We may modify, suspend or discontinue any part of the Services, and we will give reasonable notice of material changes affecting paid features where practicable.

5. Subscriptions, billing and cancellation

Plans. We offer a free tier and paid subscriptions ("Pro" and "Team"). Current pricing is published at calsecforensics.com/pricing.

Automatic renewal. Paid subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each billing period — annually for annual plans, monthly for monthly plans — until cancelled. By subscribing, you authorise us to charge your payment method on a recurring basis at the then-current rate for your plan.

Price protection. Where we describe a rate as locked or as a founding rate, that rate will continue to apply to your subscription for as long as it remains continuously active. If your subscription lapses and you resubscribe, the then-current rate applies.

Cancellation. You may cancel at any time through your account or the customer billing portal. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. You retain access until that date. We do not provide partial-period refunds except as set out in our Refund Policy.

Failed payment. If a payment fails, access to paid features may be suspended. We may retry payment in accordance with our payment processor's standard schedule.

Price changes. We may change subscription prices. We will give at least 30 days' notice before a change takes effect for existing subscribers, and the change will apply from your next renewal. Your continued subscription after that date constitutes acceptance.

Taxes. Prices are exclusive of applicable taxes unless stated otherwise. You are responsible for any taxes arising from your purchase other than taxes on our income.

Payment processing. Payments are processed by Stripe, Inc. We do not store your full payment card details. Your use of payment services is subject to Stripe's terms.

6. Free tier

We offer certain features at no charge, including browser-based tools and a portion of the training curriculum. We may change what is included in the free tier at any time. Free access is provided without warranty of any kind and may be suspended or terminated at our discretion.

7. Acceptable use

The Services include instruction in offensive security techniques, reconnaissance methodologies, and the analysis of malicious software and network traffic. This material is provided solely for lawful, authorised, professional and educational purposes.

7.1 Authorisation is your responsibility

You must not apply any technique, tool or methodology learned through the Services against any system, network, application, account, device or data unless you have prior, explicit, documented authorisation from a party entitled to grant it.

You acknowledge that:

• —Authorisation must come from a party that owns or controls the specific asset. A client cannot authorise testing of infrastructure it merely rents from a third party.
• —Authorisation is bounded. It extends only to the assets, techniques, and time period specified.
• —The public accessibility of a system is not authorisation.
• —Discovering a credential, key or vulnerability does not authorise its use or further exploitation.
• —Terms of service and computer misuse legislation are separate obligations, and compliance with one does not imply compliance with the other.

7.2 Prohibited conduct

You may not use the Services to:

• —Access, test, scan, probe or interfere with any system without authorisation;
• —Develop, distribute or deploy malicious software against any party;
• —Conduct reconnaissance, surveillance or profiling of any individual or organisation without a lawful basis and appropriate authorisation;
• —Aggregate personal information in a manner that facilitates harassment, stalking, doxxing, discrimination, or harm to any person;
• —Violate any applicable law, including computer misuse, data protection, wiretapping, export control and sanctions law;
• —Circumvent, disable or interfere with security or access-control features of the Services;
• —Access the Services by automated means except as we expressly permit;
• —Attempt to obtain training content, laboratory materials or examination content to which your subscription does not entitle you;
• —Share, publish, resell, sublicense or otherwise distribute our content;
• —Reverse engineer the Services except to the extent that restriction is unenforceable under applicable law;
• —Impersonate any person or misrepresent your affiliation;
• —Use the Services in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden or impair them.

7.3 Consequences

We may suspend or terminate your account immediately, without refund, if we reasonably believe you have breached this section. Where conduct may be unlawful, we may report it to law enforcement and cooperate with any resulting investigation.

You are solely responsible for your conduct and for any consequences arising from it. We provide instruction; we do not supervise, approve or take responsibility for how you apply it.

8. Certification

8.1 Nature of the certification

The CSFA is a private certification awarded by Cal Security & Forensics LLC. It attests that the holder completed our curriculum and passed our examination on the date stated.

The CSFA is not:

• —An accredited qualification, degree, diploma or academic credential;
• —A licence, registration or authorisation to practise any regulated profession or activity;
• —Accredited by, endorsed by, or affiliated with any government body, standards organisation, accreditation body, or third-party certification authority;
• —A guarantee, representation or warranty of employment, employability, competence, or professional fitness for any role or task.

We make no representation as to whether any employer, client, regulator or third party recognises or values the CSFA.

8.2 Examination

Attempts. An active Pro or Team subscription includes one examination attempt per rolling twelve-month period. Additional attempts may be purchased at the published rate.

Attempt consumption. An attempt is consumed when the examination is started, whether or not it is completed and whether or not it is passed.

Conduct. You must complete the examination independently, without assistance, and without reference to unauthorised materials. You must not record, reproduce, distribute or disclose examination content by any means. Examination questions and answers are our confidential information.

