STANDARD TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR NAMED CONSULTANT MEMBERSHIP
Upon purchase of Membership by Customer, these Terms and Conditions shall constitute an agreement between Center for Internet Security, Inc. (“CIS”) and a Named Consultant Member (the “Agreement”).
I. Definitions
Affiliate means any corporation, firm, limited liability company, partnership or other entity that directly or indirectly controls or is controlled by or is under common control with a Party. Affiliate excludes any entity that is located in or organized under the laws of the People’s Republic of China, including the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
CIS Benchmarks means consensus based secure configuration guidelines applicable to a variety of operating systems, middleware and software applications, and network devices.
CIS Controls means the CIS Critical Security Controls.
CIS SecureSuite means the cybersecurity configuration and remediation membership offerings provided by CIS, as set forth in this Agreement.
CIS SecureSuite Products includes any or all of the following: CIS Benchmarks and CIS Controls in any format provided, CIS-CAT Pro (including CIS-CAT Pro Assessor and CIS-CAT Pro Dashboard), CSAT Pro, CIS Workbench community site, product guides, CIS Build Kits and other products offered by CIS from time to time, as set forth at https://www.cisecurity.org/cis-securesuite/benefits/.
II. Membership Benefits.
Under the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement, CIS grants to Consultant a Named Consultant Membership that entitles Consultant and Named Consultant as identified herein the following benefits:
A. Organizational Use
1. Access to and use of the CIS SecureSuite Products, including the right to distribute the CIS SecureSuite Products within and among Consultant’s Affiliates.
2. Unlimited access to and use of the CIS Workbench site (a community site where SecureSuite resources are developed) for access to CIS SecureSuite Products, including forums for information sharing, user support, and discussions among members, developers, and CIS staff. Individual users of the CIS Workbench site shall be required to acknowledge terms of service as a condition to accessing the site.
3. Electronic notification of updates to the CIS SecureSuite Products.
4. CIS SecureSuite Products support from CIS staff and developers.
5. At Consultant’s option, listing of Consultant on the dedicated CIS SecureSuite Member pages of the CIS public website and in other promotional materials.
6. The right to use the CIS SecureSuite Membership logo on Consultant’s websites and documents in accordance with the terms and conditions of the CIS Logos, Trademark and Intellectual Property Use Policy set forth at https://www.cisecurity.org/cis-logos-and-trademark-use-policy/ as such Policy may be amended from time to time.
7. Updates or improvements of existing CIS SecureSuite Products that are made in the ordinary course of business and provided pursuant to this Agreement.
8. The ability to edit/modify CIS Benchmarks, solely for internal use by Consultant and its Affiliates, based upon the Consultant’s unique internal specifications and requirements (a “Customized Benchmark”). Once a Customized Benchmark is created, Consultant is prohibited from labeling or identifying such Customized Benchmark as a “CIS Benchmark.” Such Customized Benchmark shall not be considered a “derivative work” pursuant to section VII(E) of this Agreement.
B. Organizational Use Restrictions
1. Consultant and its Affiliates may not sell, resell, or distribute any CIS SecureSuite Product or Customized Benchmark, whether in part or in whole, on its own or as part of an offering, product or service. Except as expressly permitted hereunder, nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as conferring any right on Consultant to use in advertising, publicity or other commercial or promotional activities any name, trade name, trademark or other designation of CIS or its products, services or other intellectual property, unless CIS’ express written permission has been obtained in advance of such use.
2. Consultant agrees not to provide CIS with any personal information, as defined under the Personal Information Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China (“PIPL”), of individuals who are citizens of China, including the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Failure to comply with the restriction in this Section II.B.2 shall be a material breach of this Agreement.
3. Except as set forth in section II(C), use of the CIS SecureSuite Products and any Customized Benchmarks is limited to internal use by Consultant and its Affiliates, for the purpose of securing Consultant’s own internal use to secure the organization’s owned system/network(s) and data (including Consultant’s data stored in a third-party network or cloud environment), and not that of any third party.
4. Notwithstanding the prohibitions in this Section II.B, Consultant may engage a contractor or consultant (“Third Party”) to assist in the installation, downloading and use of the CIS SecureSuite Products; provided that such Third Party shall access the CIS SecureSuite Products solely in connection with its contractual performance of duties for Consultant and shall not use or retain any of the CIS SecureSuite Products for any other purpose. Consultant shall take reasonable steps to ensure that such Third Party’s use of the CIS SecureSuite Products is limited as described herein.
