Acceptance of these terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") are an agreement between you and David Walden, doing business as Walden Cybersecurity Solutions ("WCS," "I," "me"), covering your use of waldencybersecurity.com and the tools and content offered on it (the "Site"). WCS is a sole practitioner consultancy and not a separate registered entity. By using the Site, submitting a form, or starting a security checkup, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Site.

If you are using the Site on behalf of an organization, you represent that you are authorized to accept these Terms for that organization.

Informational use only

The Site, including its articles, service descriptions, and checkup output, is provided for general informational purposes. It is not legal advice, regulatory advice, audit services, or a professional opinion, and using it does not create a consulting or advisory relationship.

Nothing published here should be treated as a determination that your organization is or is not compliant with any framework, standard, or law, including SOC 2, HIPAA, ISO 27001, GDPR, PCI DSS, or the NIST frameworks. Compliance obligations turn on facts specific to your organization, and you should consult qualified legal and audit professionals before relying on any of it.

An engagement with WCS begins only when both parties sign a written agreement or statement of work. Where such an agreement exists, its terms govern that work and control over these Terms to the extent they conflict.

The security checkup

The free security checkup is a self-assessment tool. It produces a score and a suggested action plan based on the answers you provide, the publicly observable configuration of a domain you supply, and any documents you choose to upload.

The checkup is expressly not:

  • A security audit, assessment, or attestation.
  • A penetration test or vulnerability assessment.
  • A compliance certification or readiness determination.
  • A guarantee that your systems, data, or vendors are secure.

Its output depends entirely on the accuracy and completeness of what you submit, and it can only evaluate what it is given. Reports may be drafted with the help of automated and AI-based analysis, which can produce incomplete, inaccurate, or generic results. You are responsible for reviewing the output and deciding what to act on. A checkup score is not a substitute for a professional assessment of your environment.

Checkup submissions may be rate limited or declined to keep the tool available and prevent abuse.

Domain scanning authorization

If you supply a website address, the checkup may read the publicly published security configuration of that domain, including email authentication records, certificate and TLS settings, and HTTP security headers. These checks are passive and non-intrusive, and private or internal network ranges are refused.

By submitting a domain, you represent that you own it or are authorized by its owner to request these checks. Do not submit domains belonging to third parties, competitors, or organizations you are not authorized to act for. A scan may be refused or discontinued at any time.

Documents you upload

Document upload is optional. If you use it, you represent that you have the right to share the material and that doing so breaks no confidentiality obligation, contract, or law that applies to you.

Please upload written policy and program documents only. Do not upload personal data, protected health information, cardholder data, credentials, secrets, or detailed system configuration. The text of an uploaded document is extracted and retained for analysis; the original file is not stored. You grant permission to process that extracted text for the sole purpose of producing your checkup report, as described in the Privacy Policy.

Acceptable use

You agree not to:

  • Use the Site to violate any law or to infringe anyone's rights.
  • Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Site, its systems, its administrative interfaces, or any account or data on it.
  • Probe, scan, or test the Site's vulnerability, or interfere with or disrupt its operation, except under an authorization granted in writing.
  • Submit false, misleading, or another person's information, or impersonate any person or organization.
  • Use automated means to scrape, harvest, or bulk-submit to the Site, or to circumvent rate limits or verification challenges.
  • Upload malware or content designed to damage or compromise any system.
  • Use checkup output to make representations about the security posture of a third party.

If you find a security issue in this Site, I would genuinely like to hear about it. Report it to contact@waldencybersecurity.com rather than exploiting it, and allow a reasonable opportunity to fix it before disclosing it publicly.

Access to the Site may be suspended or blocked for conduct that violates these Terms.

Engagements

Requesting a consultation, submitting a checkup, or making contact obligates neither party to enter an engagement. Fees, scope, deliverables, confidentiality, data handling, and liability for paid work are set out in the applicable written agreement, not on this Site.

Intellectual property

The Site, its content, its design, its questionnaire and scoring methodology, and the Walden Cybersecurity Solutions name and marks are owned by David Walden or his licensors and are protected by intellectual property law. You may read, share, and quote the published articles with attribution and a link.

You may not copy, reproduce, or republish the Site's substantive content, the checkup questionnaire, or its scoring methodology for commercial purposes, or use them to build a competing product or service, without written permission.

The report generated from your checkup is yours to use inside your organization — to plan work, brief leadership, and share with your advisors.

Third-party services

The Site depends on third-party providers for hosting, email delivery, content delivery, DNS resolution, and AI-assisted report generation, as described in the Privacy Policy. I am not responsible for the acts, omissions, availability, or content of third parties, including any site linked from here.

Disclaimer of warranties

THE SITE AND THE SECURITY CHECKUP ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WCS DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

THERE IS NO WARRANTY THAT THE SITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT THE CONTENT, SCORES, FINDINGS, OR RECOMMENDATIONS PRODUCED BY THE CHECKUP ARE ACCURATE, COMPLETE, CURRENT, OR SUITABLE FOR YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES.

Limitation of liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WCS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, GOODWILL, OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO YOUR USE OF THE SITE OR THE SECURITY CHECKUP, WHETHER BASED IN CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, OR ANY OTHER THEORY, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

THIS INCLUDES, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY SECURITY INCIDENT, BREACH, COMPLIANCE FINDING, OR LOSS ARISING FROM ACTION OR INACTION TAKEN ON THE BASIS OF CHECKUP OUTPUT OR SITE CONTENT.

TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE SITE WILL NOT EXCEED ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100). This limit does not apply to liability that cannot be limited under applicable law, and it does not apply to paid engagements, which are governed by their own written agreements.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties or the limitation of certain damages, so parts of the above may not apply to you.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless WCS from any claim, demand, loss, or expense (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from your use of the Site, your violation of these Terms, your submission of a domain you were not authorized to submit, your upload of material you were not permitted to share, or your violation of any law or third-party right.

Changes and availability

Any part of the Site, including the security checkup, may be modified, suspended, or discontinued at any time and without notice. These Terms may also be updated; the effective date and version at the top of this page show when they were last revised. Continued use of the Site after a revision means you accept the updated Terms. If you do not agree to a change, stop using the Site.

Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Illinois, without regard to its conflict of laws rules. Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Site will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in the State of Illinois, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.

Any claim must be brought within one year after it arises, or it is permanently barred, to the extent permitted by law.

General

If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, the remaining provisions stay in effect and the unenforceable provision is modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable. A failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of it. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, are the entire agreement between you and WCS regarding the Site. You may not assign these Terms; they may be assigned by WCS in connection with a sale or transfer of the practice.

Contact

Questions about these Terms can go to contact@waldencybersecurity.com or through the contact form.