Privacy Policy

Information We Collect

We collect the following categories of information:

Information you provide: Name, email address, and message content submitted through our contact form.

Automatically collected information: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device type, screen resolution, referring URL, pages visited, time spent on pages, geographic location (derived from IP address), and session identifiers.

Training platform data: For authorized users — login activity, training progress, assessment scores, seat time, and completion records.

How We Use Your Information

We use collected information for:

• Responding to contact form inquiries
• Security monitoring and abuse prevention
• Identifying and investigating unauthorized access attempts
• Geographic traffic analysis for threat awareness
• Training platform administration and compliance reporting
• Improving our website and services

Security Monitoring

As a cleared defense contractor, Black Pines Consulting maintains heightened security monitoring on all digital properties. All visitor traffic is analyzed for geographic origin, access patterns, and potential security threats. Automated alerts are configured for traffic from foreign jurisdictions. This monitoring is conducted in accordance with our security obligations as a government contractor.

Data Storage and Retention

Contact form submissions and associated metadata are retained for a minimum of 5 years. Training platform records are retained per our course governance policy. Analytics data is retained in Microsoft Azure Application Insights per our Azure data retention settings. All data is stored in Azure data centers in the United States.

Third-Party Services

We use Microsoft Azure for hosting, data storage, and analytics (Application Insights). Microsoft's privacy practices are governed by their own privacy statement. We do not sell, trade, or share your personal information with any other third parties.

Cookies and Tracking

We use session cookies for authentication on the training platform (httpOnly, secure, 24-hour expiry). We use Microsoft Application Insights for analytics, which may set cookies for session tracking. We use localStorage for user preferences (theme selection).

Your Rights

You may request information about the personal data we hold about you, or request deletion of your data, by contacting us through our contact page. Note that certain data may be retained as required by law or contractual obligation.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date.

Contact

Questions about this policy may be directed to our contact page.