Terms and Conditions

General Terms and Conditions of Cyber Forum GmbH (Swiss Cyber Institute) regarding professional courses and other educational offers (hereinafter “Services”).

1. Scope

1.1.  These General Terms and Conditions (the “General Terms”) apply to all agreements between Cyber Forum GmbH and the respective customer (the “Customer”) in accordance with paragraph 3.1 below (an “Agreement”).

1.2.  These General Terms apply exclusively in combination with an Agreement. Any general terms and conditions of the Customer, which contradict or differ from these General Terms, shall only apply if they have been accepted by Cyber Forum GmbH explicitly in writing.

1.3. Cyber Forum GmbH (hereinafter “Swiss Cyber Institute” or “SCI” or “we“), is a Swiss-owned company that specializes and focused on providing cybersecurity education and organizing cybersecurity and privacy conferences as well as designing and developing online products and services.

2. Subject matter (Services)

2.1.  Swiss Cyber Institute offers professional education services for Customers in Switzerland and abroad. Swiss Cyber Institute focuses on integrative offers at the interface of cyber security, data protection, and technology. By entering into an Agreement as to paragraph 3, the Customer entrusts Swiss Cyber Institute with the development and/or organization of the Services.

2.2.  The transfer of knowledge at the courses, and other services is sometimes accompanied by a coaching of the participants of service (the “Participants”) by Swiss Cyber Institute, aiming not only to improve the learning effect but also the soft skills and personality development of the Participants.

2.3.  Teaching of knowledge and courses are performed by internal and external lecturers from Switzerland and abroad.

3. Agreements

3.1.  An Agreement shall only be binding if it is made by a written or electronic document (form), regulating the details regarding the Services to be performed by Swiss Cyber Institute.

3.2.  Fax or e-mail shall be regarded as written documents.

3.4. Online application form on the swisscyberinstitute.com shall be regarded as electronic documents.

4. Pricing

4.1.  Unless explicitly stated otherwise in an Agreement, the flat sum defined in an Agreement (the “Price”) shall be considered as a net amount. Any taxes which may be or become due on such amounts according to applicable Swiss or any foreign laws shall be payable in addition to the Price. Any other costs not listed in paragraph 4.2 are not included in the Price, such as, but not limited to the ones mentioned in paragraph 4.3.

4.2.  Unless explicitly agreed upon otherwise in an Agreement, the Price includes:

  • The costs of lecturers and administration;
  • Any learning material and online campus infrastructure.

4.3.  Unless explicitly agreed upon otherwise in an Agreement, the Price does not include:

  • costs for accommodation, parking, meals and travel expenses of the Customer or Participants;
  • costs for the renting of premises in which seminars or teaching shall be held as well as the use of any technical infrastructure;
  • costs arising in connection with the leisure activities of Participants or social events.
  • any other cost and expenses incurred by Swiss Cyber Institute.

4.4.  Unless explicitly agreed upon otherwise in an Agreement, the Price shall be payable as follows:

  • 50% within 20 days from the date of the conclusion of the Agreement;
  • 50% until 20 days before the start of the course.

4.5. Instalment plan options: By choosing an instalment plan the customer agrees with an instalment flat rate of CHF 100 additionally to the standard course fee. Regardless of the instalment plan, the course fee has to be paid fully until 6 months after the course start.

Payments shall be made to the following bank account of Cyber Forum GmbH:

  • Bank: Schwyzer Kantonalbank, Bahnhofstrasse 3, 6431 Schwyz
  • Number: 895227-2637
  • IBAN: CH36 0077 7008 9522 7263 7
  • To the account of: CYBER FORUM GmbH

5. Termination of an Agreement

5.1. Each party can terminate an Agreement for good cause by notification in writing to the other party.

5.2. If the Customer terminates an Agreement for reasons other than good cause and Swiss Cyber Institute is not at fault, or if Swiss Cyber Institute terminates an Agreement due to the fault of the Customer, the Customer must pay in any case to Swiss Cyber Institute 50% of the Price plus any applicable taxes owed. If Swiss Cyber Institute has incurred any further expenses and costs, the Customer has to compensate them. If the Customer terminates an Agreement 20 or less days prior to the provision of the Service (in case one of several Services are to be provided, the date of the first one applies), the Customer must pay the full Price.

5.3. If Swiss Cyber Institute terminates an Agreement for other reasons than good cause and the Customer is not at fault, or in case the Customer terminates an Agreement due to the fault of Swiss Cyber Institute, then Swiss Cyber Institute will refund any advance payments already made by the Customer. Beyond this obligation, Swiss Cyber Institute shall not be subject to any further obligations or payment duties, e.g. regarding the reimbursement of any cost the Customer may have incurred.

5.4. Moreover, the following applies:

  • If a Service is not performed due to insufficient registrations or participants, then Swiss Cyber Institute may withdraw from the Agreement for good cause (par 6.1.) and the Customer may withdraw from the Agreement in accordance with par. 5.2.
  • The replacement of any lecturers does not entitle the Customer to terminate an Agreement for good cause (par. 6.1) nor shall a replacement be considered a fault of Swiss Cyber Institute (par. 5.3).
  • If the Customer terminates an Agreement which includes a concept service this shall in any case be dealt with in accordance with paragraph 5.2.

