Acceptable Use of Computer and Network Resources Jim Conroy Acting Director, Academic Computing Services September 9, 2013

 Computing and network resources are shared resources.  Software, data, and network resources are covered by license agreements and contracts.  Intellectual property rights.  Public agencies operate under state and federal law.  Personal privacy and respect.

 BU Computing and Network Acceptable Use Policy BU Computing and Network Acceptable Use Policy ◦ Approved by University Governance group called ACET ◦ Referenced in Rules of Student Conduct  Student Judiciary  Academic Honesty  University Police

 Use “consistent with the education, research and public service mission”  Users: “those individuals provided a username and password”  “…right to limit access to its networks…” for violations.  “Non-University-owned computers, which house material, which violates the University’s policies, are subject to network disconnection without notice.”

 “Although the University does not generally monitor or restrict the content of material transported across networks, it reserves the right to access and review all aspects of its computing systems and networks, including individual login sessions and account files, to investigate performance or system problems, search for viruses and other harmful programs, or upon reasonable cause to determine if a user is violating this policy or state or federal laws.”

 We don’t monitor content, but there are situations in which we will!!

 Privacy  Copyright Copyright  Harassment, Libel and Slander  Sharing of access  Permitting unauthorized access  Circumventing Security

 Breaching Security ◦ Ultrinsic (requires student to provide id and password to university account)  Unauthorized Monitoring  Flooding  Private Commercial Purposes  Political Advertising or Campaigning  Modifying software or software installation

 Password “does not guarantee privacy”  BU “not responsible for the loss of users’ files or data”  “computer files, including , may be considered “records“”

 Not “personal and private”  “While administrators will not routinely monitor individual and will take reasonable precautions to protect the privacy of , program managers and technical staff may access a student’s ◦ To diagnose and resolve technical problems involving the system, and/or ◦ To investigate possible misuse of when a reasonable suspicion of abuse exists or in conjunction with an approved investigation. “

 Messages sent/received as BU business: ◦ Be considered state records under applicable state regulations; ◦ Be releasable to the public under the Freedom of Information Law; ◦ Require special measures to comply with the Personal Privacy Protection Law  All messages “may be subject to discovery proceedings in legal actions.”

 Be careful before you hit the Send button!!

 immediate suspension of services  student or employee disciplinary procedures  Illegal acts ◦ subpoena and prosecution by commercial enterprises, local, state and/or federal authorities.

 Digital Millenium Copyright Act (1998) ◦ Music, movies, TV shows, games, books, software  Infringement notifications

 Universities should actively discourage sharing of copyrighted material  Universities should provide legal opportunities to obtain music, video content on line ◦ Amazon ◦ iTunes ◦ NetFlix

 Copyright infringement is the act of exercising, without permission or legal authority, one or more of the exclusive rights granted to the copyright owner under section 106 of the Copyright Act (Title 17 of the United States Code). These rights include the right to reproduce or distribute a copyrighted work. In the file-sharing context, downloading or uploading substantial parts of a copyrighted work without authority constitutes an infringement.  Penalties for copyright infringement include civil and criminal penalties. In general, anyone found liable for civil copyright infringement may be ordered to pay either actual damages or "statutory" damages affixed at not less than $750 and not more than $30,000 per work infringed. For "willful" infringement, a court may award up to $150,000 per work infringed. A court can, in its discretion, also assess costs and attorneys' fees. For details, see Title 17, United States Code, Sections 504, 505.  Willful copyright infringement can also result in criminal penalties, including imprisonment of up to five years and fines of up to $250,000 per offense.  For more information, please see the website of the U.S. Copyright Office at especially their FAQs at

 Network Performance / Virus infection / Malware infestation  DMCA complaint  Hacking complaint  Harassment complaint  Software piracy complaint

 Identify offender and / or location  Communicate with offender via  Reply acknowledges understanding (first offense)  No reply: place in quarantine  Quarantined offender signs “memo of understanding”  Repeat offender or refuse to sign results in disconnection from Res Hall net and referral to Student Judiciary.

Network Bandwidth Printing

 Current Printing Data Current Printing Data  Cumulative data Cumulative data