Cyber Security, Without the Jargon
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PRIVACY POLICY
Last updated January 31, 2025
This Privacy Notice for Cybersecurity In Plain English ( "we," "us," or "our" ), describes how and why we might access, collect, store, use, and/or share ( "process" ) your personal information when you use our
services ( "Services" ), including when you:
- Visit our website
at https://cyber-security-in-plain-english.com/ , or any website of ours that links to this Privacy Notice
- Use
Cyber Security in Plain English .Cyber Security in Plain English is a blog dedicated to breaking down complex cybersecurity topics into easy-to-understand language. Whether you're a beginner, a business owner, or an IT professional, we provide clear, jargon-free explanations of online security threats, best practices, and emerging trends. What We Offer: Practical Advice – Learn how to protect yourself online. Threat Awareness – Stay informed about the latest cyber threats. Simple Explanations – No technical jargon, just clear and actionable insights. Guides & Tips – Best security practices for individuals and businesses. Our mission is to empower everyday users with cybersecurity knowledge—because security should be accessible to everyone, not just experts.
- Engage with us in other related ways, including any sales, marketing, or events
Questions or concerns? Reading this Privacy Notice will help
you understand your privacy rights and choices. We are responsible for making
decisions about how your personal information is processed. If you do not agree with
our policies and practices, please do not use our Services. If you still have any questions or concerns, please contact
us at [email protected] .
SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS
This summary provides key points from our Privacy Notice, but you can find out more
details about any of these topics by clicking the link following each key point or
by using our table of contents below to find the section you are looking for.
What personal information do we process? When you visit, use, or navigate
our Services, we may process personal information depending on how you interact with us and
the Services, the choices you make, and the products and features you use. Learn more about personal information you disclose to us.
Do we process any sensitive personal information? Some of the
information may be considered "special" or
"sensitive" in certain jurisdictions, for example
your racial or ethnic origins, sexual orientation, and religious beliefs. We do not process sensitive personal information.
Do we collect any information from third parties? We do not collect any information from third parties.
How do we process your information? We process your information to provide,
improve, and administer our Services, communicate with you, for security and fraud prevention,
and to comply with law. We may also process your information for other purposes with your
consent. We process your information only when we have a valid legal reason to do so. Learn
more about how we process your information.
In what situations and with which parties do we
share personal information? We may share information in specific situations and with specific third parties. Learn more about when and with whom we share your personal information.
How do we keep your information safe? We have adequate organizational and technical processes and procedures in place to protect your personal information.
However, no electronic transmission over the internet or information storage technology can
be guaranteed to be 100% secure, so we cannot promise or guarantee that hackers, cybercriminals,
or other unauthorized third parties will not be able to defeat our
security and improperly collect, access, steal, or modify your information. Learn more about how we keep your information safe.
What are your rights? Depending on where you are located geographically,
the applicable privacy law may mean you have certain rights regarding your personal information.
Learn more about your privacy rights.
How do you exercise your rights? By contacting us via mail. We will consider
and act upon any request in accordance with applicable data protection laws.
Want to learn more about what we do with any information we collect? Review the Privacy Notice in full.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. WHAT INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?
Personal information you disclose to us
In Short: We collect personal information that you provide to us. We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide to us when you express an interest in obtaining information about us or our products and Services,
when you participate in activities on the Services, or otherwise when you contact us.
Personal Information Provided by You. The personal information that we
collect depends on the context of your interactions with us and the Services, the choices
you make, and the products and features you use. The personal information we collect may
include the following:
-
email addresses
Sensitive Information. We do not process sensitive information.
All personal information that you provide to us must be true, complete, and accurate,
and you must notify us of any changes to such personal information.