C. Named Consultant Use
1. For onsite consulting engagements, the right for the Named Consultant to download, install, and use the CIS SecureSuite Products on Consultant Clients’ computer network or environment, including any third party network or cloud environment hosting Consultant Clients’ data, for the sole purpose of providing information security consulting and auditing services to those Consultant Clients, provided that, at the end of each consulting/auditing engagement, the Named Consultant must remove all copies of any CIS SecureSuite Products from Consultant Clients’ computers, networks, systems, and organizational environments that have been installed or provided to those Consultant Clients.
2. For remote consulting engagements, the right for Named Consultant to be given direct access to a time-limited version of CIS-CAT Pro, for the sole purpose of providing information security consulting and auditing services to those Consultant Clients, provided that Consultant Client agrees to use CIS-CAT Pro time-limited version only to assess Consultant Client’s internal system.
3. Notwithstanding any license terms for the CIS Controls to the contrary, CIS hereby provides Consultant a non-exclusive, non-transferable worldwide license to use the CIS Controls in the context of any consulting engagement, including developing Customized Policies as defined below.
4. The right for the Named Consultant to assist Consultant Clients in developing security configuration and/or security metrics policies that are specifically customized to meet Consultant Clients’ information security needs (“Customized Policies”), provided that Consultant Clients agree to:
a. use any Customized Policies only for securing Consultant Clients’ internal systems or Consultant Clients’ data hosted in a third-party network or cloud environment; and
b. not distribute any Customized Policies beyond Consultant Clients’ organizations.
Once a Customized Policy is created by Consultant, Consultant may represent to Consultant Clients that such Customized Policy leverages one or more CIS SecureSuite Products but not that it incorporates any CIS SecureSuite Product(s).
5. CIS agrees that Consultant Clients may be charged for training, installation, programming and other services, even if those services relate to the CIS SecureSuite Products.
6. The right for the Named Consultant to use the CIS SecureSuite Logo on reports and related materials prepared for Consultant Clients, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the CIS Logos, Trademark and Intellectual Property Use Policy set forth at https://www.cisecurity.org/cis-logos-and-trademark-use-policy/ as such Policy may be amended from time to time.
7. Consultant is not required to remove Customized Policies from Consultant Clients’ computers, networks, systems, and organizational environments at the end of consulting/auditing engagements.
D. Consultant Use Restrictions
1. Consultant may not charge Consultant Clients directly for the CIS SecureSuite Products and neither Consultant, the Named Consultant nor any Consultant Clients may sell, resell, or distribute the CIS SecureSuite Products.
2. Only those persons designated as the Named Consultant, in accordance with Section III(H) of this Agreement, are entitled to use the rights provided under the Membership, and no other person within Consultant’s organization will be so authorized.
III. Membership Fee and Term; Named Consultant Designation.
A. Initial Term. This Agreement will commence on the Effective Date and continue for a preliminary term set forth in an Order, which is hereby incorporated and made a part of this Agreement (the “Initial Term”).
B. Membership Fee. In exchange for the rights granted to Consultant during the Initial Term, Consultant agrees to pay CIS the amount stated in the Order (the “Membership Fee”). The Initial Term Membership Fee shall be due and payable within thirty (30) days of the Effective Date. Consultant shall remit the Membership Fee using one of the approved methods listed in the Order.
C. Renewal Term. Following the Initial Term, this Agreement shall automatically renew for successive periods of the same duration as the Initial Term (each a “Renewal Term”) until Consultant gives CIS proper Notice of Cancellation, in accordance with Section III.E, below.
D. Renewal Membership Fee. Sixty (60) days prior to the commencement of each Renewal Term, CIS shall provide Consultant with an Order listing the Membership Fee applicable to the next Renewal Term. If no response, or an affirmative response, is received by CIS on or before the date that is thirty (30) calendar days prior to the commencement of the next Renewal Term, the Agreement shall be deemed renewed. The Renewal Term Membership Fee shall be due and payable thirty (30) days prior to the commencement of the next Renewal Term. Consultant shall pay the Renewal Term Membership Fee using one of the methods listed in the applicable Order.
E. Cancellation. Consultant may cancel this Agreement by providing notice to CIS prior to the commencement of any Renewal Term (a “Notice of Cancellation”). To be effective, such Notice of Cancellation must be in writing, and must be received by CIS on or before thirty (30) days prior to the commencement of the next Renewal Term.
F. Taxes. No Membership Fee payable under this Agreement shall be reduced by any amount for taxes or fees to be collected by a taxing jurisdiction, financial institution or payment processor incidental to Consultant’s payment of any Membership Fee.
