FIRST Code of Conduct
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Version 1.1 (Effective at November 2025)
FIRST organizes global community activities including conferences, meetings, training, workshops, technical colloquia, symposia, and social events. These gatherings aim to foster trust, collaboration, and inclusivity among security teams worldwide.
This Code of Conduct applies to all participants - including delegates, guests, speakers, staff, and partners - across physical and virtual events, mailing lists, chat channels, and social settings. It also applies to individuals representing FIRST at third-party events.
Expected Behavior
All participants are expected to contribute to a respectful, inclusive, and safe environment. This includes:
- Engaging authentically and constructively.
- Showing respect and courtesy in speech and actions.
- Collaborating before escalating conflict.
- Being mindful of surroundings and fellow participants.
- Alerting staff or community leaders to unsafe situations or violations.
- Respecting shared venues and public spaces.
- Welcoming diverse perspectives, even when disagreeing.
Unacceptable Behavior
FIRST is committed to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone. The following behaviors are not tolerated:
Discrimination or Harassment
- Discrimination based on race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, class, education, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, appearance, age, size, family status, political belief, religion, or ability.
- Harassment including xenophobia, anti-semitism, islamophobia, threats, stalking, unwelcome sexual attention, or offensive speech.
- Microaggressions or appearance-based slights, including those shared on social media.
Misconduct
- Disruption of events, misuse of property, theft, or antisocial behavior.
- Violating confidentiality, including misuse of Traffic Light Protocol (TLP) labels.
- Sharing personally identifying information ("doxing") without consent.
- Posting or displaying sexually explicit, violent, or derogatory material.
- Inappropriate photography, recording, or physical contact without consent.
- Sustained disruption of talks, presentations, or community spaces.
- Disrespecting local customs or expected behavior.
- Solicitation.
Encouragement of Misconduct
- Advocating for or encouraging any of the above behaviors.
Consequences
- Unacceptable behavior by any community member or participant, including those with decision-making authority, will not be tolerated. Anyone asked to stop unacceptable behavior is expected to comply immediately.
- FIRST expects that breaches of this Code of Conduct can be resolved informally. However, if a community member engages in unacceptable behavior, we may take any action deemed appropriate, including a temporary ban or permanent expulsion from the event without warning (and without refund in the case of a paid event) or even involving proper authorities. FIRST reserves the right to ban an attendee or participant violating this Code of Conduct from future FIRST events, which will be made as a decision by the FIRST Board, or by an independent body identified and entrusted by the Board with the task.
Reporting Guidelines
If you are subject to or witness unacceptable behavior, or have any other concerns, please notify a community organizer as soon as possible by either:
- visiting the registration desk at the event.
- emailing conduct@first.org.
- Submitting a report through <first.org/support/coc>.
If one of the community organizers is a potential offender or subject of the report, he will remove him or herself from the investigation.
FIRST may not have a formal presence at all FIRST events, in particular but not limited to Technical Colloquia, which are organized by members and partners. In those cases, this alias is monitored by FIRST team members who have the ability to reach out to local organizers.
Addressing Grievances
If you feel you have been falsely or unfairly accused of violating this Code of Conduct, you should notify the FIRST Board via first-board@first.org or any board member personally with a concise description of your grievance.
Scope
We expect all community participants (contributors, paid or otherwise, sponsors and other guests) to abide by this Code of Conduct in all community venues, online and in-person, as well as in all one-on-one communications pertaining to community business.
This Code of Conduct and its related procedures also apply to unacceptable behavior occurring outside the scope of community activities when such behavior has the potential to adversely affect the safety and well-being of community members.
In the absence of a written agreement or understanding to the contrary, the FIRST Code of Conduct will take precedence over any other Code of Conduct at any partnered event.
Please contact the FIRST Secretariat via first-sec@first.org with any questions about this Code of Conduct.
Based to a great degree on the APNIC Code of Conduct, inspired by Citizen Code of Conduct, Django Code of Conduct, Geek Feminism anti-harassment Policy, WordCamp Code of Conduct, and O’Reilly Conferences Code of Conduct with many thanks.
