Terms of Service
Please read these terms and conditions and our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy carefully before using this site or registering for the SANS Cyber Warrior Challenge (“Program”). These terms tell you the rules for using this website http://cyberwarriorchallenge.sans.org/ and the rules and eligibility criteria for participating in the Program.
Our terms of service are backed by our policy framework, including our privacy and cookies policy. This document will be updated as the site and services it provides access to are changed.
By using this site and choosing to register for the Program you agree to these terms and associated policies referred to above. If you break the rules outlined below and in the detailed policies referred to above, we may suspend your access to the Program and its associated third-party services, and, in severe cases, refer information to the relevant legal authorities.
We may amend these terms and our policies from time to time. If the changes are significant, we will notify you by email if you have already registered for the Program.
Who can Participate in the Program
To participate in the Program as a student:
- You must be at least 13 years of age as of the date of your registration.
- You must attend a U.S. public or private secondary school located in the United States of America.
- You must be enrolled as a US Army Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps cadet at your school. (US Army JROTC)
- You must have completed the student registration form by no later than October 16th, 2024.
Agreement
By registering for the program and agreeing to these terms, you will be directed, as part of the Program to register and create an account with the Escal Institute of Advanced Technologies (SANS Institute or SANS) prior to participating in the BootUp CTF. Once registered, SANS will provide you access to training material, challenges and games.
Post-registration you will be provided with material and tools that, applied unethically or without consideration, could result in violation of (among others) the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of the United States or the Computer Misuse Act 1990 of the United Kingdom. By registering for this Program, you agree that you will not use any of the information provided, tools or techniques against other individuals or organizations without consent to do so.
By registering for the Program, you agree that you will comply with our Policies and Terms & Conditions, and that failure to do so could result in termination of your access or sharing of your information with the relevant legal authorities. Examples of abuse include, but are not limited to, launching a denial of service, or purposeful attempts to disrupt the service.
Your Progress through Program
Important Note
Round 1 includes the online challenges and games delivered by BootUp CTF through the SANS Institute.
SANS will inform the US Army JROTC of all top candidate scores in round 1. Up to 140 students will then be invited to advance to round 2 based on the discretion of the US Army JROTC.
Please note that advancement onto later rounds beyond round 1 will be at the sole discretion of the US Army JROTC.
In round 2 of the Program, top performing cadets will have the opportunity to enrol in the SANS SEC275: Foundations – Computers, Technology, and Security online training course and pursue the GFACT industry certification.
In round 3 of the Program, US Army JROTC will select up to 22 teams to participate in SANS NetWars Tournament, a cyber range event during which students will put their knowledge to the test through hands-on exercises and compete at an in-person, live championship event.
This structure is the plan for the Program as of August 20, 2024. Based on actual results and participant engagement, US Army JROTC may direct SANS Institute to adjust the Program structure.
If Successful, Where Round 2 will be Held
Round 2 will entail online training via https://www.sans.org/cyber-security-courses/foundations/ during the first half of 2025.
Round 3
Details regarding Round 3, including specific location and additional information, will be provided to eligible students closer the event date.
How Your Data will be Used
An outline of what data we will collect and how we will use it is included in our Privacy Policy below. The data will be held by the SANS Institute, and the US Army JROTC for the purposes of running the Program.
How You may use Program Material
Works and materials supplied to you during your participation in the Program works are protected by copyright laws and treaties around the world. All such rights are reserved.
You must not modify any paper or digital copies you make of any materials you have printed off or downloaded in any way, and you must not use any illustrations, photographs, video or audio sequences, or any graphics separately from any accompanying text.
You must not use any part of the content on the sites you visit as part of this Program for commercial purposes without obtaining a licence to do so from us or our licensors.
If you breach any of these terms of use, your right to use our site will cease immediately and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made.
Contact Information
If you have any questions about these terms or any associated policy, please contact privacy@sans.org.
Privacy Policy
The Program, is committed to protecting your privacy and complies with the principles of the relevant data protection regulations, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We commit to holding the minimum amount of data that we can from you, and we are committed to ensuring that your data is handled properly and any information we hold is stored securely and used in a lawful and ethical way.
