Code of Conduct

Cyber Guardian Society exists so defenders can trust each other. That trust depends on every member behaving professionally, respectfully and honestly. We are an independent student-led cybersecurity community, and every member holds themselves to the same standard as anyone else.

This Code applies in every Society space: events, workshops, community channels, project work, and any place where someone represents the Society.

• Be respectful, considerate and inclusive in every interaction.
• Assume good intent, and give feedback directly, privately and constructively.
• Protect confidential information — members' details, research, and internal discussions stay internal.
• Take responsibility for your commitments; flag early when you cannot deliver.
• Represent the Society honestly; never speak on its behalf without permission.
• Compete fairly, and play only within authorised environments.

• Harassment, intimidation, discrimination, or degrading remarks of any kind.
• Deliberate misuse of a member's identity, credentials, or access.
• Sharing private information, research, or recordings without consent.
• Publishing others' vulnerabilities, personal data, or private conversations without authorisation.
• Encouraging, instructing, or enabling the harmful activities listed in our Terms of Service.
• Abuse of position — for example using a Society role to obtain unauthorised access.

If you experience or witness behaviour that breaks this Code, report it to any member of the coordination team, or through the contact page. You may ask to remain anonymous, though that can limit what we can do.

We aim to acknowledge a report within three working days and to keep everyone involved informed of the outcome.

We review every report confidentially. Depending on what happened, the response may include a private word, a documented warning, temporary removal from a channel or project, suspension, or permanent removal from the Society.

Retaliation against anyone who reports a concern in good faith or helps with a review is itself a breach of this Code.

This Code applies to members, applicants, guests and anyone acting on behalf of the Society. We review it annually and whenever a serious incident shows it needs work.

This Code is adapted from the Citizen Code of Conduct, widely used by open technical communities, and follows the structure of the Covenant House Project.