Cybersecurity Content Policy

Cybersecurity reporting carries unique responsibilities. Poor coverage can mislead defenders, tip off attackers, expose victims, or undermine the trust between security researchers and the broader community. This policy sets out how Cyber Newsroom approaches these challenges.

What We Cover

Cyber Newsroom focuses on cybersecurity content with clear relevance to practitioners:

• Disclosed vulnerabilities (CVEs, vendor advisories, researcher reports)
• Ransomware and extortion campaigns with public confirmation
• Nation-state and APT activity reported by credible threat intelligence sources
• Data breaches confirmed by affected organisations or authoritative third-party sources
• Malware analysis and threat actor TTP changes
• Security tool releases, patches, and mitigation guidance
• Regulatory and compliance developments affecting cybersecurity practice
• Geopolitical events with significant cyber dimensions

What We Do Not Cover

• Unconfirmed or unverified breach claims with no corroboration
• Content that would primarily benefit attackers rather than defenders
• Working exploit code or step-by-step attack instructions
• Personal information about individual victims of attacks
• Content that could be used to harass, dox, or harm individuals
• Pure rumour or speculation presented as fact

Editorial Standards

Vulnerability Disclosure Coverage

We cover vulnerabilities once they are publicly disclosed — either by the vendor, the researcher, MITRE/NVD, or a CERT. We do not cover unpatched vulnerabilities that have not been publicly acknowledged, as premature publication could endanger systems before defences are available.

For zero-day disclosures already public (e.g., via PoC code or active exploitation reports), we cover the defensive posture: detection, containment, and workarounds. We do not provide reproduction steps or weaponisable technical detail beyond what is necessary for defenders.

Threat Actor Attribution

Cyber attribution is inherently difficult and frequently contested. Our policy:

• We attribute only when a credible threat intelligence source has made a public attribution
• We note the confidence level of attribution ("with high confidence", "tentatively linked to", etc.)
• We distinguish between technical indicators and political attribution
• We do not repeat unsubstantiated attributions made by parties with obvious political interests
• We correct attributions when credible counter-evidence emerges

Data Breach Reporting

What We Report

Breaches confirmed by: (a) the affected organisation, (b) regulatory notifications (SEC, ICO, DPC filings), (c) credible breach notification services with independent verification, or (d) law enforcement statements.

What We Omit

We do not publish: individual victim names from breach data, account credentials, payment card data, personally identifiable information (PII) of private individuals, or content sourced directly from dark web markets or ransomware leak sites.

Responsible Reporting on Active Incidents

During active incidents (ongoing ransomware, live exploitation), we:

• Avoid specifying which specific systems remain unpatched or unmitigated
• Delay technical detail that could assist active attackers
• Prioritise guidance that helps defenders over content that informs attackers
• Update articles as the situation evolves

Privacy in Security Reporting

Victims of cyber attacks — organisations and individuals — have privacy interests even when the attack is newsworthy. We:

• Do not name individual employees, patients, or customers whose data was exposed unless they are public figures acting in a public capacity
• Avoid publishing information that could re-victimise data breach victims
• Do not engage in or facilitate "breach hunting" — trawling stolen datasets to identify victims
• Comply with applicable data protection laws (GDPR, CCPA) in our own operations (see Privacy Policy)

Source Diversity & Independence

Our content aggregates from a curated list of sources including independent researchers, vendor threat intelligence teams, academic institutions, and specialist media. We maintain the following:

• No commercial relationships with vendors in exchange for coverage
• No sponsored content
• Source trust scores that downweight vendor press releases relative to independent research
• Multiple source corroboration before significant claims are reported as established fact

Corrections & Retractions

If a published article contains a material factual error, we will:

• Correct the error with a visible correction note and datestamp
• Retract the article in cases of severe inaccuracy or where correction is insufficient
• Notify us at contact@cybernewsroom.xyz with "Correction Request" in the subject line