Overview
The Town provides technology to efficiently respond to and serve the public more effectively. This policy is intended to provide rules and guidelines concerning the appropriate use of the Town’s technology resources. Any person using the Town’s technology shall be considered a user (“user”) for purposes of this policy. This includes but is not limited to employees, contractors, consultants, and temporary employees.
All users are required to agree to this policy. This policy may be occasionally reviewed and modified. Upon implementation of a new technology use policy, users will be required to agree to the new policy.
Definition
The term “technology” covers a wide range of processes used for communicating information within our society. Computers form one element of this broad term but also includes mobile devices, software, operating systems, storage media, user accounts, printers, scanners, displays, projectors, network devices, wireless access points, and any such devices connected to the Town network by any means and various social media outlets and tools.
General Use
Town computers, computer files, email systems, internet access, telephones, software and/or other technology furnished to Town users are the property of the Town. All technology provided by the Town is intended for Town business only.
Security
- Keep passwords secure, and do not share accounts. Authorized users are responsible for the security of their passwords and accounts. Providing access to another individual, either deliberately or through failure to secure its access, is prohibited.
- Users must use extreme caution when opening email attachments received from unknown senders, which may contain malware.
- Users shall restrict access (electronically and/or physically) to their systems to ensure adequate security and prevent destruction or tampering with the systems. This includes computer equipment and systems and/or any Town owned device in the user’s possession, such as a laptop or tablet. Additionally, if any user is authorized to take any Town-owned equipment home, it is the user’s responsibility to restrict access to this device exclusively to the user. The user shall not allow or authorize any family member, friend, acquaintance, or other person to operate Town-owned equipment.
Data Privacy
- All information and communication on Town equipment is considered public information and may be viewed at any time by management.
- A user’s network habits are not considered private and may be monitored to protect the Town’s network and systems.
- Network traffic may be decrypted and inspected to enforce policy or identify potential threats. Under certain circumstances, specific websites, applications, or related systems will be explicitly excluded from decryption due to security, privacy, or compatibility reasons (e.g., law enforcement systems, financial systems).
Unacceptable Use
The following activities are, in general, prohibited. Users may be exempted from these restrictions during the course of their legitimate job responsibilities (e.g., systems administration staff, law enforcement).
Under no circumstances is a user authorized to engage in any activity that is illegal under local, state, federal or international law or is in violation of Town of Plainville bylaws, ordinances, regulations, or policies while utilizing Town owned resources.
The lists below are by no means exhaustive but attempt to provide a framework for activities that fall into the category of unacceptable use.
System and Network Activities
- Unauthorized copying of copyrighted material including, but not limited to, digitization and distribution of photographs from magazines, books or other copyrighted sources, copyrighted music, and the installation of any copyrighted software for which the Town does not have an active license is strictly prohibited.
- Attempting to access unauthorized sites including but not limited to obscene, sexually explicit, sexually suggestive or pornographic in nature including dissemination of any child pornography or other pornography to anyone by any means is strictly prohibited.
- Accessing data, a server or an account for any purpose other than conducting Town business, even if you have authorized access, is prohibited.
- Introduction of malicious programs into the network or server (e.g., viruses, worms, Trojan horses, email bombs, etc.).
- Effecting security breaches or disruptions of network communication. Security breaches include, but are not limited to, accessing data of which the user is not an intended recipient or logging into a server or account that the user is not expressly authorized to access, unless these duties are within the scope of regular duties. For purposes of this section, “disruption” includes, but is not limited to, network sniffing, pinged floods, packet spoofing, denial of service, and forged routing information for malicious purposes.
- Port scanning or security scanning is expressly prohibited unless prior notification to Information Technology department is made.
- Executing any form of network monitoring which will intercept data not intended for the user’s host unless this activity is a part of the user’s normal job/duty.
- Attempting to delete, erase or otherwise conceal any information stored on any portion of the Town systems.
- Connecting any unauthorized device (e.g., laptops, smart-phones, external drives, flash/jump drives, memory cards etc.) to Town systems.
Email and Communication Activities
- Any form of harassment or discrimination, including being derogatory, defamatory or threatening, in either public or private, via messaging, email, telephone or paging, whether through language, content, frequency, or size of messages.
- Sending unsolicited email messages, including the sending of “junk mail” or other advertising material to individuals who did not specifically request such material (email spam).
- Unauthorized use, or forging, of email header information.
- Creating or forwarding “chain letters,” “Ponzi,” or other “pyramid” schemes of any type.
- Use of unsolicited email originating from within the Town networks of other Internet/Intranet/Extranet service providers on behalf of or to advertise any service hosted by the Town or connected via the Town network.
- Promoting one’s personal political beliefs.
- Use of a Town email address when posting to public forums, e.g., blogs, social media websites, wikis, and discussion boards for personal use.
- Accessing social networking sites for personal use during work hours.
- Creating and/or distributing to members of the public, non-public information without proper authorization and, where necessary, proper protection.
- Use of cameras or digital/audio recording devices to capture or record content without the permission or knowledge of the subject(s) being recorded.
Policy Compliance
The Information Technology department will verify compliance with this policy through various methods, including, but not limited to, business tool reports, internal and external audits, and feedback to the policy owner.
Exceptions
Any exception to the policy must be approved by the Information Technology department in advance.
Non-Compliance
A user found to have violated this policy may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment. In addition to Town discipline, users may be subject to criminal prosecution under federal, state, or local laws; civil liability; or both for unlawful use of any technology system.
I understand that my access may be monitored and/or revoked for failure to comply with these and/or other guidelines the Town may periodically issue and in addition could result in disciplinary action up to and including termination and/or appropriate legal action(s).