Information automatically collected
In Short: Some information — such as your Internet Protocol (IP) address and/or browser and device characteristics — is collected automatically when you visit our Services. We automatically collect certain information when you visit, use, or navigate the
Services. This information does not reveal your specific identity (like your name or
contact information) but may include device and usage information, such as your IP
address, browser and device characteristics, operating system, language preferences,
referring URLs, device name, country, location, information about how and when you use
our Services, and other technical information. This information is primarily needed to
maintain the security and operation of our Services, and for our internal analytics
and reporting purposes.
Like many businesses, we also collect information through cookies and similar
technologies. You can find out more about this in
our Cookie Notice: https://cyber-security-in-plain-english.com/legal/cookies .
The information we collect includes:
- Log and Usage Data. Log and usage data is service-related, diagnostic, usage,
and performance information our servers automatically collect when you access or use
our Services and which we record in log files. Depending on how you interact with us,
this log data may include your IP address, device information, browser type, and settings
and information about your activity in the Services (such as the date/time stamps associated with your usage, pages and files viewed,
searches, and other actions you take such as which features you use), device event
information (such as system activity, error reports (sometimes called
"crash dumps" ), and hardware settings).
- Device Data. We collect device data such as information about your computer,
phone, tablet, or other device you use to access the Services. Depending on the device
used, this device data may include information such as your IP address (or proxy server),
device and application identification numbers, location, browser type, hardware model,
Internet service provider and/or mobile carrier, operating system, and system configuration
information.
- Location Data. We collect location data such as information about your device's
location, which can be either precise or imprecise. How much information we collect depends
on the type and settings of the device you use to access the Services. For example, we
may use GPS and other technologies to collect geolocation data that tells us your current
location (based on your IP address). You can opt out of allowing us to collect this information
either by refusing access to the information or by disabling your Location setting on
your device. However, if you choose to opt out, you may not be able to use certain aspects
of the Services.
2. HOW DO WE PROCESS YOUR INFORMATION?
In Short: We process your information to provide, improve, and administer our Services, communicate with you, for security and fraud prevention, and to comply with law. We may also process your information for other purposes with your consent. We process your personal information for a variety of reasons, depending on how you
interact with our Services, including:
, legal basis) to do so under applicable
law, like with your consent, to comply with
laws, to provide you with services to enter
into or fulfill our contractual obligations, to protect
your rights, or to fulfill our legitimate business interests.
fulfill the purposes outlined
in this Privacy Notice unless
otherwise required by law.
organizational and technical security
measures.
children under 18
years of age .
Depending on your
state of residence in the
US or in some regions, such
as the European
Economic Area (EEA),
United Kingdom (UK),
Switzerland, and Canada , you have rights
that allow you greater
access to and control over
your personal information. You may review, change,
or terminate your account
at any time, depending on
your country, province, or
state of residence.
"DNT" ) feature or setting
you can activate to signal
your privacy preference not
to have data about your
online browsing activities
monitored and collected. At
this stage, no uniform
technology standard for recognizing and implementing DNT
signals has been finalized . As such, we do not
currently respond to DNT
browser signals or any other
mechanism that automatically
communicates your choice not
to be tracked online. If a
standard for online tracking
is adopted that we must
follow in the future, we
will inform you about that
practice in a revised
version of this Privacy
Notice.
California, Colorado,
Connecticut, Delaware, Florida,
Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota,
Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire,
New Jersey, Oregon, Tennessee,
Texas, Utah, or Virginia , you may have the
right to request access to
and receive details about
the personal information
we maintain about you and
how we have processed it,
correct inaccuracies, get
a copy of, or delete your
personal information. You
may also have the right to
withdraw your consent to
our processing of your
personal information.
These rights may be
limited in some
circumstances by
applicable law. More
information is provided
below.
" WHAT INFORMATION DO WE
COLLECT? " Learn more about how we
use your personal information
in the section, " HOW DO WE PROCESS YOUR
INFORMATION? "
by emailing us at [email protected] , or by referring to the contact
details at the bottom of this
document.
email us at [email protected]
or contact us by post at:
Cybersecurity In
Plain English __________ __________
Based on the applicable
laws of your country
or state of residence in the US , you may
have the right to request
access to the personal
information we collect from
you, details about how we
have processed it, correct
inaccuracies, or delete your
personal information. You
may also have the right to withdraw your consent
to our processing of your
personal information. These
rights may be limited in
some circumstances by
applicable law. To request
to review, update, or delete
your personal information,
please submit a
an email to
[email protected]
.
