Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using the Cybersecurity Stars Awards platform and services (collectively, the “Services“), including registering an account, submitting nominations, or making payments, you (“Vendor,” “You,” or “Participant“) agree to be bound by these Terms of Service (“Terms“). If you don’t agree to these Terms, you’re expressly prohibited from using the Services and must discontinue use immediately.

We may update or modify these Terms at any time. We’ll endeavor to provide notice of significant changes through reasonable means, such as email notification to registered users or prominent alerts on the Awards website. Updated Terms will be posted on the Awards website and become effective immediately upon posting. Your continued use of the Services after such changes constitutes your binding acceptance of the updated Terms. If you don’t agree with the changes, you must immediately cease all use of the Services.

2. Description of Services

The Services enable Vendors to register accounts, submit nominations for awards under various cybersecurity categories, pay nomination fees, and receive communications related to the Awards.

The Services may also include proprietary content and materials created by The Hacker News (e.g., editorial content, award branding, promotional materials), as well as third-party content or services such as payment processing providers. While we strive to ensure high availability and accuracy, the Services are provided “as is” and “as available,” reflecting the dynamic nature of online platforms, without guarantees of uninterrupted or error-free operation, nor do we warrant that all defects will be corrected.

You’re solely responsible for obtaining and maintaining all necessary equipment, software, and reliable internet access, including bearing any associated data charges, required to use the Services. You acknowledge and accept all risks associated with accessing and using the Services, including any third-party interactions.

3. Account Registration and Security

To participate, you must register an account with accurate, complete, and up-to-date information. You agree to:

• Provide true and current information about yourself and your organization.
• Maintain the confidentiality of your account login credentials, including passwords.
• Notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your account or any other security breach.

You acknowledge and accept sole responsibility for all activities that occur under your account, regardless of whether such activities are authorized by you. We reserve the absolute right, in our sole discretion, to suspend or permanently terminate accounts that are found to have provided false, inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated information, or that otherwise violate these Terms, without liability or further obligation to You.

4. Nomination Process and Payment Terms

Vendors may nominate themselves or others in one or multiple award categories under:

• Cybersecurity Industry Solution
• Cybersecurity Company
• Cybersecurity Product / Service
• Cybersecurity Professional / Team

Each nomination requires submission of the official nomination form and payment of the applicable nomination fee. Nomination fees are payable in full before a nomination is considered valid. Switching nomination categories is permitted before the official nomination submission deadline. After this deadline, category changes will not be allowed.

All fees are strictly non-refundable under any circumstances, with the sole exception that a full refund will be issued if The Hacker News, in its sole discretion, rejects or cancels a nomination for reasons not attributable to a breach of these Terms by the Vendor.

In cases where The Hacker News identifies a potential non-compliance or error in your nomination content (excluding content violations under Section 6 that lead to immediate rejection), we reserve the right to notify the Vendor and provide a one-week (7-day) period to resubmit corrections. If, after this grace period, the non-compliance persists or the required corrections are not made, we may, in our sole discretion, proceed with the cancellation of the nomination without a refund.

Any and all applicable taxes, duties, or other governmental charges arising from your participation in the Awards are the sole responsibility of the Vendor.

5. Judging and Award Selection

Winners are selected exclusively by a panel of qualified judges appointed by The Hacker News. Judging criteria and procedures are determined solely by The Hacker News.

Decisions rendered by the independent judging panel are final, conclusive, and binding on all Participants. No correspondence, appeals, or challenges regarding judging decisions will be entertained. You acknowledge the highly competitive nature of the Awards and that judges’ deliberations and scoring are confidential. No specific feedback or reasons for nomination decisions will be provided.

Participation in the Awards doesn’t, in any way, guarantee the receipt of any award, recognition, prize, or other benefit. The selection process is highly competitive, and only a limited number of awards are granted.

6. Vendor Content and Representations

By submitting nomination materials or other content (“Content“) through the Services, you represent and warrant that:

• You own or have secured all necessary rights, licenses, consents, waivers, and permissions required to submit, use, and grant the license to The Hacker News for all Content submitted through the Services.
• The Content doesn’t violate any applicable law, regulation, or court order, nor does it infringe upon or misappropriate the intellectual property rights (including copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and patents), privacy rights, publicity rights, or any other proprietary or personal rights of any third party.
• The Content doesn’t contain malicious code or harmful elements.
• The Content is truthful and accurate to the best of your knowledge.

You grant The Hacker News and its affiliates a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, fully paid-up, non-exclusive, sublicensable, and transferable license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, distribute, publicly perform, and publicly display the Content (in whole or in part) in connection with the administration, promotion, and marketing of the Cybersecurity Stars Awards, and for any other purpose related to The Hacker News’s business, across all media now known or hereafter devised, without further compensation or notification to You.

We reserve the right, but not the obligation, to review, monitor, remove, or refuse any Content, in whole or in part, that we deem, in our sole and absolute discretion, to be in violation of these Terms, objectionable, harmful, inaccurate, or inappropriate, at any time and without prior notice. In cases of content violations that result in the rejection or cancellation of a nomination, the nomination fee will not be refunded.

7. User Conduct

When using the Services, you explicitly agree not to, and warrant that you won’t:

• Violate any applicable laws or regulations.
• Interfere with or disrupt the Services or servers/networks connected to the Services.
• Transmit spam, malware, or other harmful content.
• Impersonate any person or entity or misrepresent your affiliation.
• Collect or store personal data of others without consent.
• Engage in any abusive, fraudulent, or harmful behavior.

8. Privacy

Your use of the Services is subject to and governed by our Privacy Policy, which is hereby incorporated by reference into these Terms. By accessing or using the Services, you expressly acknowledge and consent to the collection, use, storage, and disclosure of your personal and business information by The Hacker News as described in the Privacy Policy.

9. Intellectual Property Rights

All intellectual property rights, including but not limited to copyrights, trademarks, service marks, trade names, logos, designs, text, graphics, images, software, and databases, associated with the Services and all materials contained therein (excluding Vendor Content) are the exclusive property of The Hacker News or its licensors and are protected by applicable intellectual property laws.

Except for the limited, non-exclusive license granted to You solely to use and submit Content as expressly described herein, You’re strictly prohibited from reproducing, modifying, distributing, displaying, transmitting, performing, publishing, licensing, creating derivative works from, transferring, or selling any part of the Services or any intellectual property contained therein, without the express prior written consent of The Hacker News.

10. Suspension and Termination

We reserve the absolute right, in our sole discretion and for any reason whatsoever, to immediately suspend, restrict, or terminate your account or access to the Services, with or without prior notice or liability. This includes, but isn’t limited to, any actual or suspected breach of these Terms, fraudulent activity, or conduct deemed harmful to The Hacker News or other users. We may also, at our sole discretion, cancel or modify the Awards program or any part thereof at any time.

11. Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

THE SERVICES AND ALL RELATED MATERIALS, INCLUDING ANY CONTENT OR INFORMATION PROVIDED THEREIN, ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. THE HACKER NEWS EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL THE HACKER NEWS, ITS AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, SUPPLIERS, OR LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY, OR MULTIPLE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, GOODWILL, REPUTATIONAL HARM, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, ARISING FROM OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICES, EVEN IF THE HACKER NEWS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY CONTAINED HEREIN, THE HACKER NEWS’S TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY AND ALL CLAIMS ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE USE OF THE SERVICES SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO THE HACKER NEWS FOR THE SERVICES IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR (B) FIFTY US DOLLARS ($50.00).

12. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless The Hacker News, its affiliates, officers, employees, and agents from any and all claims, demands, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses) arising from or in connection with:

• Your breach of these Terms.
• Your violation of applicable laws.
• Your submission of Content that infringes third-party rights.
• Your use of the Services.

13. Miscellaneous

Entire Agreement: These Terms and the Privacy Policy constitute the entire agreement between you and The Hacker News concerning your use of the Services.

Assignment: We may assign or transfer these Terms or our rights and obligations without notice.

Severability: If any provision is found invalid, the remaining provisions remain effective.

Waiver: Failure to enforce any provision doesn’t constitute a waiver of that provision.

Governing Law & Jurisdiction: These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of New Delhi, India, without regard to its conflict of law principles. You agree that any legal action or proceeding arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services shall be exclusively brought in the federal or state courts located in New Delhi, India, and you hereby irrevocably consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of such courts.Force Majeure: Neither party shall be liable for any failure or delay in performance under these Terms for causes beyond its reasonable control, including, but not limited to, acts of God, war, terrorism, riots, embargoes, acts of civil or military authorities, fire, floods, accidents, pandemics, strikes, or shortages of transportation facilities, fuel, energy, labor, or materials.

14. Contact Us

For any questions or concerns regarding these Terms or the Cybersecurity Stars Awards, please contact us via email at awards@thehackernews.com