6. Liability

6.1.  Swiss Cyber Institute shall be liable for a due and careful planning and implementation of professional courses under the current business plan.

6.2.  The liability of Swiss Cyber Institute shall be limited to cases of gross negligence or wilful misconduct.

6.3.  The Services rendered by Swiss Cyber Institute under this General Terms and/or an Agreement do not qualify as consultancy services. This applies to the organization and accomplishment of professional courses as well as for concepts and coaching programs. Therefore, Swiss Cyber Institute shall not be liable for any damages directly or indirectly resulting from the specific implementation in practice by Participants, the Customer, or any of its employees of any content or knowledge transferred under or in connection with an Agreement.

6.5.  The liability of Swiss Cyber Institute shall in any event be limited to 50% of the agreed price.

7. Intellectual property and account sharing prohibition

7.1.  Copyrights for any documentation handed over to a Customer, its employees, or Participants (the “Copyrights”) shall remain with Swiss Cyber Institute, as the case may be.

7.2. The use of the Copyrights for internal purposes of the Customer shall be permitted. Any further use of the documentation shall require a separate agreement between the Customer and the respective owner of the Copyrights.

7.3. The Customer shall be obliged, to transfer the obligations set out in paragraphs 7.1 and 7.2 above to its employees or the Participants, as the case may be.

7.4. The access to this online campus and its associated educational course materials and resources is intended solely for the individual enrolled customer. Sharing or distributing account credentials, including username and password, with any other person or entity is strictly prohibited. By accessing and using this online campus, the customer acknowledge and agree that any unauthorized sharing or distribution of account access is a violation of intellectual property rights, constitutes intellectual property infringement, and is subject to legal consequences.

7.5. If we discover or reasonably suspect any violation of the account sharing prohibition, we reserve the right to take appropriate action, including but not limited to temporarily suspending or terminating the account without notice, revoking access to the online campus, and pursuing legal remedies available under applicable laws.

7.6. The Customer shall be obliged for maintaining the confidentiality of their account credentials and ensuring that their account is not accessed or used by any unauthorized individuals. The Customer agree to immediately notify SCI of any unauthorized use or suspected security breaches of their account.

7.7. The access to the online campus and its educational course materials is personal and non-transferable. The Customer may not assign or transfer any rights or obligations associated with their account to any other person or entity.

8. Confidentiality and data protection

8.1.  Swiss Cyber Institute guarantees to keep confidential all confidential information and data regarding the Customer, Participants, and the Customer’s employees of which it becomes aware in connection with the rendering of Services under an Agreement.

8.2.  General findings resulting from the collaboration of the parties under an Agreement may be used freely by Swiss Cyber Institute.

8.3.  Address data of the Customer and its employees and Participants may be used by Swiss Cyber Institute for purposes of providing information regarding future offers in the field of professional development.

8.4.  Any further use of confidential information and personal data by Swiss Cyber Institute will be handled in accordance with the Privacy Policy which forms an integral part of the General Terms.

9. Access Termination Upon Course Completion

9.1. Upon completion of the course and the last live classroom session, your access to the online campus and associated course materials will be terminated within one month. Cusomer can download or save any necessary course materials or resources prior to this date.

9.2. If the Customer wish to continue accessing the online campus and its resources after the termination date, shall contact Swiss Cyber Institute to inquire about any available options for extended access or enrollment in other courses. The end of course access for exam preparation courses can be extended by one year for a fee of CHF 4,900, e.g. to retake a Federal Exam. This extension option can be used several times in a row if necessary. It does not include access to courses with different content or courses with different start dates.

10. Subsequent postponement of the Course Start

10.1. A transfer and restart in a later course with the same course content is possible up to the 60th day after the course start date of the course originally chosen by the customer at no additional cost.

10.2. Course start postponements up to 6 months after the course start date result in a 50% discount on the course fees for the later course with the same content.

10.3. Existing payment or installment plans remain unaffected by any subsequent course start postponements and remain in effect as originally agreed.

11. Miscellaneous

11.1.  If any provision of these General Terms or an Agreement is or becomes illegal, invalid or unenforceable in any jurisdiction, this shall not affect or impair the validity or enforceability in that jurisdiction of any other provision of these General Terms or the Agreement. The illegal or invalid or unenforceable provision shall be interpreted as or replaced by another provision reflecting as closely as possible the original intention of the parties and the commercial purpose of the respective provision.

11.2.  Swiss Cyber Institute is entitled to amend these General Terms at any time. Regarding an Agreement, the version of the General Terms applicable at the date of the Agreement shall apply.

11.3.  These General Terms as well as each Agreement shall be subject to Swiss law, excluding the conflict of law provisions. Any dispute arising out of or in connection with this General Term or an Agreement shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the ordinary courts in Zurich.

Version effective as of 03 July 2023