- To save or protect an individual's
vital interest. We may process your information when necessary
to save or protect an individual’s vital
interest, such as to prevent harm.
3. WHAT LEGAL BASES DO WE RELY ON TO PROCESS YOUR INFORMATION?
In Short: We only process your personal information when we believe it is necessary and we have a valid legal reason (i.e. If you are located in the EU or UK,
this section applies to you.
The General Data Protection Regulation
(GDPR) and UK GDPR require us to explain
the valid legal bases we rely on in order
to process your personal information. As
such, we may rely on the following legal
bases to process your personal
information:
- Consent. We may
process your information if you have
given us permission (i.e.
, consent) to use your personal information for a specific purpose. You can withdraw your consent at any time. Learn more about withdrawing your consent.
- Legal Obligations. We
may process your information where we believe
it is necessary for compliance with our
legal obligations, such as to cooperate
with a law enforcement body or regulatory
agency, exercise or defend our legal rights,
or disclose your information as evidence
in litigation in which we are involved.
- Vital Interests. We may
process your information where we believe
it is necessary to protect your vital interests
or the vital interests of a third party,
such as situations involving potential
threats to the safety of any person.
If you are located in Canada,
this section applies to you.
We may process your information if you
have given us specific permission (i.e. , express consent) to use your personal
information for a specific purpose, or in
situations where your permission can be inferred
(i.e. , implied consent). You can withdraw your consent at any time.
In some exceptional cases, we may be
legally permitted under applicable law
to process your information without your
consent, including, for example:
- If collection is clearly in the interests of an individual and consent cannot be obtained in a timely way
- For investigations and fraud
detection and prevention
- For business transactions provided
certain conditions are met
- If it is contained in a witness
statement and the collection is
necessary to assess, process, or
settle an insurance claim
- For identifying injured, ill, or
deceased persons and communicating
with next of kin
- If we have reasonable grounds to
believe an individual has been, is, or
may be victim of financial abuse
- If it is reasonable to expect
collection and use with consent would
compromise the availability or the
accuracy of the information and the
collection is reasonable for purposes
related to investigating a breach of
an agreement or a contravention of the
laws of Canada or a province
- If disclosure is required to comply
with a subpoena, warrant, court order,
or rules of the court relating to the
production of records
- If it was produced by an individual
in the course of their employment,
business, or profession and the
collection is consistent with the
purposes for which the information was
produced
- If the collection is solely for
journalistic, artistic, or literary
purposes
- If the information is publicly
available and is specified by the
regulations
We may need to share your personal
information in the following situations:
- Business Transfers. We may share or transfer your information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business to another company.
5. WHAT IS OUR STANCE ON THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES?
In Short: We are not responsible for the safety of any information that you share with third parties that we may link to or who advertise on our Services, but are not affiliated with, our Services. The Services
may link to third-party websites,
online services, or mobile applications
and/or contain advertisements from
third parties that are not affiliated
with us and which may link to other
websites, services, or applications.
Accordingly, we do not make any
guarantee regarding any such third
parties, and we will not be liable
for any loss or damage caused by
the use of such third-party websites,
services, or applications. The
inclusion of a link towards a third-party
website, service, or application
does not imply an endorsement by
us. We cannot guarantee the safety
and privacy of data you provide
to any third-party websites. Any
data collected by third parties
is not covered by this Privacy
Notice. We are not responsible
for the content or privacy and
security practices and policies
of any third parties, including
other websites, services, or applications
that may be linked to or from the
Services. You should review the
policies of such third parties
and contact them directly to respond
to your questions.
