Ethics Policy

Conflicts of Interest

Every member of the Cyber Kannadigas editorial team is required to disclose any financial, personal, or professional relationship that could — or could appear to — influence their reporting. This includes shareholdings in technology companies, consulting arrangements, family connections to sources, and membership of organisations whose work we cover. Disclosures are reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief. Where a conflict exists, the affected journalist does not write or edit stories touching on that subject.

No editor or reporter accepts gifts, travel, tickets, or hospitality from any organisation they cover or could foreseeably cover. Press review copies of software or hardware are disclosed at the end of relevant articles.

No Fearmongering

Cybersecurity is an area where disproportionate alarm can itself cause harm — pushing readers toward insecure panicked decisions, or making them distrust legitimate government systems they should use. We commit to presenting threats accurately. If a risk affects a small percentage of users under specific circumstances, we say so. We do not write headlines suggesting universal catastrophe when the evidence supports a narrow threat.

Protecting Vulnerable Subjects

When we report on victims of cybercrime — particularly elderly people, fraud victims, or minors — we seek consent before publishing identifying details. We do not publish photographs of victims without explicit permission. We are sensitive to the stigma that fraud victims sometimes experience and we frame reporting in a way that holds perpetrators accountable without implying victims were negligent.

Honesty About Platform Capabilities

We do not overstate what any technology, tool, or government system can do. If a cybersecurity product has known limitations, we say so. If a government portal has a documented backlog or technical flaw, we report it. We do not endorse commercial products and we are explicit about that when assessing them.

Affiliate and Sponsorship Disclosure

If we earn a commission from a product or service link, that link is marked clearly with a disclosure notice adjacent to it. Sponsored content and branded articles are labelled prominently as such, use a distinct visual treatment, and are not written to mislead readers into thinking they are editorial coverage. We do not place sponsored content on scam-alert, public-safety, or breaking-news pages.

Reporting Ethical Concerns

Readers who believe we have fallen short of these standards are encouraged to contact us at the editorial team. We take all ethics complaints seriously and will respond within five business days.