SummitNet Acceptable Use

Number: ENT-NET-031

Established for: State of Montana Information Technology Enterprise

LOIS MENZIES, Director
Department of Administration
September 20, 2000

Policy - Requirements

Defined

SummitNet (State and Universities of Montana Multi-Protocol Network) is the State's telecommunications nucleus network or backbone connecting agency, University, K-12, library, and local government networks.SummitNet's telecommunications users are elected officials, state and local government employees, educators, students, researchers, authorized contractors, and non-profit organizations.Through SummitNet, these authorized users can access a wide range of national and international information.SummitNet provides connectivity to the Internet, the world's largest network of individuals, governments, organizations, universities, schools, and companies.

Acceptable Use

SummitNet is to be used for: the conduct of state and local government business and delivery of government services; the support of instruction, learning, training, educational administration, research, and grant procurement; the increased participation of citizen oversight of government affairs; and the promotion of economic development.

SummitNet users may be subject to restrictive or limited use of the network, including access to the Internet, as determined by a supervising authority or administrator.

Any external connections (i.e. Internet service providers, contractors, other non-governmental entities) made to SummitNet and not managed by the Information Services Division must be reported to the State Data Network Manager for compatibility and security reasons.

Internet Acceptable Use

Reference policy number ENT-INT-010, Internet Services, for Internet Acceptable Use.

Remote Access

An agency may allow remote access to its computing resources on a case by case basis.Approval for this access must be granted in writing by the appropriate agency management. Access will be granted for benefit of the State of Montana and not for personal benefit or use. Access of State computer resources by unauthorized remote access users shall be considered a security violation. Remote access users are obligated to abide by all computing policies of the State and the agency.

User Responsibilities Related to SummitNet and Internet Acceptable Use

SummitNet users are responsible for:

  • Honoring this acceptable use policy and the acceptable use policies of networks accessed through SummitNet or the Internet
  • Honoring existing federal, state, and local telecommunications and networking laws, regulations, and policies
  • Reporting to the appropriate authority the violation of any network acceptable use policy
  • Honoring copyright laws regarding protected commercial software or intellectual property
  • Demonstrating respect for an individual's right to privacy and to freedom from intimidation, harassment, and unwarranted annoyance
  • Minimizing unnecessary network traffic that might interfere with the ability of others to make effective use of this shared network resource; such as, refraining from monopolizing systems; overloading networks with excessive data; or wasting computer time, connect time, disk space, or other resources

Background - History on the creation of or changes to this policy

This policy was created by the SummitNet Executive Council and was originally signed in November 1995 by Lois A. Menzies, Richard A. Crofts, W. Gregg Groepper, Janet Kelly, Robert B. Person, Mick Robinson and Dennis M. Taylor. It was updated in January 2000 to accommodate information technology environment changes. This policy was given to the SummitNet Executive Council and the Information Technology Advisory Council for comment prior to adoption.

Guidelines - Recommendations, not requirements

There are no guidelines for this policy.

References - Laws, rules, standard operating procedures and applicable policies