Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Forte Systems, Inc. (“Forte,” “we,” “us”) respects your privacy. This policy explains how we collect, use, disclose and protect personal information when you visit www.forte-systems.com (the “Site”), use the free tools on it, or use the private plan builder we provide to prospective clients. By using the Site, you agree to the practices described here.

2. Scope

This policy covers visitors to the Site, people who contact us through it, people who use our free tools, and prospective clients who use the plan builder.

It does not cover information we process on behalf of our managed services clients while delivering IT and security services. That processing is governed by our Master Services Agreement and any data protection terms agreed with each client. It also does not cover third-party websites or services linked from the Site.

3. Information we collect

Information you give us

• Contact form: your name, company, email address, phone number, the topic you choose and your message.
• Free tools: for the email security check, the domain you enter and, if you request the full report, your name, company and work email. For the cyber insurance readiness check, your answers, basic information about your organization (industry, number of employees, whether you have servers or an office network, renewal month) and, if you request the PDF, your name, company, email and optional phone number.
• Plan builder: if we give you an access code, the services, quantities and options you select, any notes you send us and your requests to change required items.
• Communications: the content of emails, calls and messages you exchange with us.

Information collected automatically

• Usage and device data: pages visited, links clicked, referring pages, approximate location (derived from IP address), browser and device type, collected through Google Analytics and our hosting provider.
• Security data: IP addresses and request details used to block spam and abuse, rate-limit our tools and keep the Site secure, including through Cloudflare Turnstile.
• Cookies and local storage: see Cookies and tracking.

The email security check only reads public DNS records for the domain you enter. It does not access your mailboxes or send email from your domain.

4. How we use your information

• To respond and deliver what you asked for: answering inquiries, emailing reports you request and preparing proposals.
• Business operations: following up on inquiries, scheduling consultations and managing our relationship with prospective and current clients.
• Communications: sending information related to your request. We send marketing emails only where you have agreed or where the law allows, and you can opt out at any time.
• Security: detecting and preventing spam, fraud and abuse.
• Analytics and improvement: understanding how the Site and tools are used so we can improve them.
• Legal and compliance: meeting legal obligations and protecting our rights.

5. Legal basis for processing

Where laws such as the EU or UK General Data Protection Regulation apply, we rely on: contract (taking steps you request before entering a contract, such as preparing a proposal); legitimate interests (responding to business inquiries, securing the Site and improving our services); consent (for example, non-essential analytics cookies where consent is required); and legal obligation.

6. Data sharing and disclosure

We do not sell personal information for money. We do use Apollo.io on the Site to identify visiting companies (described below), which may be considered “selling” or “sharing” under some state privacy laws. You can opt out at any time; see Your rights and choices.

We share information only as follows:

• Service providers that run the Site and our business under contract, including Cloudflare (hosting, security and spam protection), Microsoft 365 (email) and Google Analytics (site analytics). They may use the information only to provide services to us.
• Apollo.io, a sales intelligence provider. When marketing cookies are on, its script records your visit (pages viewed, IP address and device information) so Apollo can identify the company, and sometimes the person, visiting. We use this to follow up with businesses interested in our services. Apollo may also use this information in its own products under its privacy policy.
• Our affiliate LMJ Consulting, which provides help desk and support capacity, where needed to respond to you or deliver services.
• Legal requirements: when required by law, legal process or to protect the rights, property or safety of Forte, our clients or others.
• Business transfers: in connection with a merger, acquisition or sale of assets, subject to this policy.
• Aggregated or de-identified data that cannot reasonably identify you, for example overall statistics on tool results.

7. Data security

We protect personal information with measures appropriate to its sensitivity, including encryption in transit (HTTPS), access controls and multi-factor authentication for our staff, signed and expiring session cookies, rate limiting, monitoring and incident response procedures. No system is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. If you use the plan builder, please keep your access code private.

8. Data retention

We keep personal information only as long as needed for the purposes above or as required by law:

• Inquiries and tool reports: up to 3 years from your last interaction with us, unless you become a client or ask us to delete them sooner.
• Plan builder records: until 12 months after the access code expires, unless they become part of a client agreement.
• Security and rate-limit records: typically minutes to hours; server logs up to 30 days.
• Analytics data: up to 14 months, under our Google Analytics settings.
• Your cookie choice: stored in your browser until you change it or clear your browser data.
• Client records: as set out in our Master Services Agreement and as required for tax and legal purposes.

When information is no longer needed, we delete it or make it de-identified.

9. Your rights and choices

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct or delete your personal information, to object to or restrict certain processing, to receive a copy of your information, and to withdraw consent. You can opt out of marketing emails at any time by replying “unsubscribe” or contacting us.

To make a request, email info@forte-systems.com or call 510-854-5920. We will verify your request and respond within the time the law requires. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights. If you are in the EU or UK, you may also complain to your local data protection authority.

10. Cookies and tracking

• Essential: session cookies that keep you signed in to the plan builder or administration area, and Cloudflare cookies that protect the Site from bots and abuse.
• Analytics: Google Analytics measures page views and tool use (for example, when a check is completed or a report requested). You can opt out with Google’s browser add-on.
• Local storage: the cyber insurance readiness check saves your answers in your own browser so you can return to them. This stays on your device until you clear it.
• Marketing: Apollo.io visitor identification, loaded through Google Tag Manager (see section 6).

Your choices. On your first visit we show a cookie notice where you can accept, decline or choose categories. You can change your choice at any time with the Cookie settings link at the bottom of every page. Declining marketing cookies stops Apollo.io from loading for you. If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal, we treat it as an opt-out of marketing cookies automatically. Your choice is stored in your browser, so you may need to set it again on another device or browser.

You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings; some features, such as the plan builder, may not work without essential cookies. We do not respond to “Do Not Track” signals, which have been superseded by Global Privacy Control.

11. Third-party links

The Site links to other websites, such as vendor and partner sites. We are not responsible for their privacy practices; please review their policies.

12. International transfers

Forte serves organizations in the United States, and information is processed primarily in the United States. Our service providers may process data in other countries. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses.

13. Children’s privacy

The Site is intended for businesses and is not directed to children under 13 (or under 16 where applicable). We do not knowingly collect their personal information. If you believe a child has provided information to us, contact us and we will delete it.

14. California privacy rights

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended, gives you the right to know what personal information we collect, use and disclose; to request deletion; to correct inaccurate information; to limit use of sensitive personal information; and not to be discriminated against for exercising these rights.

In the past 12 months we have collected identifiers (such as name, email, phone and IP address), commercial information (such as services you considered in the plan builder), internet activity (such as Site usage) and professional information (such as your company and role), for the purposes in section 4, from you and from your device. We disclose these categories to the service providers in section 6. When marketing cookies are on, we make identifiers and internet activity (such as IP address, device information and pages viewed) available to Apollo.io, which may be a “sale” or “sharing” under California law. We do not knowingly sell or share the personal information of consumers under 16, and we do not use sensitive personal information to infer characteristics about you.

Right to opt out of sale or sharing: use the Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information link at the bottom of every page, turn off marketing cookies in Cookie settings, or enable Global Privacy Control in your browser. You can also email info@forte-systems.com. You may use an authorized agent to submit a request on your behalf.

15. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We will post the updated version here with a new “Last updated” date, and for material changes we will provide additional notice where appropriate. Continued use of the Site after changes means you accept the updated policy.

16. Contact us

Forte Systems, Inc.
1501 N Broadway, Suite 220
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
Email: info@forte-systems.com
Phone: 510-854-5920

Privacy contact: Carl Easterday, President

17. Acknowledgment

By using the Site, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.