Tradecraft Academy Terms and Conditions 

Date last updated: September 1, 2026 

These Tradecraft Academy Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) govern your registration for, access to, and participation in courses, training, labs, and related materials offered through the SpecterOps Tradecraft Academy (“Academy”). The Academy is operated by Specter Ops, Inc. (“SpecterOps,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). 

By registering for, purchasing, accessing, or participating in an Academy course or training offering (each, a “Course”), you agree to these Terms, the Tradecraft Academy Honor Code, and the Trademark and Logo Usage Guidelines. 

1. Registration, Accounts, Eligibility,andScope 

You agree to provide accurate and complete information when registering for a Course and to keep your account credentials secure. Your registration and access are personal to you and may not be shared with or transferred to another person without SpecterOps’ prior written approval. 

You are responsible for activity occurring through your Academy account. 

To register for or participate in a Course, you must be at least 18 years of age, or the age of majority in your jurisdiction, and able to form a legally binding contract with SpecterOps. The Academy is not intended for, and may not be used by, anyone under the minimum age of consent to data processing in their jurisdiction. 

These Terms govern each individual student’s registration for, access to, and use of the Academy, regardless of whether you purchased a Course directly through the Academy, received access through an organization, used a voucher, or received complimentary access. If an organization purchases Courses or seats on your behalf under a separate statement of work, purchase order, order form, or other written agreement with SpecterOps, that separate agreement governs the commercial relationship between SpecterOps and the organization, including payment and any organization-specific terms. In the event of a conflict between these Terms and such a separate agreement, the separate agreement controls with respect to the commercial relationship between SpecterOps and the organization, while these Terms continue to govern your individual use of the Academy. You are not a party to, and acquire no rights under, any such separate agreement. 

2. Course Access

Courses may be offered in different formats, including self-paced on-demand courses, cohort-based courses available during a specified access period, and instructor-led or live courses. 

You may obtain access to a Course by purchasing it directly through the Academy, by receiving a voucher or seat purchased by an organization, or by receiving a complimentary seat or voucher that SpecterOps provides for promotional, commercial, or other reasons. Vouchers, complimentary seats, and other access rights have no cash value and may not be transferred, resold, or exchanged for cash except where SpecterOps expressly permits or applicable law requires otherwise. An organization that purchases or receives multiple Course seats or vouchers may reassign an unused seat or voucher to another individual before the originally designated individual has accessed or otherwise begun using the applicable Course; once an individual accesses or begins using the Course, that individual’s Course access becomes personal and non-transferable. SpecterOps may impose expiration dates, Course limitations, or other reasonable restrictions on vouchers or complimentary access, which will be disclosed when the voucher or access is provided. 

The applicable Course description or checkout page will identify any material Course-specific terms, including the Course format, scheduled dates, access period, and fees. 

Access to a Course is limited to the period specified at the time of registration. Unless otherwise stated, Course access does not include perpetual access to the Course or Course Materials. 

SpecterOps may make changes to Course schedules, instructors, labs, materials, or content. If SpecterOps cancels a paid Course and does not provide a reasonable alternative, you will be entitled to a refund of the fees paid for the cancelled Course. 

3. Fees and Payment

Fees for paid Courses are due at the time of registration unless otherwise stated. Payments may be processed through a third-party payment processor. 

You are responsible for any applicable taxes associated with your purchase, except taxes based on SpecterOps’ income. 

4. Refunds

Unless otherwise stated for a particular Course: 

On-Demand Courses. You may request a refund before you first access the Course. Once you access the Course or any associated Course Materials, the Course is non-refundable. 

Cohort-Based Courses. You may request a refund before the applicable Course access period begins. Once the Course access period begins, the Course is non-refundable. 

Live Courses. You may request a refund before the Course begins. Once the Course begins, the Course is non-refundable. 

The refund rights described above apply only where you paid SpecterOps directly for the applicable Course. If you received access through a voucher, an organization-sponsored seat, complimentary access, or otherwise did not pay SpecterOps directly for the Course, you have no independent right to a cash refund from SpecterOps, and any refund or credit will be addressed under the applicable agreement between SpecterOps and the organization. Nothing in this Section limits any refund rights an organization may have under its separate agreement with SpecterOps. 

If you are a consumer, nothing in these Terms limits any mandatory cancellation, withdrawal, or refund rights you have under applicable law that cannot be waived, including any statutory withdrawal rights available to consumers in the EU and UK. Where you request access to a Course or Course Materials before any applicable withdrawal period expires, you acknowledge that, to the extent permitted by law, you may lose such withdrawal rights once performance begins. 

Refund requests must be submitted to accounting@specterops.io. Approved refunds will generally be issued to the original payment method. 

5. Course Materials and License

All Course content and materials made available through the Academy, including videos, presentations, slides, lab materials, exercises, software, documentation, graphics, and other training materials (“Course Materials”), are owned by SpecterOps or its licensors and are protected by intellectual property and other applicable laws. 

Subject to these Terms, SpecterOps grants you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable license to access and use the Course Materials solely for your own educational purposes during the applicable Course access period. 

You may take and retain personal notes regarding a Course and may download and retain Course Materials that SpecterOps expressly makes available for download. 

Except as expressly permitted by SpecterOps, you may not: 

• record, reproduce, copy, republish, or distribute a Course or Course Materials; 

• share Course Materials with another person or make them publicly available; 

• share your Academy account or permit another person to access a Course through your account; 

• sell, sublicense, or commercially exploit Course Materials; 

• remove or alter copyright, trademark, proprietary, or attribution notices contained in Course Materials; 

• scrape, harvest, or use automated or robotic means to access, extract, index, or collect a Course or Course Materials; or 

• use a Course or Course Materials to train, develop, or improve any machine learning or artificial intelligence model, or to conduct text or data mining, without SpecterOps’ prior written permission. 

Nothing in these Terms transfers ownership of any SpecterOps intellectual property to you. 

6. User-Submitted Content and Feedback

The Academy may allow you to submit assignments, exercise responses, questions, forum posts, or other materials (“User Content”). You are responsible for your User Content, must have the rights necessary to submit it, and must not submit User Content that is unlawful or infringing or that contains another party’s confidential information or data you are not authorized to share. 

You retain ownership of your User Content. You grant SpecterOps a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, use, reproduce, and display your User Content solely to operate and provide the Academy and the applicable Course. SpecterOps may remove User Content it reasonably believes violates these Terms. 

If you provide feedback, suggestions, or ideas regarding the Academy or any Course (“Feedback”), SpecterOps may use the Feedback for any purpose without restriction and without any obligation or compensation to you. 

7. 7. Labs and Acceptable Use

Certain Courses may provide access to hosted labs, environments, software, tools, or other technical resources (“Labs”). 

You may use Labs only for legitimate educational purposes associated with the applicable Course and in accordance with instructions provided by SpecterOps. 

You may not use the Academy, Labs, or Course Materials to interfere with, gain unauthorized access to, test, attack, or otherwise affect any system, network, account, or data that you do not own or have explicit authorization to access. 

You may not intentionally interfere with the Academy or Labs or the ability of other students to use them. 

You also may not: (a) access or attempt to access any account, system, network, or data without authorization, or circumvent, disable, or interfere with any security or access control of the Academy or Labs; (b) introduce malware or other harmful code except as expressly authorized within a Lab exercise; (c) impersonate any person or entity or misrepresent your affiliation; (d) use the Academy or Labs to conduct any unlawful activity or to attack or affect any system outside the designated Lab environment; or (e) probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of the Academy or its infrastructure except as SpecterOps expressly permits. 

You represent, warrant, and agree that you are not located in, and are not a national or resident of, any country or territory subject to comprehensive U.S. or other applicable trade sanctions or embargoes, and that you are not identified on any government list of prohibited or restricted parties. You may not access, download, use, or export the Academy, Labs, or Course Materials in violation of U.S. export control or sanctions laws or any other applicable export control laws or regulations. You are responsible for complying with all applicable laws regarding the transmission and use of any techniques, tools, or information presented through a Course. 

8. 8. Suspension and Termination

SpecterOps may suspend or terminate your access to the Academy or a Course if you violate these Terms in any way and for any reason, including by sharing Course access or Course Materials, misusing Labs, or engaging in unlawful or disruptive conduct. 

If SpecterOps terminates your access because of your violation of these Terms, you will not be entitled to a refund except where required by applicable law. 

Upon suspension or termination, your right to access the applicable Course, Course Materials, and Labs will immediately cease. Provisions of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination, including those governing Course Materials and intellectual property, User-Submitted Content and Feedback, disclaimers of warranties, limitation of liability, indemnification, governing law, and the General section, will survive. 

9. 9. Privacy

SpecterOps collects and processes personal information in connection with the Academy in accordance with the SpecterOps Privacy Policy, available at https://specterops.io/privacy-policy/. 

We may use third-party service providers to operate the Academy, process payments, communicate with participants, and otherwise support the Academy. 

The Academy is intended solely for use by adults and is not directed to children. Consistent with the eligibility requirements in Section 1, the Academy is not intended for, and may not be used by, any person under 18 years of age (or the applicable age of majority in your jurisdiction), and in no event by any child under the age of 13. In accordance with the U.S. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) and other applicable laws, SpecterOps does not knowingly collect, use, or disclose personal information from children under 13. If SpecterOps becomes aware that it has collected personal information from a child under 13 without verifiable parental consent, or from any individual who does not meet the applicable minimum age requirement, SpecterOps will take reasonable steps to delete such information and terminate any associated account. If you are a parent or guardian and believe that a child under 13 has provided personal information to SpecterOps, please contact us at privacy@SpecterOps.io so that we can take appropriate action. 

10. 10. Third-Party Services

The Academy may rely on third-party platforms, payment processors, software, or services. Your use of certain third-party services may also be subject to terms or policies imposed by the applicable third party. 

SpecterOps is not responsible for third-party services except to the extent required by applicable law. 

11. 11. Educational Purposes

Courses and Course Materials are provided for educational and informational purposes. Upon successful completion of a Course, participants may receive a certificate of completion and, for certain Courses, may also be eligible to receive a digital badge through Credly or another designated provider. 

Certificates of completion and digital badges evidence completion of the applicable Course but do not constitute a professional license or certification unless SpecterOps expressly states otherwise. 

SpecterOps does not guarantee that participation in or completion of a Course will result in any particular professional, employment, certification, security, or other outcome. 

You are responsible for determining whether and how to apply information or techniques presented through a Course. 

12. 12. Disclaimer of Warranties

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE ACADEMY, COURSES, LABS, AND COURSE MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.” 

SPECTEROPS DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. 

SPECTEROPS DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE ACADEMY, COURSES, OR LABS WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE. 

13. 13. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, SPECTEROPS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, BUSINESS, OR DATA, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE ACADEMY OR THESE TERMS. 

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, SPECTEROPS’ TOTAL LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO A COURSE OR THESE TERMS WILL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO SPECTEROPS FOR THE COURSE GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM. 

The limitations in this Section do not apply to liability that cannot lawfully be limited or excluded. 

14. Indemnification

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless SpecterOps and its officers, employees, and agents from any third-party claims, damages, liabilities, and reasonable expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to your violation of these Terms or applicable law, your misuse of the Academy, Courses, or Labs, or your User Content. This Section does not apply to the extent a claim results from SpecterOps’ own conduct or to any liability that cannot lawfully be limited. 

15. 15. Changes to Courses and These Terms

SpecterOps may update these Terms from time to time. Changes will apply prospectively unless otherwise permitted by applicable law. 

The Terms presented to you when you purchase or register for a Course will govern that registration unless we notify you otherwise as permitted by applicable law. 

16. 16.Enforcement,Governing Law, and Severability 

 Enforcement of these Terms will be governed by Washington law, excluding its conflict and choice of law principles. The exclusive jurisdiction and venue for any claims arising out of or related to these Terms or your use of the Academy will lie in the State and Federal courts located in Seattle, King County, Washington, and you irrevocably agree to submit to the jurisdiction of such courts. The failure of SpecterOps to enforce any right or provision in these Terms will not constitute a waiver of such right or provision unless acknowledged and agreed to by SpecterOps in writing. In the event that a court of competent jurisdiction finds any provision of these Terms to be illegal, invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect. 

17. 17. General

 SpecterOps will not be liable for any failure or delay in performance, or for any interruption of the Academy, Courses, or Labs, resulting from causes beyond its reasonable control, including acts of God, natural disasters, war, terrorism, civil unrest, labor disputes, governmental action, power or internet failures, cyberattacks, or the acts or omissions of third-party service providers. 

You consent to receive communications and notices from SpecterOps electronically, including by email to the address associated with your account or by posting notices within the Academy. You agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures, and other communications that SpecterOps provides electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing. 

You may not assign or transfer your rights under these Terms without SpecterOps’ prior written consent. SpecterOps may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, corporate reorganization, or sale of all or substantially all of the relevant business or assets. 

These Terms, together with any Course-specific terms presented at registration or checkout, constitute the agreement between you and SpecterOps regarding your participation in the applicable Course. 

We may occasionally update these Terms. When we do, we will revise the “last updated” date on these Terms. Your continued use of the Academy after such changes will be subject to the then-current terms of use. This version of these Terms shall supersede all earlier versions. 

18. 18. Contact

 
If you have any questions or concerns about the Academy or these Terms, please send us a thorough description by email to info@SpecterOps.io, or write to us at:  

Specter Ops, Inc.  

100 N Pitt Street Suite 310  

Alexandria, VA 22314  

privacy@SpecterOps.io  

Trademark and Logo Usage Guidelines 

Date last updated: September 1, 2026 

The SpecterOps name, logos, and related marks (the "Marks") are owned by SpecterOps. These guidelines apply to individuals who take Tradecraft Academy courses and use the Marks on their course completion badges. 

1. Permitted Use.You may displaythe Marks only as they appear on the badge you earned-for example, on a résumé, professional profile, or social media-and only as SpecterOps authorizes. You may not use the Marks apart from your badge. 
2. Accurate Representation.Use the Marks only truthfully. Do not imply anysponsorship, endorsement, partnership, or affiliation beyond what SpecterOps has authorized. 
3. Approved Artwork. Use only official, unaltered logo files. Do notmodify, recolor, distort, crop, orcombine the Marks with other logos without written approval. 
4. Visual Standards.Keepadequate clear space, legibility, and correct proportions, and follow any SpecterOps brand guidelines. 
5. Badges.Present your badge as issued, without alteration. Do not overstate your certification,claim an unauthorized credential, or remove any attribution or trademark notice. 
6. No Ownership or Goodwill.Your useof the Marks grants you no ownership rights, and all goodwill from that use belongs solely to SpecterOps. 
7. Prohibited Uses. Do not use the Marks in domain names, handles, product names, or advertising in aconfusing way; with unlawfulor disparaging content; or to register any confusingly similar mark. 
8. Changes and Termination. SpecterOps may update these guidelines or revokeyourpermission to use the Marks at any time. 

Tradecraft Academy Honor Code. SpecterOps Tradecraft Academy is built around hands-on learning and practical application. To keep the experience valuable and fair for everyone, we expect learners to participate honestly and responsibly. 
 

Tradecraft Academy Honor Code 

Date last updated: September 1, 2026 

By participating in Tradecraft Academy, you agree to follow this Honor Code as well as any additional instructions provided for a specific course, lab, exercise, challenge, or other learning activity. 
 

Do Your Own Work 

When an activity is intended to be completed individually, your work should be your own. 
Do not: 

• Submit another person's work as your own. 

• Have someone else complete an activity on your behalf or complete one for another learner. 

• Copy or use solutions, walkthroughs, flags, answer keys, or other materials that are not permitted for the activity. 

• Misrepresent how or by whom your work was completed. 

• Collaboration is encouraged when it is part of the learning experience. 
   

Use Resources Responsibly 

Cybersecurity professionals routinely use documentation, research, security tools, automation, AI, and collaboration to solve problems. We believe learning should reflect that reality. 

 
You may use these resources unless the instructions for a particular activity say otherwise. Some activities may limit certain tools, resources, or collaboration when using them would undermine the intended learning objective. 

 
When specific instructions are provided for an activity, follow those instructions. 
 

Don't Spoil the Experience for Others 

Do not share or publish restricted solutions, flags, credentials, walkthroughs, or other materials that would allow someone else to bypass the intended learning experience. 
Sharing knowledge and helping others learn is encouraged. Sharing the answers isn't. 
 

Stay Within Scope 

Tradecraft Academy teaches real-world security techniques in controlled environments. 
Only interact with systems, accounts, networks, and resources that are explicitly authorized as part of an activity. Do not treat access to Tradecraft Academy or participation in a course as authorization to access or test systems outside the defined scope. 

 
Outside of Tradecraft Academy, you are responsible for ensuring you have appropriate authorization before applying the techniques you learn. 
 

Don't Game the Academy 

Do not intentionally manipulate, bypass, exploit, or interfere with Tradecraft Academy systems or learning activities to obtain credit, access solutions, circumvent course requirements, or otherwise bypass the intended learning experience. 

 
This does not apply when discovering or exploiting something is explicitly part of the activity. 
 

When in Doubt, Ask 

Different courses and activities may have different rules about collaboration, AI, internet research, notes, automation, or other resources. 

 
If you're unsure whether something is allowed, ask your instructor or Tradecraft Academy staff. 
 

Violations 

Violations of this Honor Code may result in loss of course progress, removal from a course or activity, suspension or termination of Tradecraft Academy access, or other action permitted under the Tradecraft Academy Terms and Conditions. 

 
Our goal isn't to make learning restrictive. It's to make sure everyone gets the experience that the course was designed to provide.