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect data, why we collect it, how it is used, who has access to it, and how long it is kept for. By using this website or registering for the Program, you consent to the Program partners processing your data. The Program follows GDPR standards in our collection, handling, and storing of your data. You may have
We may need to revise this Privacy Policy from time to time. If the changes are significant, we will notify you by email.
You may have additional data protection rights afforded to you by the state or country where you reside, including but not limited to, in the United States, European Union member state, the United Kingdom or other jurisdictions. Please click here for additional information regarding data protection rights that may be afforded to you by your state or country of residence.
Who is holding my personal data?
Your information is being collected by the Program partners, detailed below. This is required to allow us to run and deliver information security talent assessment and training programs. The Program is delivered by:
- The Escal Institute of Advanced Technologies, Inc. (SANS Institute), based in the United States of America at 11200 Rockville Pike, Suite 200, North Bethesda, MD 20852
- Army Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, U.S. Army Cadet Command, Libbey Hall, 394 2nd Dragoons Road, Fort Knox, Kentucky, 40121
SANS Institute is the Controller of your data and the US Army JROTC are the processors.
This Program and the prior mentioned parties will maintain information that you provide to us, and data collected during your interaction with the provided services. This is collected for the operational purposes of security and safeguarding, but primarily for the running of the talent identification and training outlined on this website.
We use Amazon Web Services to host our registration service and store data. We use Tableau to analyse and report on Program registration, progress, and outcomes data.
We will always ask for your permission before sending your information to any other organization, or for any use case other than what is outlined above. We may on occasion offer you invitations to access or join third party services and/or platforms that may be of interest to you as a participant of the Cyber Warrior Challenge. Your use of these services is entirely optional and will not affect your access to or eligibility for the Cyber Warrior Challenge. We may send you information related to our programs and further suitable opportunities for you, which you may terminate at your discretion.
What information do you collect about me?
The types of information we hold about you include:
- When you register for the Program as a student, we collect your first name, last name, email address, school information, state information, and lastly (optional) JROTC instructor name and email.
- Information on how you use and experience this website and its forms, including server logging that may contain basic data such as IP address, date and time, the URL or path of the resource or file accessed, browser information, or error information.
- Marketing Information, including tracking and cookie data that we collect when you use our website.
With whom are you sharing my personal data?
When you register for Round 1 of the Cyber Warrior Challenge, we will request you create an account on SANS.org. SANS will then provide you with instructions on how to participate in the BootUp CTF prior to the launch of the CTF.
Your registration information and scores and details of your progress in BootUp CTF will be shared with SANS Institute and US Army JROTC for the purposes of selecting students to invite to Round 2.
If you are selected to progress to Round 2, the Program organizers will contact you with details of how to register for Round 2, including registering for the SANS SEC275 training course and GFACT certification.
If you are selected to progress to Round 3, the Program organizers will contact you with details of how to register for Round 3, including registering for the SANS NetWars Tournament. Any further information provided for the purpose of running the event will be held and processed by US Army JROTC and SANS Institute.
Consent
We get your information from your registration form, from your use of the website and materials, and from details of your progress in the Program. For us to process your data we need to get your consent or permission to use your information on behalf of all those involved. We can't enroll you in the Program and keep you up to date without your registration information, and we also need to monitor your progress.
Whether you choose to join or leave the Program is entirely up to you. The only effect of asking us to delete your information would be that you are no longer able to be a member of the Program. You are entitled to do this at any point in support of your GDPR right to be forgotten.
We've tried to make this notice easy to read, but you can always contact the Data Protection Officer via privacy@sans.org who will help explain things further and will answer your questions.
Leaving the Program and Removing your Information
If you change your mind about allowing us to use your information, you simply need to tell us by emailing privacy@sans.org. We will then take you through a couple of quick steps to confirm you want to delete your information and leave the Program.
We'll update you when this has been done, or in exceptional circumstances if we can't do this.
