Cisco Online Privacy Statement

Trust and Transparency Center

Cisco is committed to maintaining strong protections for our customers, products and company. We believe in building and maintaining trust, reducing risk and simply doing what is right.

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Cisco Systems, Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively "Cisco") are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring you have a positive experience on our websites and in using our products and services ("Solution" or "Solutions"). This Privacy Statement applies to Cisco websites that link to this Statement and describes how we handle personal information and the choices available to you regarding the use of, your access to, and how to update and correct your personal information. Additional information on our personal information practices may be provided in the supplements on the right or in notices provided at the time of data collection. Certain Cisco websites may have their own privacy statement that describes how we handle personal information for those websites specifically. To the extent a notice provided at the time of collection or a website-specific privacy statement conflict with this Privacy Statement, such notice or privacy statement will control.

Collection of Your Personal Information

We may collect information, including personal information, about you as you use our websites and interact with us. "Personal information" is any information that can be used to identify an individual, and may include name, address, email address, phone number, login information (account number, password), marketing preferences, social media account information, or payment card number. If we link other data with your personal information, we will treat that linked data as personal information. We also collect personal information from trusted third-party sources and engage third parties to collect personal information to assist us.

We collect personal information for a variety of reasons, such as:

Processing your order, including payment transactions.
Providing you with a newsletter subscription.
Sending marketing communications.
Creating an account.
Enabling the use of certain features of our Solutions.
Personalizing your experience.
Providing customer service.
Managing a job application.
Collecting information during the testing admissions process when a computer-based certification test is administered to you.

We and the third parties we engage may combine the information we collect from you over time and across our websites with information obtained from other sources. This helps us improve its overall accuracy and completeness, and also helps us better tailor our interactions with you.

If you choose to provide Cisco with a third party's personal information (such as name, email, and phone number), you represent that you have the third party's permission to do so. Examples include forwarding reference material to a friend or job referrals. Third parties may unsubscribe from any future communication following the link provided in the initial message or contacting privacy@cisco.com.

In some instances, Cisco and the third parties we engage may automatically collect data through cookies, web logs, web beacons, and other similar applications. This information is used to better understand and improve the usability, performance, and effectiveness of the website and to help tailor content or offers for you. Please read the "Cookies and Other Web Technologies" section below for more information.

Uses of Your Personal Information

We may use your personal information for the purposes of operating our business, delivering, improving and customizing our Solutions, sending marketing and other communications related to our business, and for other legitimate purposes permitted by applicable law. Some of the ways we may use personal information include:

Delivering a Solution you have requested.
Supporting and improving our Solutions and your online experience.
Personalizing websites, newsletters and other communications.
Administering and processing your certification exams.
Sending communications to you, including for marketing or customer satisfaction purposes, either directly from Cisco or from our partners.

You can edit your communication preferences at any time. See Your Choices and Selecting Your Communication Preferences below.

Access to and Accuracy of Your Personal Information

We need your help in keeping your personal information accurate and up to date. To update your personal information and communication preferences, please contact us. In addition, you may have the ability to view or edit your personal information online, including:

Cisco.com – You can access and update your profile using the Cisco Profile Management Tool. You may also make these updates or request deactivation of your website profile by sending an email to our web help team.
Webex.com – You can access and update your profile by signing into your user online account. You may also make these updates or request deactivation of your website profile by sending an email to our privacy team.

We make good faith efforts to honor reasonable requests to access or correct your data if it is inaccurate. We will respond to your request to access data within 30 days.

Some Cisco entities may be considered data controllers from time to time. When a Cisco entity is acting as a data controller, you can exercise your rights of access and request corrections or deactivations under applicable data protection laws directly with that Cisco entity.

Your Choices and Selecting Your Communication Preferences

We give you the choice of receiving a variety of information that complements our Solutions. You can manage your communication preferences through the following methods:

By following the instructions included in each promotional email from us to unsubscribe from that particular mailing.
By sending us a message through email or by mail to: Cisco Systems, Inc., Privacy Legal Department, 170 West Tasman Dr., San Jose, CA 95134, USA. Please be sure to include your name, email address, and specific, relevant information about the material you no longer wish to receive.
For short message services ("SMS Services"), by replying "STOP", "END", or "QUIT" to the SMS text message you have received.