Integrity. We may invalidate any examination attempt and revoke any certificate where we reasonably believe the examination was completed in breach of this section, including where account sharing, unauthorised assistance, or disclosure of examination content is indicated.

8.3 Certificates and verification

Certificates issued to you remain valid and verifiable after your subscription ends. We maintain a public verification service to allow third parties to confirm a certificate's authenticity.

We may revoke a certificate where it was obtained in breach of these Terms, where it was issued in error, or where required by law. A revoked certificate will show as invalid in the verification service.

We may retain certification records after account deletion where necessary to maintain the integrity of the verification service. See our Privacy Policy.

9. Intellectual property

Our content. The Services, including all training content, laboratory exercises, evidence files, examination content, software, text, graphics and design, are owned by Cal Security & Forensics LLC or our licensors and are protected by intellectual property law.

Your licence. Subject to these Terms and your subscription, we grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to access and use the Services for your own professional development. This licence confers no ownership.

Restrictions. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, publish, transmit, display, perform, modify, create derivative works from, sell, resell or exploit any part of the Services, except that you may retain personal notes for your own reference.

Feedback. If you provide suggestions or feedback, we may use them without restriction or compensation.

Your content. You retain ownership of content you create using the Services. Where you choose to save content to your account, you grant us a licence to store and process it solely to provide the Services to you.

10. Third-party services

The Services integrate third-party providers, including payment processing, customer support and threat-intelligence data sources. Your use of those features may involve transmission of data to those providers, as described in our Privacy Policy.

We are not responsible for third-party services, their availability, or their handling of your data. Links to third-party sites are provided for convenience and do not imply endorsement.

11. Disclaimers

THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

Without limiting the foregoing:

• —Educational purpose only. The Services provide general instruction. They are not professional advice and must not be relied upon as a substitute for qualified professional judgement in any specific matter.
• —No assurance of security outcomes. Nothing in the Services guarantees that any system, method or control will be secure, compliant, or effective.
• —Tool accuracy. Our tools are provided for educational and professional convenience. We do not warrant that their output is accurate, complete or suitable for evidentiary, legal, regulatory or forensic use. You are responsible for independently validating any output you rely upon.
• —Third-party data. Threat-intelligence and reputation data originate from third parties. We do not warrant its accuracy or currency.

12. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, CAL SECURITY & FORENSICS LLC AND ITS MEMBERS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES AND AGENTS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, BUSINESS, GOODWILL OR ANTICIPATED SAVINGS, ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THE SERVICES, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THE SERVICES WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE TWELVE MONTHS PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR (B) ONE HUNDRED US DOLLARS ($100).

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages, so some of the above may not apply to you. Nothing in these Terms excludes liability for fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, death or personal injury caused by negligence, or any liability that cannot be excluded by law.

13. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Cal Security & Forensics LLC and its members, officers, employees and agents from any claim, demand, loss, liability, damage, cost or expense (including reasonable legal fees) arising from:

• —Your use of the Services;
• —Your breach of these Terms, and in particular Section 7 (Acceptable Use);
• —Your violation of any law or the rights of any third party;
• —Any activity you conduct using techniques, tools or knowledge obtained through the Services.

14. Termination

By you. You may stop using the Services and delete your account at any time.

By us. We may suspend or terminate your access immediately where you breach these Terms, where required by law, or where continued provision poses a risk to us or other users. We may also discontinue the Services generally on reasonable notice.

Effect. On termination, your right to access the Services ends. Sections 7, 8.3, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15 and 16 survive. Certificates already earned remain valid unless revoked under Section 8.3.

Refunds on termination. If we terminate your subscription other than for your breach, we will refund the unused portion of any prepaid period. If we terminate for breach, no refund is due.

15. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to conflict of laws principles.

Any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services will be resolved by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules (or, where applicable, its Commercial Arbitration Rules), except that either party may seek injunctive or other equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to protect intellectual property or confidential information.

Class action waiver. You and we each waive any right to a jury trial and to participate in a class action, class arbitration, or representative proceeding. All disputes must be brought in an individual capacity only.

Opt-out. You may opt out of arbitration by sending written notice to [email protected] within 30 days of first accepting these Terms. Your notice must include your name, account email address, and a clear statement that you wish to opt out of arbitration. Opting out does not affect any other provision of these Terms.

Small claims. Either party may bring an individual claim in small claims court if it qualifies under that court's jurisdictional limits.

Informal resolution. Before initiating arbitration, you agree to contact us at [email protected] and give us 30 days to attempt to resolve the dispute informally.

16. General

Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and Refund Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Services.

Changes. We may amend these Terms. We will post the amended Terms with an updated date and, for material changes, provide notice by email or in the Services at least 30 days before they take effect. Continued use after that date constitutes acceptance.

Severability. If any provision is held unenforceable, the remainder continues in effect.

No waiver. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of it.

Assignment. You may not assign these Terms. We may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition or sale of assets.

Force majeure. Neither party is liable for failure to perform due to causes beyond its reasonable control.

Contact.