Effective July 24, 2026
The plain-English version
Some outbound links on this site are affiliate links. If you click one and then buy something (a course, a practice exam, a security product), the vendor pays this site a commission. You pay nothing extra; the price is the same either way.
Why affiliate links exist here
Everything on this site is free and stays free: the glossary, the framework guides, the quiz decks, the self-assessments, the planning tools. There are no ads, no paywalls, no accounts, and no selling of data (there is no data to sell; see the privacy policy). Affiliate commissions are how the electricity bill gets paid without compromising any of that.
How editorial independence is protected
- Recommendations come first, monetization second. Certifications, tools, and resources are recommended because they fit the reader's situation, not because they pay. Where a recommendation happens to have an affiliate program, the link is monetized; where it doesn't, it is linked anyway.
- The proof: many of the most prominent organizations recommended across this site (CompTIA, ISC2, ISACA, OffSec, SANS, and others) offer no affiliate program at all. They are linked because they are the right answer, and they earn this site nothing.
- No pay-for-placement. No vendor can buy a recommendation, a ranking, or a quiz question on this site.
- Commissions never change the advice. If a free resource is the best option, the free resource is what gets recommended.
How to spot them
Pages containing affiliate links carry a short disclosure near the links themselves, in addition to this page. If a page has no disclosure, it has no affiliate links.
The formal version
This disclosure is made in accordance with the United States Federal Trade Commission's guides concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising (16 CFR Part 255). Cybersecurity Alphabet Soup participates in affiliate programs with training providers, software vendors, and affiliate networks, and may be compensated for referred traffic or purchases. As an Amazon Associate, this site earns from qualifying purchases.
Questions
Ask anytime: [email protected] or open an issue on GitHub.