We may use cookies and
similar tracking
technologies (like web
beacons and pixels) to
gather information when you
interact with our Services.
Some online tracking
technologies help us
maintain the security of our
Services , prevent crashes,
fix bugs, save your
preferences, and assist with
basic site functions.
We also permit third
parties and service
providers to use online
tracking technologies on our
Services for analytics and
advertising, including to
help manage and display
advertisements, to tailor
advertisements to your
interests, or to send
abandoned shopping cart
reminders (depending on your
communication preferences).
The third parties and
service providers use their
technology to provide
advertising about products
and services tailored to
your interests which may
appear either on our
Services or on other
websites.
To the extent these online
tracking technologies are
deemed to be a "sale"/"sharing" (which includes targeted
advertising, as defined under the
applicable laws) under applicable
US state laws, you can opt out
of these online tracking technologies
by submitting a request as described
below under section " DO UNITED STATES RESIDENTS
HAVE SPECIFIC PRIVACY
RIGHTS? "
Specific information about
how we use such technologies
and how you can refuse
certain cookies is set out
in our Cookie Notice : https://cyber-security-in-plain-english.com/legal/cookies .
7. HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION?
In Short: We keep your information for as long as necessary to We will only keep your
personal information for as
long as it is necessary for
the purposes set out in this
Privacy Notice, unless a
longer retention period is
required or permitted by law
(such as tax, accounting, or
other legal requirements).
When we have no ongoing
legitimate business need to
process your personal
information, we will either
delete or anonymize such information, or,
if this is not possible (for
example, because your personal
information has been stored in
backup archives), then we will
securely store your personal
information and isolate it from
any further processing until
deletion is possible.
8. HOW DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION SAFE?
In Short: We aim to protect your personal information through a system of We have implemented
appropriate and reasonable
technical and organizational security measures designed
to protect the security of any
personal information we process.
However, despite our safeguards
and efforts to secure your information,
no electronic transmission over
the Internet or information storage
technology can be guaranteed
to be 100% secure, so we cannot
promise or guarantee that hackers,
cybercriminals, or other unauthorized third parties will not
be able to defeat our security
and improperly collect, access,
steal, or modify your information.
Although we will do our best
to protect your personal information,
transmission of personal information
to and from our Services is at
your own risk. You should only
access the Services within a
secure environment.
9. DO WE COLLECT INFORMATION FROM MINORS?
In Short: We do not knowingly collect data from or market to We do not knowingly
collect, solicit data from,
or market to children under
18 years of age, nor do we
knowingly sell such personal
information. By using the
Services, you represent that
you are at least 18 or that
you are the parent or
guardian of such a minor and
consent to such minor
dependent’s use of the
Services. If we learn that
personal information from
users less than 18 years of
age has been collected, we
will deactivate the account
and take reasonable measures
to promptly delete such data
from our records. If you
become aware of any data we
may have collected from
children under age 18,
please contact us at [email protected] .
10. WHAT ARE YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS?
In Short: In some regions (like the EEA, UK,
Switzerland, and Canada ), you have certain
rights under applicable data
protection laws. These may
include the right (i) to
request access and obtain a
copy of your personal
information, (ii) to request
rectification or erasure;
(iii) to restrict the
processing of your personal
information; (iv) if
applicable, to data
portability; and (v) not to
be subject to automated
decision-making. In certain
circumstances, you may also
have the right to object to
the processing of your
personal information. You
can make such a request by
contacting us by using the
contact details provided in
the section " HOW CAN YOU CONTACT US
ABOUT THIS NOTICE? " below.
We will consider and act
upon any request in
accordance with applicable
data protection laws.
If you are located in the
EEA or UK and you believe we
are unlawfully processing
your personal information,
you also have the right to
complain to your Member State
data
protection
authority or UK data protection
authority.
If you are located in
Switzerland, you may contact
the Federal Data
Protection and
Information
Commissioner.