These choices do not apply to the receipt of mandatory service communications that are considered part of certain Solutions, which you may receive periodically unless you cancel the Solution in accordance with its terms and conditions. We may share your personal information with Cisco business partners or vendors, so they may share information about products or services that may be of interest to you. To opt-out of this sharing with third parties for their marketing purposes, click here.

By using our websites or providing personal information to us, you agree that we may communicate with you electronically regarding security, privacy, and administrative issues relating to your use of the websites. If we learn of a security system's breach, we may attempt to notify you electronically by posting a notice on our websites or by sending an email to you. You may have a legal right to receive this notice in writing. To withdraw your consent from receiving electronic notice of a security breach, please notify us.

Sharing Your Personal Information

We may share your personal information with third parties for the purposes of operating our business, delivering, improving and customizing our Solutions, sending marketing and other communications related to our business, and for other legitimate purposes permitted by applicable law or with your consent. We may share personal information in the following ways:

Within Cisco or with any of our worldwide subsidiaries for purposes of data processing or storage.
With Cisco business partners or vendors, so that they may share information with you about their products or services. To opt-out of Cisco sharing with third parties for their marketing purposes, click here.
With business partners, service vendors, authorized third-party agents, or contractors to provide a requested service or transaction. Examples include, but are not limited to: processing of orders and credit card transactions, hosting websites, hosting seminar registration, assisting with sales-related efforts or post-sales support, and providing customer support.
In connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, consolidation or restructuring, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business by or to another company.
In response to a request for information by a competent authority if we believe disclosure is in accordance with, or is otherwise required by, any applicable law, regulation or legal process.
With law enforcement officials, government authorities, or other third parties as necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of Cisco, its business partners, you, or others, or as otherwise required by applicable law.
In aggregated and/or anonymized form which cannot reasonably be used to identify you.
If we otherwise notify you and you consent to the sharing.

Security of Your Personal Information

We intend to protect the personal information entrusted to us and treat it securely in accordance with this Privacy Statement. Cisco implements physical, administrative, and technical safeguards to help protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. We also require that our suppliers protect such information from unauthorized access, use and disclosure. The Internet, however, cannot be guaranteed to be 100% secure, and we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any personal information you provide to us.

Retention of Personal Information

We will retain your personal information as needed to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected. We will retain and use your personal information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.

Use of Cookies and other Web Technologies

Like many websites, Cisco uses automatic data collection tools, such as cookies, embedded web links, and web beacons. These tools collect certain standard information that your browser sends to our website such as your browser type and the address of the website from which you arrived at our website. They may also collect information about:

Your Internet Protocol (IP) address. This is a number automatically assigned to your computer whenever you are surfing the web. It allows web servers to locate and identify your computer, this is a unique address assigned to your PC by your Internet service provider or information systems department on a TCP/IP network.
Clickstream behavior. For example, the pages you view and the links you click.

These tools help make your visit to our website easier, more efficient, and more valuable by providing you with a customized experience and recognizing you when you return. For more information about how we use automatic data collection tools, such as cookies and widgets, and your choices in relation to these tools, please see our Cookie Policy.

Our website includes widgets, which are interactive mini-programs that run on our site to provide specific services from another company (such as displaying the news, opinions, music, and more). Personal information, such as your email address, may be collected through the widget. Cookies may also be set by the widget to enable it to function properly. Information collected by this widget is governed by the privacy policy of the company that created it. Our widget may have an import contacts feature to help you email your contacts. At your request, we will search your email address book to help you import your contacts to our website.

Some web browsers may give you the ability to enable a "do not track" feature that sends signals to the websites you visit, indicating that you do not want your online activities tracked. This is different than blocking or deleting cookies, as browsers with a "do not track" feature enabled may still accept cookies. There is currently no industry standard for how companies should respond to "do not track" signals, although one may develop in the future. We do not respond to "do not track" signals at this time. If we do so in the future, we will describe how in this Privacy Statement. Learn more information about "do not track".

We partner with third parties to either display advertising on our website or to manage our advertising on other sites. Our third party partners may use cookies or similar technologies in order to provide you with advertising based upon your browsing activities and interests. If you wish to opt out of interest-based advertising click here (or if located in the European Union click here). Please note, generic, non-personalized ads will continue to be displayed.

Linked Websites

We may provide links to other third-party websites and services that are outside our control and not covered by this Privacy Statement. We encourage you to review the privacy statements posted on those websites (and all websites) you visit.