Why do you need my information anyway?
We need it to run the Program outlined on this site. US Army JROTC and SANS Institute will need your data to run the Program and to assess eligibility.
If you don't want us to hold your information, you will no longer be able to participate in the Program, and we will delete your records from the system.
What security measures are you taking?
We carry out regular security assessments to make sure your information is secure. We follow all the standard industry practices to make sure we hold your information as securely as possible.
Security Incidences
As per GDPR standards, we will always inform you as quickly as possible if we discover any security incidence that has affected your data. We will take all action that we can to reduce risks and we will let you know if you need to take any action to protect yourself as a result.
How long will the information be held?
We keep your information for seven years or until you ask us to delete it, if this is sooner, and you wish to leave the Program. If the circumstances arise where we need to keep the data longer, we will tell you and explain why.
What about my other rights?
You have a right to have a copy of the information which Cyber Warrior Challenge holds on you or to transfer your information. You can make a request for a copy of your data through support by emailing privacy@sans.org.
What if I want more information or want to complain?
If at any time you want further information, or you need help understanding what you can and cannot request, or if you want to make a complaint, the Data Protection Officer can help you with this.
You can be asked to be put in contact with our Data Protection Officer via our support channels. Please email privacy@sans.org and ask to be put in contact with the Data Protection Officer.
If you still aren't happy with our response you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Cookies Policy
The Cyber Warrior Challenge uses cookies as part of the delivery of the service. By using the service, you agree to the use of Essential Cookies that are a requirement for the platform to operate.
Additional cookies may be used to optimize the site experience, help us understand where we can improve the Cyber Warrior Challenge, and for certain marketing activities, but this is undertaken only with your consent when you visit the site. You do not need to accept these optional cookies to use Cyber Warrior Challenge, and we provide you with an opportunity to opt out of these optional cookies.
What are cookies?
Cookies are small pieces of text sent to your web browser by a website you visit. A cookie file is stored in your web browser and allows the service or a third-party to recognize you, makes your next visit easier, and renders the service more useful to you.
Cookies can be either 'persistent' or 'session' cookies. Persistent cookies may remain on your hard drive until you erase them or they expire. Session cookies are temporary cookie files, which are erased when you close your browser.
Essential Cookies
When you visit the website, we will ask you to set your cookie preferences. In order to access the Cyber Warrior Challenge there are some cookies that are essential and you will need to agree to their use if you wish to access Cyber Warrior Challenge. We use these cookies:
- To enable certain functions of the service to operate
- To provide analytics and store your preferences
- To understand which of our partners referred you to the Program
To allow you to opt-in or opt-out of optional cookies, provided by Civic Cookie Control.
We use both session and persistent cookies on the service and we use different types of cookies to provide these Essential Cookies. Blocking our Essential Cookies may prevent you using our service or may cause problems with your experience of our service. Please see our Cookie Policy for more information.
Optional Cookies
Cookies are managed through our cookie banner that will allow you to 'opt in' or 'opt out' of non-essential cookies. At present our non-essential cookies are limited to selected third parties that we work with to provide us with information about the use of our site and to help improve the Program.
Our non-essential cookies belong to third-party companies and are used to track how people find and use this website. These companies include:
- Conversion tracking for marketing activities with Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, and Google Ads
- Analytics and screen recordings with HotJar of how you interact with this website so we can make improvements to the usability and experience of the site
- Google Analytics for marketing purposes
You do not have to agree to any non-essential cookies, and if you do not consent it will have no effect on your ability to participate in the Program. If you previously opted in to non-essential cookies, and then later decide to opt-out of those non-essential cookies, you may need to manually remove those third-party cookies using your browser’s cookie preferences and clearing settings; due to how third-party cookies work, we are not able to delete or remove these cookies for you from your browser after they have been previously set.
You can delete cookies or instruct your web browser to delete or refuse cookies. To do this you should visit the help pages of your web browser. There are lots of tools and plug-ins available to manage or restrict cookie behavior. Please see our Cookie Policy for more information.
Support
Require further help? Send us an email and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.