G. Contact Information. Consultant shall designate a primary point of contact for this Agreement (the “Primary Contact”) and provide CIS with current information, including a valid email address, for this Primary Contact. Consultant is solely responsible for notifying CIS of any changes to the identity or contact details of the Primary Contact. Consultant’s failure to timely update CIS with revised information for its Primary Contact shall not excuse Consultant from the obligation to pay any Renewal Term Membership Fee that would otherwise be charged under this Section.
H. Named Consultant. The following person is identified by Consultant to be a Named Consultant, and will be authorized to use the rights granted under this Agreement. Consultant may change the designation of a person as a Named Consultant at any time during the term of the Membership by submitting a written notice to CIS. Consultant may name only one person as a Named Consultant pursuant to this Agreement.
Named Consultant
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IV. Termination.
A. Right to Terminate for Cause or Convenience. Both CIS and Consultant shall have the right to terminate this Agreement for convenience or nonperformance by the other Party by providing at least thirty (30) days written notice. Both CIS and Consultant shall have the right to terminate this Agreement immediately in the event of the other Party’s material breach of this Agreement. Material breach shall include any Party’s violation of applicable law, and Consultant’s failure to comply with the data restriction set forth in Section II.B.2 of this Agreement. Consultant will cease use of the CIS SecureSuite Products as of the date of such termination.
B. Non-Payment of Membership or Renewal Membership Fee. If Consultant fails to timely remit any undisputed Membership Fee, CIS reserves the right to restrict Consultant’s access to the CIS SecureSuite Products until full payment has been received. Should CIS, in its sole discretion, permit continued usage of the CIS SecureSuite Products despite Consultant’s non-payment or partial payment, such action shall not be construed as CIS’ waiver or relinquishment of any rights granted under this Agreement or of the future performance of any such term or condition, and Consultant’s obligations with respect thereto shall continue in full force and effect.
C. Membership Fee Refund.
1. Refund for One-Year Term Agreements. In the event of termination by CIS for nonperformance or material breach by Consultant, or for convenience by Consultant, Consultant will not be entitled to a refund of any Membership Fee that has been paid. In the event of termination by Consultant for nonperformance or material breach by CIS, or for convenience by CIS, Consultant may request a prorated refund of any unused Membership Fee that has been paid.
2. Refund for Multi-Year Term Agreements. In the event of termination by CIS for nonperformance or material breach by Consultant, or for convenience by Consultant, Consultant will not be entitled to a refund of any Membership Fee that has been paid and is applicable to the current year of the Term or Renewal Term, but will be entitled to a refund of any portion of the Membership Fee applicable to subsequent years within the Term or Renewal Term. In the event of termination by Consultant for nonperformance or material breach by CIS, or for convenience by CIS, Consultant may request a prorated refund of any unused Membership Fee that it has paid for any portion of the Membership Fee applicable to future years within the Term or Renewal Term.
V. CIS SecureSuite Products Provided As Is.
CIS makes reasonable efforts to utilize and maintain the most secure programs available to screen and protect CIS’s computer programs, websites, and computer infrastructure from malware. However, Consultant understands and agrees that CIS is providing the CIS SecureSuite Products “as is” and “as available” without any representations, warranties, or covenants of any kind whatsoever.
VI. Ownership Rights of Intellectual Property and CIS SecureSuite Products Reserved.
Consultant is not acquiring any title or ownership rights in or to any of the CIS SecureSuite Products or associated intellectual property, and full title and all ownership rights to the CIS SecureSuite Products and associated intellectual property remain the exclusive property of CIS. Consultant further understands and agrees that the use of Trademarks in connection with this Agreement does not create any right, title or interest in or to the use of Trademarks and that all such use and goodwill associated with Trademarks will inure to the sole benefit of CIS. Consultant further agrees that it will comply with the terms and conditions of the CIS Logos, Trademark and Intellectual Property Use Policy set forth at www.cisecurity.org/cis-logos-and-trademark-use-policy/ as such Policy may be amended from time to time. All rights to the CIS SecureSuite Products not expressly granted in this Agreement are hereby reserved.