Forums and Chat Rooms

If you participate in a discussion forum, local communities, or chat room on a Cisco website, you should be aware that the information you provide there (i.e. your public profile) will be made broadly available to others, and could be used to contact you, send you unsolicited messages, or for purposes neither Cisco nor you have control over. Also, please recognize that individual forums and chat rooms may have additional rules and conditions. Cisco is not responsible for the personal information or any other information you choose to submit in these forums. To request removal of your personal information from our blog or community forum, contact us at privacy@cisco.com. In some cases, we may not be able to remove your personal information, in which case we will let you know if we are unable to do so and why.

Children's Privacy

Cisco encourages parents and guardians to take an active role in their children's online activities. Cisco does not knowingly collect personal information from children without proper parental or guardian consent. If you believe that we may have collected personal information from someone under the applicable age of consent in your country without parental or guardian consent, please let us know using the methods described in the Contact Us section and we will take appropriate measures to investigate and address the issue promptly.

Consent to Transfer, Processing and Storage of Personal Information

As Cisco is a global organization, we may transfer your personal information to Cisco in the United States of America, to any Cisco subsidiary worldwide, or to third parties and business partners as described above. By using our websites and Solutions or providing any personal information to us, where applicable law permits, you consent to the transfer, processing, and storage of such information outside of your country of residence where data protection standards may be different.

Cisco safeguards and enables the global transfer of personal information in a number of ways.

APEC Privacy Certification

On July 26, 2016, TRUSTe certified our global privacy program under the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Cross-Border Privacy Rules System (CBPRs). The CBPRs provides a framework for organizations to protect personal information transferred globally and among participating APEC economies. Cisco's privacy practices described in this Privacy Statement comply with the CBPRs. Our certification by the U.S. APEC Accountability Agent, TRUSTe, applies to our business processes across our global operations that process and transfer personal information to/from our affiliates around the world.

In order to view our certification with TRUSTe please visit the validation page visible by clicking on the TRUSTe Privacy Certification TRUSTe seal. If you have an unresolved privacy or personal data use concern that we have not addressed satisfactorily, please contact TRUSTe at https://feedback-form.truste.com/watchdog/request. [NOTE: TRUSTe's Dispute Resolution process is only available in English.]

EU-US / Swiss-US Safe Harbor Certification

Cisco is certified under the U.S.-E.U. and U.S.-Swiss Safe Harbor frameworks as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, processing, and retention of personal data from European Union member countries and Switzerland. To learn more about the Safe Harbor program, and to view Cisco's certification, please visit the Safe Harbor site.

Following the ruling of the European Court of Justice on October 6, 2015 regarding the validity of Safe Harbor, and in light of evolving regulatory frameworks, Cisco does not rely solely on the Safe Harbor for international data transfers of EU personal data, but remains compliant with the Safe Harbor Principles of notice, choice, onward transfer, security, data integrity, access, and enforcement. We intend to participate in additional frameworks, codes of conduct, and/or certifications recognized by relevant regulatory authorities to legally enable global personal data transfers.

Your California Privacy Rights

Residents of the State of California, under California Civil Code § 1798.83, have the right to request from companies conducting business in California a list of all third parties to which the company has disclosed personal information during the preceding year for direct marketing purposes. Alternatively, the law provides that if the company has a privacy policy that gives either an opt-out or opt-in choice for use of your personal information by third parties (such as advertisers) for marketing purposes, the company may instead provide you with information on how to exercise your disclosure choice options.

Cisco qualifies for the alternative option. We have a comprehensive privacy statement, and provide you with details on how you may either opt-out or opt-in to the use of your personal information by third parties for direct marketing purposes. Therefore, we are not required to maintain or disclose a list of the third parties that received your personal information for marketing purposes during the preceding year.

If you are a California resident and request information about how to exercise your third party disclosure choices, please email us your request.

How to Contact Us

We value your opinions. Should you have questions or comments related to this Privacy Statement, please email our privacy team.

Updates to this Cisco Privacy Statement

We may update this Privacy Statement from time to time. If we modify our Privacy Statement, we will post the revised version here, with an updated revision date. You agree to visit these pages periodically to be aware of and review any such revisions. If we make material changes to our Privacy Statement, we may also notify you by other means prior to the changes taking effect, such as by posting a notice on our websites or sending you a notification. By continuing to use our website after such revisions are in effect, you accept and agree to the revisions and to abide by them.