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Pretext8

Licence & Use

The Pretext8 framework — including site content, the Manipulation Levers taxonomy, the tactic and technique catalogue, Capability Review materials, the Capability Domains and Capability Scale, and the Social Engineering Control Assessment (SECA) workbook — is © 2026 Pretext8 and, except where otherwise stated, is published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence (CC BY-ND 4.0).

CC BY-ND 4.0 permits the material to be copied and shared, including commercially, provided the licence conditions are met. Adapted material may be produced and reproduced, but may not be shared under the licence. The Creative Commons deed provides a summary; the linked legal code contains the operative licence terms.

Permitted without asking

Section titled “Permitted without asking”
  • Downloading and using the SECA workbook within an organisation.
  • Completing the SECA workbook by entering organisation-specific statuses, ownership, evidence, notes, findings, and risk decisions in the fields provided.
  • Using the framework in commercial security work. Consultants, managed service providers, and assessors may use SECA to perform assessments for clients, reference the framework in reports, and reproduce unmodified extracts with attribution.
  • Sharing unmodified copies of framework pages or the SECA workbook, in any medium, with appropriate attribution and the licence identified.
  • Citing, quoting, and reproducing unmodified tables or extracts in research, training, policy, guidance, and assessment material with attribution.
  • Publishing mappings or commentary that reference the framework or reproduce unmodified framework content, provided the Pretext8 material itself is not altered.

Not permitted under the licence

Section titled “Not permitted under the licence”
  • Sharing modified or adapted versions of the framework or SECA, including reworded controls, altered control sets, translated versions, modified workbook templates, or derivative instruments presented as Pretext8 material.
  • Presenting an organisation’s use of the framework as endorsement, certification, accreditation, or approval by Pretext8. Completion of SECA does not constitute certification, accreditation, or legal or regulatory compliance.
  • Using the Pretext8 or SECA names, marks, or branding in a way that implies a product, service, assessment, or derivative instrument originates from or is approved by Pretext8.

The canonical versions are those published by Pretext8 and identified by the version information provided with the relevant material.

Attribution and citation

Section titled “Attribution and citation”

When sharing Pretext8 material, provide appropriate attribution and identify the CC BY-ND 4.0 licence. Where practical, include the framework or page name, version where applicable, Pretext8, the source address, and a link to the licence.

A recommended citation for the SECA workbook is:

Pretext8 Social Engineering Control Assessment (SECA) vX.Y, Pretext8, 2026. https://pretext8.org — licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0.

Replace vX.Y with the version being referenced.

For site content, a suitable format is:

Pretext8, “[Page title],” 2026, [page URL] — licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0.