George Rupp August 10, 1990 Rice University's Appropriate Use of Computing Facilities Policy University Computing Policy Policy No. 832-90 APPROPRIATE USE OF COMPUTER FACILITIES Rice University maintains computers, computer networks, connections to external computer networks, and subscriptions to external computer services, collectively referred to as ``Computer Facilities'', for the purpose of conducting and fostering the instructional and research activities of the University. Rice University licenses copyrighted and proprietary programs, data and documentation, collectively referred to as ``Licensed Software'', for its Computer Facilities. In the course of their use of Rice's Computer Facilities in support of the University's instructional and research activities, the faculty, students, and staff of Rice University and its subcontractors and agents develop programs, data and documentation, collectively referred to as ``Software''. In order to maximize usefulness of Computer Facilities to instructional and research activities, the University provides access to such Computer Facilities in the most open manner permitted by the owners or providers of such Computer Facilities. However, individual users are responsible for obtaining authorization prior to use of any Computer Facility. The failure of a Computer Facility to prevent unauthorized use does not relieve the user of this responsibility. Proscribed Activities The following activities involving use of Computer Facilities are prohibited: Transmitting unsolicited information which contains obscene, indecent, lewd or lascivious material or other material which explicitly or implicitly refers to sexual conduct; Transmitting unsolicited information which contains profane language or panders to bigotry, sexism, or other forms of discrimination; Communicating any information concerning any password, identifying code, personal identification number or other confidential information without the permission of its owner or the controlling authority of the Computer Facility to which it belongs; Creating, modifying, executing or retransmitting any computer program or instructions intended to gain unauthorized access to, or make unauthorized use of, a Computer Facility, Software or Licensed Software; Creating, modifying, executing or retransmitting any computer program or instructions intended to obscure the true identity of the sender of electronic mail or electronic messages, collectively referred to as ``Messages'', including, but not limited to, forgery of Messages and/or alteration of system and/or user data used to identify the sender of Messages; Accessing or intentionally destroying Software or Licensed Software in a Computer Facility without the permission of the owner of such Software or Licensed Software or the controlling authority of the Facility; Making unauthorized copies of Licensed Software; Communicating any credit card number or other financial account number without the permission of its owner; Effecting or receiving unauthorized electronic transfer of funds; Violating any laws or participating in the commission or furtherance of any crime or other unlawful or improper purpose; Using the Computer Facilities in a manner inconsistent with the University's contractual obligations to suppliers of Computer Facilities or with any published University policy. Mailing Lists It is the responsibility of any user of an electronic mailing list to determine the purpose of the list before sending messages to the list or receiving messages from the list. Persons subscribing to an electronic mailing list will be viewed as having solicited any material delivered by the list as long as that material is consistent with the purpose of the list. Persons sending to a mailing list any materials which are not consistent with the purpose of the mailing list will be viewed as having sent unsolicited material to the mailing list. Student Use of External Computer Facilities Student use of external Computer Facilities is permitted in the following circumstances: With the permission of the Project Director when the student's formal involvement in a sponsored research activity requires such access, With the permission of the supervisor when employment by a University department requires such access, or With the permission of the Vice President for Graduate Studies, Research, and Information Systems when a member of the Faculty affirms in writing that a proposed use is required by or enhances the student's education. Exceptions The Vice President for Graduate Studies, Research, and Information Systems is the point of contact for approval of any activities at variance with the above practice. Governing Law In addition to University policy, unauthorized access to Computer Facilities, Software and Licensed Software is the subject of both Federal and State Law. A brief summary of Federal and Texas Law relevant to this issue follows. Note that the laws of other states may be applicable depending on the actual location of the Computer Facility(ies) in question. Federal Law It is a violation of Federal Law intentionally (1) to access a computer without authorization and thereby to obtain classified information; (2) to access a computer without authorization and thereby to obtain financial records of a financial institution; (3) to access any U. S. Government computer without authorization if such conduct affects the use of the Government's operation of the computer; (4) to access a Federal computer without authorization with the intent to defraud; (5) to access a financial institution or U. S. Government computer without authorization and thereby alter, damage, or destroy information which causes losses to others or which modifies or impairs medical diagnosis, treatment, or care; or (6) with intent to defraud to traffic in passwords or similar information through which a computer may be accessed if the trafficking affects interstate commerce or the computer is used by the U. S. Government. The penalty can be a fine or as much as 20 years in the Federal penitentiary for certain of these violations (18 USCA 1030). Copyright is a constitutionally conceived property right which is designed to promote progress of science and the useful arts by securing for an author the benefits of his/her original work for a limited time (US Constitution Art. I, Sec. 8). Congress has passed the Copyright statute (17 USCA 101 et seq) to implement this policy by balancing the author's interest against the public interest in the dissemination of information affecting areas of universal interest. Texas Law It is a violation of Texas Law intentionally (1) to use a computer without the consent of its owner or to access data stored in a computer system without the consent of its owner or licensee if you know there is a security system intended to prevent your doing either of these things; (2) to give passwords, or similar confidential information about a computer security system to another person without the consent of the person employing the security system to restrict access to a computer or its data; (3) to cause a computer to malfunction or to interrupt operation of a computer system without the consent of its owner; or (4) to alter, damage, or destroy data or a computer program in a computer without the consent of the owner or licensee of the data or computer program. Convictions under the Computer Crimes section of the Texas Penal Code can result in a sentence of a fine up to 5,000 and a jail sentence up to ten years (7 Texas Penal Code, 33).