Withdrawing your
consent: If we are relying on your consent
to process your personal information, which may be express
and/or implied consent depending
on the applicable law, you have the right to
withdraw your consent at any
time. You can withdraw your consent
at any time by contacting us
by using the contact details
provided in the section
" HOW CAN YOU CONTACT US
ABOUT THIS NOTICE? " below .
However, please note that
this will not affect the
lawfulness of the processing
before its withdrawal nor,
when applicable law allows, will it affect the processing
of your personal information conducted
in reliance on lawful processing
grounds other than consent.
Opting out of marketing
and promotional
communications: You
can unsubscribe from our
marketing and promotional
communications at any time by
clicking on the unsubscribe link
in the emails that we send,
or by contacting us using the details
provided in the section " HOW CAN YOU CONTACT US
ABOUT THIS NOTICE? " below. You will then be
removed from the marketing lists.
However, we may still communicate
with you — for example, to send
you service-related messages that
are necessary for the administration
and use of your account, to respond
to service requests, or for other
non-marketing purposes.
Cookies and similar
technologies: Most Web browsers are set to
accept cookies by default. If
you prefer, you can usually choose
to set your browser to remove
cookies and to reject cookies.
If you choose to remove cookies
or reject cookies, this could
affect certain features or services
of our Services. You may also opt out of
interest-based
advertising by
advertisers on our Services. For further information,
please see our Cookie
Notice: https://cyber-security-in-plain-english.com/legal/cookies .
If you have questions or
comments about your privacy
rights, you may email us at [email protected] .
11. CONTROLS FOR DO-NOT-TRACK FEATURES
Most web browsers and some mobile operating systems and mobile applications include a Do-Not-Track ( California law requires us to
let you know how we respond to
web browser DNT signals.
Because there currently is not
an industry or legal standard
for recognizing or honoring DNT signals, we do not
respond to them at this time.
12. DO UNITED STATES RESIDENTS HAVE SPECIFIC PRIVACY RIGHTS?
In Short: If you are a resident ofCategories of Personal Information We Collect
We have collected the following categories of personal information in the past twelve (12) months:Category | Examples | Collected |
A. Identifiers | Contact details,
such as real name,
alias, postal
address, telephone
or mobile contact
number, unique
personal identifier,
online identifier,
Internet Protocol
address, email
address, and account
name | |
B. Personal
information as
defined in the
California Customer
Records statute | Name, contact
information,
education,
employment,
employment history,
and financial
information | |
| Gender, age, date
of birth, race and
ethnicity, national
origin, marital
status, and other
demographic data | |
| Transaction
information,
purchase history,
financial details,
and payment
information | |
| Fingerprints and
voiceprints | |
| Browsing history,
search history,
online | |
| Device location | |
| Images and audio,
video or call
recordings created
in connection with
our business
activities | |
| Business contact
details in order to
provide you our
Services at a
business level or
job title, work
history, and
professional
qualifications if
you apply for a job
with us | |
| Student records and
directory
information | |
| Inferences drawn
from any of the
collected personal
information listed
above to create a
profile or summary
about, for example,
an individual’s
preferences and
characteristics | |
| | |
We may also collect other
personal information outside
of these categories through
instances where you interact
with us in person, online, or
by phone or mail in the
context of:
- Receiving help through our
customer support channels;
- Participation in customer
surveys or contests; and
- Facilitation in the delivery
of our Services and to respond
to your inquiries.
Sources of Personal Information
Learn more about the sources of personal information we collect inHow We Use and Share Personal Information
Will your information
be shared with anyone
else?
We may disclose your
personal information with
our service providers
pursuant to a written
contract between us and
each service provider.
Learn more about how we
disclose personal
information to in the
section, " WHEN AND WITH WHOM DO WE
SHARE YOUR PERSONAL
INFORMATION? "
We may use your personal
information for our own
business purposes, such as
for undertaking internal
research for technological
development and
demonstration. This is not
considered to be "selling" of your personal information.
