Terms & conditions

This page (taken with the documents and pages it refers to) tells you the terms of use (the “Terms and Conditions”) which you agree to when you use the www.ncsc.gov.uk website, certain websites operated by or on behalf of the NCSC, and the content made available on those websites (together the “Websites").

General terms of use

By using the Websites, you indicate that you accept these Terms and Conditions and that you agree to abide by them. If you do not agree to these Terms and Conditions, please refrain from using the Websites.

You agree to use the Websites only for lawful purposes and in a manner that does not infringe the rights of, or restrict or inhibit the use and enjoyment of, the Websites by any third party. Additionally, you must not misuse the Websites by knowingly introducing viruses, trojans, worms, logic bombs or other material which is malicious or technologically harmful. You must not attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Websites, the server(s) on which they are stored, or any server, computer or database connected to the Websites. You must not attack the Websites via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of-service attack. Any breach of this provision may be reported to the relevant law enforcement authorities and where necessary we will co-operate with those authorities by disclosing your identity to them.

Intended use of advice and guidance

The National Cyber Security Centre (the “NCSC”) provides advice and assistance on cyber security in support of the Government of the United Kingdom, the armed forces of the Crown, and other persons and organisations, in each case in accordance with its functions under the Intelligence Services Act 1994. Unless otherwise indicated, the advice and guidance material hosted on the Websites is provided and intended for use by this audience, and is published on the Websites in order that the intended recipients can have easy access to the material.

Use of website content

Content on the Websites is, unless stated otherwise, subject to Crown copyright. Unless we indicate that certain content may be available for use under a different arrangement, or that content on the Websites includes material under licence from third parties, you may use or reuse the content published on the Websites without prior permission but must adhere to and accept the terms of the Open Government Licence (OGL) v3.0. You must acknowledge the source of the content and include a link to the Open Government Licence wherever possible. Authorisation to reproduce a third party’s copyright material must be obtained from the copyright holders concerned.

Where materials are stated to include material under licence from third parties, those materials are not licenced for re-use. Please contact us if you want to reproduce a piece of content but are not sure if it’s covered by Crown copyright or the OGL.
 

Images

Images credited to a third party are not Crown copyright and are not licenced for re-use. 

Logos

You are not permitted to use logos displayed on the Websites under the terms of the Open Government Licence, and so requests for permission to use logos should be directed to the Enquiries team using the Contact Us form. Please tell us how and why you wish to use the logo, and include your name, address, telephone and fax numbers and your email address with your request.

Linking to the Websites

We welcome and encourage other websites to link to the NCSC website but we don’t give you permission to suggest that your website is associated with, or endorsed by, the NCSC.

Linking from the Websites

Where the Websites contain links to other websites then these links are provided for your information only. We do not have control over the content on these websites. Unless explicitly stated, linking should not be taken as endorsement of any kind. 

We’re not responsible for:

• the protection of any information you give to these websites
• any loss or damage that may come from your use of these websites, or any other websites they link to

You agree to release us from any claims or disputes that may come from using these websites.

You should read all terms and conditions, privacy policies and end user licences that relate to these websites before you use them.
 

Virus Protection

Whilst we check and test material at all stages of production, you must take your own precautions to ensure that the processes which you employ for accessing the Websites do not expose you to the risk of viruses, malicious computer code or other forms of interference which may damage your own computer system. It is always wise for you to run an antivirus program on all material downloaded from the Internet. We cannot accept any responsibility for any loss, disruption or damage to your data or your computer system which may occur whilst using material derived from the Websites.

We collect and process information about you in accordance with our Privacy Policy and our Cookie Policy. By using the Websites, you agree to us collecting such information and confirm that any data provided by you is accurate.

The privacy statement only covers the Websites and does not cover links within the Websites to other websites not operated by or on behalf of NCSC.

The NCSC does not provide any guarantees, conditions or warranties as to the accuracy of the information on the Websites. We do not warrant that the functions contained in the material on the Websites will be uninterrupted or error free, that defects will be corrected, or that the Websites or the server(s) that make them available are free of viruses or represent the full functionality, accuracy and reliability of the material.

In addition, the advice and guidance material made available on the Websites is not mandatory, is provided on an “as is” basis without warranty as to its accuracy or suitability, is not intended to cover all scenarios and is not tailored to a particular set of facts or circumstances, or a specific organisation or individual. You should seek to ensure that you obtain specific advice that is tailored to their particular facts or circumstances. As such, the NCSC shall not be liable for loss or damage that may come from use of the Websites including:

• any direct, indirect or consequential losses; and/or
• any loss or damage caused by civil wrongs (‘tort’, including negligence), breach of contract or otherwise.

This applies if the loss or damage was foreseeable, arose in the normal course of things or you advised the NCSC that it might happen.

This includes (but is not limited to) loss of:

• income or revenue;
• salary, benefits or other payments;
• business;
• profit or contracts;
• opportunity;
• anticipated savings;
• data;
• goodwill;
• tangible property; and/or
• intangible property, including loss corruption or damage to any computer system.

It also includes wasted management or office time and loss or damage incurred in connection with the use, inability to use, or results of the use of the Websites, any websites linked to them and any materials posted on them.

This does not affect our liability for death or personal injury arising from our negligence, nor our liability for fraudulent misrepresentation, nor any other liability which cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law. 

NCSC may elect to have any claims or disputes with you resolved by way of confidential arbitration in front of a single arbitrator who shall be a King’s Counsel agreed by the parties or, failing agreement, appointed by the chairman of the Commercial Bar Association.

These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. Subject to the above paragraph ‘Disputes’, any dispute arising under these Terms and Conditions or your use of the Websites (whether it be contractual or non-contractual), will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

The Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“FOIA”) allows members of the public to request access to information held by certain public authorities. In legal terms, the NCSC (being a part of GCHQ) is not subject to FOIA, and therefore will not process FOIA requests. For further information on FOIA please refer to the Information Commissioner's Office.

There may be legal notices elsewhere on the Websites that relate to how you use the site. We’re not liable if we fail to comply with these terms and conditions because of circumstances beyond our reasonable control.
We might decide not to exercise or enforce any right available to us under these terms and conditions. We can always decide to exercise or enforce that right at a later date. 
Doing this once will not mean we automatically waive the right on any other occasion. If any of these terms and conditions are held to be invalid, unenforceable or illegal for any reason, the remaining terms and conditions will still apply.

We may at any time revise these Terms and Conditions without notice. Please check these Terms and Conditions regularly, as continued use of the Websites after a change has been made is your acceptance of the change. You’ll agree to any changes if you continue to use the Websites after the Terms and Conditions have been updated.

This page was last updated on 13th April 2026.