TI Associates

• "TI Associates" are individuals whose experience and/or skills can be of clear benefit to the TF-CSIRT Community (see below), but who are not member of an TI Accredited team (anymore) and thus cannot contribute through their team.
• "TI Association" is the state of a TI Associates after having successfully completed the initial process.
• The "TF-CSIRT Community" is defined as all registered members of TI Accredited teams, all TI Associates, all members of the TF-CSIRT Steering Committee and the secretariat supporting the various services, events and trainings.
• All "TI Certified teams" are also TI Accredited by definition, as the certification is viewed as an attribute characterizing the assessed maturity of the team's operation.

To become a TI Associate, the following process has to be completed succesfully:

1. at least two (2) individuals from the TF-CSIRT Community, from different entities, jointly nominate a candidate for Association
2. the secretariat checks the nomination on authenticity and if in order, approaches the nominee to see if she/he accepts the nomination - it is made explicit that acceptance also expresses a willingness to contribute to the TF-CSIRT Community.
3. the nominee is expected to reply within one (1) month:
   1. if the nominee does not accept or does not reply within one (1) month, the process ends and can not be repeated within one (1) year
   2. If the nominee accepts, the TI team prepares a fact sheet together with the nominee (basically: name, contact data, relevant work and experience, interest in the TI Community, willingness to share and contribute) and then publishes nomination and fact sheet to the TF-CSIRT Community on the restricted web pages, asking for formal support by TI Accredited teams, or objections from the TF-CSIRT Community - within a period of three (3) weeks
4. after close of the three (3) weeks period the secretariat brings the nomination before the TF-CSIRT Steering Committee, including any support or objections received
5. the TF-CSIRT Steering Committee reserves the right to decide on the TI Association, but will do so using the following guideline:
   1. a minimum of five (5) TI Accredited teams to formally support the nomination
   2. zero (0) objections: any objection received will be handled confidential and taken up with the person or team objecting
6. after the TF-CSIRT Steering Committee has decided, the nominee and subsequently the TF-CSIRT Community will be informed about the outcome:
   1. in case of a negative outcome, the process ends and can not be repeated within one (1) year;
   2. in case of a positive outcome, the nominee will received her/his Association.

If you are interested in becoming a TI Associate you will need the support of TI Accredited teams. In order to clarify your questions regarding the process, specific requirements and how to secure the formal support of the teams please contact the secretariat.

The TI Association remains valid for the rest of the calendar year in which it is granted, plus the subsequent two (2) calendar years, unless:

• the TI Associate requests to end her/his TI Association;
• the TF-CSIRT Steering Committee decides to revoke the TI Association.

In both these cases the TI Association ends immediately.

The TI Association can be renewed for another two (2) calendar years, if and only if the following conditions have been met in the three (3) months preceding the expiry/renewal date:

• the TI Associate formally wishes to renew her/his TI Association;
• at least five (5) TI Accredited teams formally support the renewal;
• no objections to renewal are received.

In case of lack of support and/or objections, the renewal decision is taken to the TF-CSIRT Steering Committee, as in the original nomination process.

The TI Association gives the TI Associate the following rights:

• an annual TI Association Certificate (on paper);
• participation in closed TI Meetings (right to speak, no voting rights);
• subscription to closed TI Mailing lists;
• access to the restricted TI Website;
• access to other TI services.

In May 2019 the following additional right was given to TI Associates:

• TI Associates MAY sponsor TI Listing candidates but there MUST be at least one different TI Accredited team sponsoring the TI Listing candidate in question with no connection to the TI Associate.
• TI Associates MUST NOT sponsor their own team.

The TI Association holds the following expectations for the TI Associate:

• prepare and present an initial briefing during a closed TI Meeting, describing who they are, what they do, what do they expect to get from the community and in what way they are willing to contribute to the TF-CSIRT Community.
• active monitoring of the closed TI Mailing lists, and reacting when appropriate;
• active participation in at least one closed TI Meeting per year;
• active contribution to the goals and interests of the TF-CSIRT Community;
• keeping the TI Associate's fact sheet up-to-date.

Significant and prolongued inability to meet these expectations can be a reason for the TF-CSIRT Steering Committee to revoke the TI Association.

No fees are applicable for TI Associates.