We have not disclosed,
sold, or shared any
personal information to
third parties for a
business or commercial
purpose in the preceding
twelve (12) months. We will not sell or share
personal information in
the future belonging to
website visitors, users,
and other consumers.
Your Rights
You have rights under certain US state data protection laws. However, these rights are not absolute, and in certain cases, we may decline your request as permitted by law. These rights include:- Right to know whether or not we are processing
your personal data
- Right to access your personal data
- Right to correct inaccuracies in your
personal data
- Right to request the deletion of your personal
data
- Right to obtain a
copy of the personal data you
previously shared with us
- Right to
non-discrimination for exercising your rights
- Right to opt out of the processing of your personal
data if it is used for targeted
advertising
(or sharing as defined under California’s privacy law) , the sale of personal data, or profiling in furtherance of decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects ( "profiling" )
Depending upon the state
where you live, you may also
have the following rights:
- Right to access the
categories of personal data
being processed (as
permitted by applicable law,
including Minnesota’s
privacy law)
- Right to obtain a list of
the categories of third
parties to which we have
disclosed personal data (as
permitted by applicable law,
including
California's and Delaware's privacy law)
- Right to obtain a list of
specific third parties to
which we have disclosed
personal data (as permitted
by applicable law, including
Minnesota's and Oregon's privacy law)
- Right to review,
understand, question, and
correct how personal data
has been profiled (as
permitted by applicable law,
including Minnesota’s
privacy law)
- Right to limit use and
disclosure of sensitive
personal data (as permitted
by applicable law, including
California’s privacy law)
- Right to opt out of the
collection of sensitive data
and personal data collected
through the operation of a
voice or facial recognition
feature (as permitted by
applicable law, including
Florida’s privacy law)
How to Exercise Your Rights
To exercise these rights, you can contact us Under certain US state data
protection laws, you can designate
an authorized agent to make a request on
your behalf. We may deny a request
from an
authorized agent that does not submit
proof that they have been validly authorized to act on your behalf in accordance
with applicable laws.
Request Verification
Upon receiving your request, we will need to verify your identity to determine you are the same person about whom we have the information in our system. We will only use personal information provided in your request to verify your identity or authority to make the request. However, if we cannot verify your identity from the information already maintained by us, we may request that you provide additional information for the purposes of verifying your identity and for security or fraud-prevention purposes. If you submit the request through
an authorized agent, we may need to collect
additional information to verify your
identity before processing your request
and the agent will need to provide
a written and signed permission from
you to submit such request on your
behalf. [email protected] .
We will inform you in writing of
any action taken or not taken in
response to the appeal, including
a written explanation of the
reasons for the decisions. If your
appeal is denied, you may submit a
complaint to your state attorney
general.
California
California Civil Code Section
1798.83, also known as the "Shine The Light" law, permits our users who
are California residents to request
and obtain from us, once a year and
free of charge, information about categories
of personal information (if any) we
disclosed to third parties for direct
marketing purposes and the names and
addresses of all third parties with
which we shared personal information
in the immediately preceding calendar
year. If you are a California resident
and would like to make such a request,
please submit your request in writing
to us by using the contact details
provided in the section " HOW CAN YOU CONTACT US ABOUT
THIS NOTICE? "
Appeals
Under certain US state data protection laws, if we decline to take action regarding your request, you may appeal our decision by emailing us at
California "Shine The Light" Law
California Civil Code Section
1798.83, also known as the 13. DO WE MAKE UPDATES TO THIS NOTICE?
In Short: Yes, we will update this notice as necessary to stay compliant with relevant laws. We may update this Privacy
Notice from time to time. The
updated version will be
indicated by an updated "Revised" date at the top of this Privacy
Notice. If we make material changes
to this Privacy Notice, we may notify
you either by prominently posting
a notice of such changes or by directly
sending you a notification. We encourage
you to review this Privacy Notice
frequently to be informed of how
we are protecting your information.