VII. Restrictions.
Consultant acknowledges and agrees, on its behalf and on behalf of the Named Consultant, that except as otherwise expressly permitted in this Agreement, neither Consultant nor Named Consultant may: (A) decompile, disassemble, alter, reverse engineer, or otherwise attempt to derive the source code for any CIS SecureSuite Product (except to the extent that such product is already in the form of source code); (B) distribute or redistribute, sell, rent, lease, sublicense or otherwise transfer or exploit any rights to any CIS SecureSuite Product in any way or for any purpose including, without limitation, creating an image incorporating any CIS Benchmark or derivative content (including without limitation remediation content) and offering or using that image as a product or service made available to a third party; (C) post any CIS SecureSuite Product on any website, bulletin board, ftp server, newsgroup, or other similar mechanism or device; (D) remove from or alter the terms of use or any proprietary notice placed on any CIS SecureSuite Product; (E) create any derivative work based directly on an CIS SecureSuite Product or any component thereof; (F) represent or claim a particular level of compliance or consistency with any CIS SecureSuite Product; (G) provide CIS, through Workbench (or otherwise), with personal information that is protected under the PIPL; or (H) facilitate or otherwise aid other individuals or entities in violating this Agreement.
U.S. Export Control and Sanctions Laws - Regarding Consultant’s use of the SecureSuite Products with any non-U.S. entity or country, Consultant acknowledges that it is its responsibility to understand and abide by all U.S. sanctions and export control laws as set from time to time by the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
VIII. Consultant’s Responsibility to Evaluate Risks.
Consultant acknowledges and agrees that: (A) no network, system, device, hardware, software, or component can be made fully secure; and (B) Consultant has the sole responsibility to evaluate the risks and benefits of the CIS SecureSuite Products to Consultant’s particular circumstances and requirements including, without limitation, the decision to implement or not to implement one or more Benchmark configuration recommendations.
IX. Consultant Indemnification of CIS.
Consultant agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold CIS and all of CIS's employees, officers, directors, agents and other service providers harmless from and against any third-party claim, suit or proceeding (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) brought against any of them in connection with Consultant’s material breach of this Agreement.
X. CIS Indemnification of Consultant.
CIS shall indemnify, defend, and hold Consultant harmless against any third-party claim, suit or proceeding (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) brought against Consultant alleging that the CIS SecureSuite Products infringe any patent, copyright, or enforceable trade secret, provided that Consultant: (A) gives CIS prompt written notice of any such claim; (B) allows CIS to control the defense and settlement of such claim; (C) refrains from entering into any settlement or compromise of such claim without CIS’s prior written consent; and (D) provides all assistance reasonably requested by CIS in the defense or settlement of such claim, at CIS’s expense. THIS SECTION SETS FORTH CIS’S SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE LIABILITY, AND CONSULTANT’S SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY FOR CIS’S INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD-PARTY RIGHTS OF ANY KIND.
XI. Limitation of Liability.
Except as otherwise specified in this Agreement, neither Party will be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, including without limitation, damages for lost profits, data or use, incurred under this Agreement, whether in an action in contract or tort, even if that Party has been advised of the possibility of such damages.
XII. Confidential Information.
A. Confidential Information. Each Party acknowledges that by reason of its relationship with the other Party hereunder, such Party (the “Receiving Party”) might receive access to certain confidential and proprietary information and materials concerning the other Party (the “Disclosing Party”). “Confidential Information" means oral or written non-public information that the Disclosing Party designates as being confidential or which, under the circumstances surrounding disclosure, ought to be treated as confidential, whether provided to the Receiving Party before, on or after the date hereof. "Confidential Information" includes, without limitation, information relating to the Disclosing Party’s software and hardware products, specifications, databases, networks, systems design, file layouts, tool combinations and development methods, and information relating to the Disclosing Party's business or financial affairs, such as business methods, marketing strategies, pricing, product development strategies and methods, customer lists and financial results. "Confidential Information" also includes information received from others that the Disclosing Party is obligated to treat as confidential. Confidential Information includes all tangible materials which contain Confidential Information, including, without limitation, written or printed documents, computer disk storage, and other magnetic or optical storage media, whether user- or machine-readable.
B. Exclusions. Confidential Information does not include any information that the Receiving Party can reasonably demonstrate: (i) was known to the Receiving Party prior to its disclosure hereunder by the Disclosing Party; (ii) was independently developed by the Receiving Party; (iii) is or becomes publicly known through no wrongful act of the Receiving Party; (iv) has been rightfully received from a third-party whom the Receiving Party has reasonable grounds to believe is authorized to make such disclosure without restriction; or (v) has been approved for public release by the Disclosing Party's prior written authorization. Confidential Information may be disclosed pursuant to applicable law, regulations or court order or similar proceeding, provided that the Receiving Party provides, where reasonably possible and legally permissible, prompt advance notice thereof to enable the Disclosing Party to seek a protective order or otherwise prevent such disclosure.
