TRANSPARENCY
Affiliate disclosure.
Some of the links on this site are affiliate links. Here’s exactly what that means and how we keep it from compromising editorial integrity.
How it works
When we recommend a training platform (TryHackMe, Hack The Box, OffSec, Coursera, Udemy, etc.) or a specific piece of hardware/book on Amazon, the link may include an affiliate tracking parameter. If you click through and make a qualifying purchase, the vendor pays Ciphers Security a small commission — typically 5–25% of the transaction.
This commission costs you nothing extra. The price you pay is identical to what you’d pay going to the vendor directly. We see a percentage; you see no difference.
Editorial independence
The presence of an affiliate relationship does not influence which products we recommend. Our criteria for recommending a platform are:
- We’ve used it ourselves and would recommend it without compensation.
- It’s genuinely useful for the topic at hand (TryHackMe for hands-on labs, OffSec for OSCP prep, etc.).
- It has a free tier or trial — so readers can evaluate before spending.
If we ever cease to recommend a platform — because their quality dropped, their pricing became predatory, or their security posture deteriorated — we remove the affiliate link AND update our coverage to reflect that. We won’t keep recommending something just because it pays a commission.
How affiliate links are marked
- Affiliate links route through our
/go/{platform}URLs so you can see what you’re clicking before you click. - All outbound affiliate links carry
rel="sponsored nofollow"per Google’s guidelines and FTC rules. - Sections that contain affiliate links (e.g. “Related learning resources” widget on tutorial posts) include an explicit disclosure line above the links.
- This page is permanently linked from our site footer.
What we never do
- Insert affiliate links to products we haven’t personally evaluated.
- Hide affiliate relationships in articles where we mention a vendor.
- Run paid product placements disguised as editorial content.
- Allow affiliate partners to review or edit our articles about them.
Questions? Write to contact@cipherssecurity.com.