Terms and Disclaimers

These terms cover your use of AI Defense Matrix Reports at reports.aidefensematrix.com, including the reports, the data files, and the other documents published here. They state who operates the site, what the content is, and what we do and do not promise. Your use of this site is subject to these terms. The CC BY-NC 4.0 license governs use of the licensed content.

Who Operates This Site

Zeltser Security Corp and Cyber Defense Matrix LLC operate AI Defense Matrix Reports. These terms call them the operators, or we. Lenny Zeltser and Sounil Yu, the creators of the AI Defense Matrix, produce the reports. These terms call them the authors. To reach the operators, use the contact information at zeltser.com for Zeltser Security Corp, or message the Cyber Defense Matrix page on LinkedIn for Cyber Defense Matrix LLC.

Informational Use Only

The reports describe what our research found and how we interpret it. They are research publications. They are not professional, security, legal, financial, or purchasing advice. Verify anything you plan to act on against your own environment, your own data, and the current state of the products and practices involved. Reading a report or using the site does not make the operators or the authors your advisors or consultants.

No Endorsement

A report may name products, vendors, services, frameworks, or standards. Naming one is not an endorsement, and leaving one out is not a judgment about it. Survey findings describe what respondents reported, not the quality of any product or the suitability of any practice for you.

No Warranties

The site, the reports, and the data files are provided “as is” and “as available.” We disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We make no warranty that a report or a data file is complete, current, or correct. Survey responses are self-reported and unverified, samples are limited, and analysis can contain errors. Each report describes its own method and limitations, and those descriptions are part of the report. We may change, correct, or remove content, or suspend or discontinue the site, at any time.

Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Zeltser Security Corp, Cyber Defense Matrix LLC, Lenny Zeltser, and Sounil Yu are not liable for any damages that arise from using this site or relying on its content, including decisions made on the basis of a report. The same protection covers their officers, employees, and contractors, and anyone a report names as a contributor. That exclusion covers direct, indirect, incidental, and consequential damages, regardless of the theory of liability, and even if we were advised that such damages were possible. If a court does not allow the exclusion in full, the total liability of the operators, the authors, and the contributors, in the aggregate, will not exceed one hundred US dollars. These limitations do not apply to liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.

Data Files and Respondents

The published data files contain aggregated or de-identified survey responses. We take reasonable steps to remove or group details that we believe could identify a respondent or an employer. The data files describe only the people who answered the survey. They are not a census of an industry or population. Each report explains how its sample was gathered and what conclusions the sample can support.

Using the Reports in Your Work

We want the reports to be quoted and cited. When you quote a finding or reproduce a figure or chart, credit the source. Each report includes its own citation line. Use it, or credit the authors, the title and edition of the report, and reports.aidefensematrix.com.

Do not present a finding as an endorsement of a product, a company, or a practice by the authors or the operators, and do not present a report as a certification or a ranking. Cite the edition and its date, because a later edition may supersede an earlier one. We encourage you to link to the report on this site so readers can find the current edition. The CC BY-NC 4.0 license still allows non-commercial copies and adaptations under its terms.

Third-Party Sites and Content

The reports and the site may link to vendor pages, articles, standards, and other external sites that we do not control. We are not responsible for their content, accuracy, or practices, and their own terms and privacy policies apply to your visits there. A link is not an affiliation with the destination or an endorsement of it.

Corrections

If you find an error in a report or a data file, tell the operators using the contact information above. We distinguish factual errors from disagreement with our interpretation. We may correct a factual error when we can verify it, and disagreement alone does not require us to change an interpretation. When we correct a report, we may issue a corrected edition at the same address with a new version number. Treat anything you send us about a correction as non-confidential, and do not include confidential or proprietary information in it.

Trademarks

Product and company names and trademarks belong to their owners. A report may use them to identify the products and organizations it describes. That use does not imply sponsorship, approval, or affiliation. The operators and the authors use AI Defense Matrix and Cyber Defense Matrix for their frameworks and publications.

Copyright in the reports, figures, charts, data-file compilations, and original site content is held by Zeltser Security Corp and Cyber Defense Matrix LLC, except where a report states otherwise and to the extent copyright or similar rights apply. That material is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0. Under that license, anyone may copy, share, and adapt the material for non-commercial purposes. A person who shares the material must follow the license attribution rules, including identifying the creators, linking to the license, linking to the material when practical, and indicating changes.

We also grant permission to quote reasonable excerpts from the reports and to reproduce figures and charts as published, as part of another work or presentation, with credit to the source, in commercial and non-commercial settings. This additional permission does not authorize the sale or commercial redistribution of a report, a data file, all or a substantial part of the report data, or a figure or chart on its own. Those uses require written permission from the operators unless applicable law permits the use without permission.

The license and the additional permission apply only to rights the operators own and can license. They do not apply to third-party text, trademarks, or logos. Nothing in these terms limits fair use or another use allowed by law.

Governing Law and Venue

To the extent permitted by applicable law, these terms and any dispute with the operators or the authors arising from the site or its content are governed by New York law, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Any such dispute must be brought exclusively in the state courts located in New York County, New York, or the federal courts located in the Southern District of New York. Each party consents to the jurisdiction and venue of those courts.

Privacy

The site’s own code does not set cookies or use analytics. It stores only your light or dark theme choice in your browser. Cloudflare hosts and protects the site and may process IP addresses, browser and device information, security data, and request logs. The operators may be able to view some of this information through Cloudflare. If we add analytics or other measurement, we will update this section when we enable it.

Changes and Severability

We may revise these terms as the site evolves. Changes take effect when posted. This version took effect on September 4, 2026. If any part of these terms turns out to be unenforceable, the remaining parts stay in effect.