Our Manifesto
The Cyber Kindness manifesto sets out the core beliefs that we are built on. They describe the cyber security industry we want to help create and the way we expect people to treat one another within it.
Read them, and if they speak to you, take the pledge – either publically or anonymously – and help make them real.
Our Manifesto
The Cyber Kindness manifesto sets out what the campaign stands for and why it exists. It begins from a simple belief, that cyber security is built on trust, respect and accountability, and that bullying, harassment, gatekeeping and abuse have no place in the profession. It asks everyone, from leaders to newcomers, to help build a kinder and safer industry, because silence is not neutrality when people are being harmed.
We believe cyber security must be built on trust, respect and accountability.
We believe that bullying, harassment, intimidation, exclusion and abuse have no place in the cyber security profession.
We believe that kindness is not weakness. It is a strength, a leadership skill and a vital part of creating psychologically safe teams.
We believe that rigorous debate matters, but personal attacks, humiliation and cruelty are not the same as challenge.
We believe that gatekeeping harms our future by pushing out good people, but honest standards and honest challenge are not gatekeeping.
We believe that lived experience, neurodiversity, different backgrounds and different routes into cyber make the profession stronger.
We believe that leaders, communities, employers, speakers, event organisers and online platforms all have a role to play in setting better standards.
We believe that silence is not neutrality when people are being harmed.
We believe that kindness should be treated as a professional behaviour, a leadership responsibility and a security control.
We answer harm with challenge and accountability, never with cruelty or revenge.
Kindness and safety is for everyone, whotever you are and wherever you have come from.
How we treat each other online is part of how we treat each other, full stop.
Take The Cyber Kindness Pledge Now
The Cyber Kindness Pledge is a simple public commitment to a kinder, safer and more respectful cyber security industry. By taking it – either publically or anonymously – you agree to challenge ideas without attacking people, to call out bullying, harassment and exclusion when you see it, and to support those who are new to the field, returning to it or still finding their voice. It is open to individuals and organisations alike, and it takes moments to sign.
The pledge is not about lowering standards or avoiding hard conversations. It is about making clear that high standards and human decency belong together. Every name added sends a signal that toxic behaviour is not the price of working in this industry, and that respect, accountability and psychological safety are things we are willing to stand behind in public.
