Terms of Reference, Votes

As with all organisations, TF-CSIRT has had to quickly adapt and review its processes and procedures during 2020 and 2021 in order to support its members in a very different looking world. These events have also presented an opportunity to think about some of the processes that have been run in a specific way for a long time and whether these can be improved to provide a better membership experience.

Reference Material

As such, TF-CSIRT is proposing a series of changes to the way it manages voting. These are fully explained in the following documents:

All eligible teams will be invited to vote to accept these new terms from 14th to 21st June 2021. Voting ballots will be sent to the Primary Representative of each eligible team. If you would like the ballot to be sent to an alternative team member, please contact the TI Team as soon as possible. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have on the TI Chat Service.

Key Changes

The following is a summary of the change proposals – members are encouraged to read the full documents above before voting.

  • All TF-CSIRT Voting will take place online.
  • Voting for TF-CSIRT SC members will take place immediately before the Autumn TF-CSIRT meeting.
  • Voting for TF-CSIRT SC members will be via simple majority and all votes can be cast via one ballot.
  • Voting on other issues will take place immediately after the TF-CSIRT meeting at which the issue is presented.
  • Quorum will be raised from one quarter of all eligible teams to one third of all eligible teams.

Supporting Changes

To make these changes work as effectively as possible, the TF-CSIRT Secretary and TI team will put in place the following support mechanisms:

  • New TF-CSIRT SC members will have the chance to introduce themselves to the community via a blogpost prior to elections.
  • Online voting will be support via the Zeus voting tool, which integrates with team certificates to ensure correct access.
  • All elections will have a group of trustees appointed to review the processes and approve the decryption of results.
  • Questions will be taken via the TI Chat Service or via the team mailing lists before and during elections.

We appreciate the support of the Voting Working Group in supporting these important changes and look forward to your questions.