C. Use. The Receiving Party acknowledges and agrees that the Disclosing Party’s Confidential Information is of substantial value to the Disclosing Party, which value would be harmed if such information were disclosed to third parties. The Parties agree that, commencing on the Effective Date and thereafter, they will not: (i) use the Disclosing Party's Confidential Information in any way, except in the performance of obligations under this Agreement; or (ii) disclose the Disclosing Party’s Confidential Information to any third party, except to the Receiving Party’s employees who need to know such information, provided such employees have a signed confidentiality agreement with terms no less restrictive than the terms in this Agreement. The Parties will not publish, in any form, the other Party's Confidential Information beyond any descriptions published by said other Party.
D. Ownership of Information. The parties expressly agree that the Disclosing Party shall retain all ownership in its Confidential Information.
E. Return of Information. In the event of any termination or expiration of this or any other agreement between the parties: (i) upon the written request of the Disclosing Party, the Receiving Party shall return or destroy all copies of Confidential Information to the Disclosing Party; and (ii) except to the extent the Receiving Party is advised in writing by counsel that there is a legal prohibition on so doing, the Receiving Party will also promptly destroy all written material, memoranda, notes and other writings or recordings whatsoever prepared by it or its representatives based upon, containing or otherwise reflecting any Confidential Information of the Disclosing Party. Any Confidential Information that is not returned or destroyed including, without limitation, any oral Confidential Information, shall remain subject to the confidentiality obligations set forth in this Agreement. The Receiving Party may return the Confidential Information, or any part thereof, to the Disclosing Party at any time.
F. Duration. All obligations to protect Confidential Information set forth in this Agreement shall apply during the time of the relationship between the parties and thereafter, without limitation.
G. Data Privacy. Both Parties agree to comply with all applicable data privacy laws and regulations, including as applicable, the General Data Protection Regulation. The Parties further acknowledge the Standard Contractual Terms found at https://www.cisecurity.org/standard-gdpr-clauses/, which are incorporated herein and are made a part hereof, and by signing this Agreement agree to abide by its terms, to the extent applicable.
XIII. Additional Terms
A. Jurisdiction. Consultant acknowledges and agrees that: (A) this Agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York; and (B) any action at law or in equity arising out of or relating to this Agreement shall be filed only in the courts located in the State of New York. Consultant hereby consents and submits to the personal jurisdiction of such courts for the purposes of litigating any such action.
B. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in separate counterparts each signed by a Party and such counterparts deemed an executed whole with the full force and effect. Signatures may be exchanged by email or electronic signature and such signatures will be deemed original.
C. Entire Agreement; Purchase Orders. This Agreement, including any exhibits referenced herein, constitutes the entire agreement of the Parties with respect to the subject matter hereof, and supersedes all previous written, and all previous or contemporaneous oral negotiations, understandings, arrangements, and agreements. This Agreement may be amended only by a written amendment signed by both Parties.
For the avoidance of doubt, and whether or not CIS is deemed under applicable law to have accepted an offer by Customer, CIS objects to and rejects all additional and/or inconsistent terms contained in a Purchase Order (PO) or similar document submitted by Consultant to CIS, incidental to the Membership purchased herein. Any such terms which are not specifically addressed or referenced in this Agreement are hereby rejected and not agreed to nor consented to by CIS, absent express written acceptance.
D. Advertising or Publicity. .Except as provided for in Sections II(A)(5) and (6), neither party shall use the other Party’s name, service marks, or trademarks, or refer to or identify the other Party in any advertising, publicity releases (including references on any Consultant lists or posting on websites), or promotional or marketing correspondence to others without the prior written approval of the other Party.
E. Notices. All notices, requests, demands and determinations made under this Agreement (other than routine operational communications) shall be in writing and shall be deemed duly given (A) when delivered personally (against a signed receipt), (B) on the designated day of delivery (other than a weekend or Federal holiday) after being timely given to an express overnight courier with a reliable system for tracking delivery, or (C) six (6) days after the day of mailing, when sent by first class United States mail, postage prepaid and return receipt requested, to the address set forth below. Legal notices shall also be delivered via email to CIS at [email protected]. Delivery via email alone shall not constitute compliance with this section.
F. Order of Precedence. Except as otherwise agreed to between the Parties, in the event of a conflict between the terms of this Agreement and any other document executed between the Parties, the following order of precedence shall apply: (1) The terms contained in this Named Consultant Membership Agreement, including any CIS policies referenced herein; (2) An Order or Invoice provided by CIS to Consultant; and (3) Any other document executed and/or agreed to in writing between the Parties.
Contract Version Date: 12/29/2023
EXHIBIT A
CIS SECURESUITE MEMBERSHIP MARK