Privacy Policy
How we collect, use, and protect your personal information.
1. Introduction
Empire Cybersecurity LLC ("Empire," "we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our services, including:
- Empire Cybersecurity (empire-cybersecurity.com) - Our main corporate website
- Empire E-Learning (elearning.empire-cybersecurity.com) - Online learning platform
- Empire CyberLabs (cyberlabs.empire-cybersecurity.com) - Hands-on security labs platform
By using our services, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.
2. Information We Collect
Personal Information
When you create an account or use our services, we may collect:
- Name and contact information (email address, phone number)
- Account credentials (username, password - stored securely hashed)
- Billing information (processed securely through third-party payment processors)
- Professional information (company name, job title)
- Profile information you choose to provide
Usage Information
We automatically collect certain information when you use our platforms:
- Device information (browser type, operating system, device identifiers)
- Log data (IP address, access times, pages viewed)
- Learning progress and completion data (E-Learning platform)
- Lab activity and challenge completion data (CyberLabs platform)
- Performance metrics and scores
CyberLabs Specific Data
When using Empire CyberLabs, we collect technical activity data including VPN connection logs, lab environment interactions, and submitted flags/solutions. This data is used solely for platform functionality, scoring, and improving the learning experience.
3. Legal Basis for Processing
We process your personal information based on the following legal grounds, as required by applicable data protection laws including the GDPR:
- Contractual Necessity: Processing necessary to fulfill our contract with you, including account creation, service delivery, course access, lab environments, and certification issuance.
- Legitimate Interests: Processing necessary for our legitimate business interests, including platform security, fraud prevention, service improvement, and analytics—provided these interests do not override your rights.
- Consent: Processing based on your explicit consent, such as marketing communications and optional features. You may withdraw consent at any time.
- Legal Obligation: Processing necessary to comply with legal requirements, including tax regulations, financial record-keeping, and responding to lawful requests from authorities.
Your Right to Object: You have the right to object to processing based on legitimate interests. Contact us at [email protected] to exercise this right.
4. How We Use Your Information
We use collected information to:
- Provide Services: Deliver, maintain, and improve our platforms and services
- Account Management: Create and manage your account across our platforms (single sign-on)
- Communication: Send service updates, security alerts, and support messages
- Personalization: Customize your learning experience and recommend relevant content
- Analytics: Analyze usage patterns to improve our services
- Security: Detect, prevent, and address technical issues and security threats
- Certification: Issue and verify certifications and achievements
- Legal Compliance: Comply with legal obligations and enforce our terms
6. Data Retention
We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. Below are our retention periods for different categories of data:
| Data Category | Retention Period |
|---|---|
| Account Information | Duration of account + 30 days after deletion |
| Learning Progress & Certifications | Duration of account (certifications retained for verification) |
| CyberLabs Activity Data | Duration of account |
| Payment & Billing Records | 7 years (legal/tax requirement) |
| Server Logs & IP Addresses | 90 days |
| Support Tickets & Communications | 3 years after resolution |
| Marketing Preferences | Until withdrawn or account deletion |
After the retention period expires, we securely delete or anonymize your data. You may request earlier deletion of your personal data by contacting us, subject to legal retention requirements.
7. Data Security
We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your information:
- Encryption of data in transit (TLS/SSL) and at rest
- Secure password hashing using modern algorithms
- Regular security assessments and penetration testing
- Access controls and authentication mechanisms
- Continuous monitoring for security threats
- Employee security training and access restrictions
While we strive to protect your information, no method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.
Data Breach Notification
In the unlikely event of a data breach that affects your personal information, we will notify affected users within 72 hours via email and platform notification, as required by applicable data protection laws including the GDPR. We will also notify relevant supervisory authorities where required.
8. Your Rights
Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:
- Access: Request a copy of your personal data
- Correction: Request correction of inaccurate data
- Deletion: Request deletion of your personal data ("right to be forgotten")
- Portability: Request your data in a portable, machine-readable format
- Restriction: Request restriction of processing in certain circumstances
- Object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests
- Opt-Out: Opt out of marketing communications at any time
- Withdraw Consent: Withdraw previously given consent without affecting prior processing
Response Timeline
We will respond to your data rights request within 30 days. For California residents under CCPA, we will respond within 45 days. If we need additional time due to request complexity, we will notify you and explain the reason for the extension.
To exercise these rights, please contact us at [email protected]. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.
Account Deletion
You can request deletion of your account and associated personal data at any time. To delete your account:
- Self-Service: Log into your account on Empire E-Learning or CyberLabs, navigate to Account Settings, and select "Delete Account"
- Email Request: Send a deletion request to [email protected] from your registered email address
Upon account deletion, we will remove your personal data within 30 days, except for data we are legally required to retain (such as payment records for tax purposes). Your certification records may be retained in anonymized form for verification purposes.
California Residents (CCPA)
California residents have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), including the right to know what personal information is collected, request deletion, and opt-out of the sale of personal information. We do not sell personal information.
EU/EEA Residents (GDPR)
If you are in the European Union or European Economic Area, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority if you believe we have not complied with applicable data protection laws.
10. Children's Privacy
Our services are not intended for individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 18, we will take steps to delete that information.
11. International Users & Data Storage
Empire Cybersecurity LLC is a company registered in the United States (Wyoming). We serve users globally and are committed to protecting your data regardless of your location.
EU Data Storage
Your personal data is stored on secure cloud infrastructure located within the European Union. This means your data benefits from the strong data protection standards of the EU, including GDPR protections, regardless of your location.
Data Transfers
While our data is stored in the EU, certain operational data may be accessed by our team in the United States for support, maintenance, and service delivery purposes. Any such access is subject to appropriate safeguards and data protection measures consistent with applicable laws.
Governing Law: This Privacy Policy is governed by the laws of the State of Wyoming, United States, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. However, for EU/EEA users, this does not affect your statutory rights under applicable data protection laws.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date. For significant changes, we will provide additional notice via email or through our platforms.
We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes.
13. Contact Us
If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us: