[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Mamaroneck 9-8-2003. Amendments noted where applicable.]
A.
The Village reserves the right to inspect any and
all files stored in private areas of the Village's network in order
to assure compliance with this policy.
B.
Sexually explicit material may not be displayed, archived,
stored, distributed, edited or recorded using the Village's network
or computing resources.
C.
Use of any Village of Mamaroneck resources for illegal
activity is grounds for immediate dismissal, and the Village will
cooperate with any legitimate law enforcement activity.
D.
Any software or files downloaded via the Internet
into the Village of Mamaroneck network become the property of the
Village of Mamaroneck.
E.
No employee may use Village of Mamaroneck facilities
knowingly to download or distribute pirated software or data.
F.
No employee may use the Village of Mamaroneck Internet
facilities to deliberately propagate any virus, worm, Trojan horse
or trap-door program code.
G.
In the interest of keeping the Village of Mamaroneck
well-informed, use of news briefing services is acceptable.
H.
Employees with Internet access may not use Village
of Mamaroneck Internet facilities to download entertainment software
or games, or to play games against opponents over the Internet.
I.
Employees with Internet access may not upload any
software licensed to the Village of Mamaroneck or data owned or licensed
by the Village of Mamaroneck without explicit authorization from the
manager responsible for the software or data. The entire Internet
Acceptable Usage Policy is attached to this document.[1]
A.
The Village of Mamaroneck provides access to the vast
information resources of the Internet to help employees do their jobs
and be well informed. The facilities that provide access represent
a considerable commitment of resources for telecommunications, networking,
software, storage, etc. This Internet Acceptable Usage Policy is designed
to help employees understand the expectations for the use of those
resources in the particular conditions of the Internet and to help
them use those resources wisely.
B.
While the Village has set forth explicit requirements
for Internet usage below, it would like to start by describing its
Internet usage philosophy. First and foremost, the Internet for this
Village of Mamaroneck is a tool, provided to the employee at significant
cost. That means the Village expects employees to use their Internet
access primarily for government-related purposes, i.e., to communicate
with taxpayers and suppliers, to research relevant topics and obtain
useful information (except as outlined below). The Village insists
that employees conduct themselves honestly and appropriately on the
Internet and respect the copyrights, software licensing rules, property
rights, privacy and prerogatives of others, just as they would in
any other business dealings. To be absolutely clear on this point,
all existing Village of Mamaroneck policies apply to conduct on the
Internet, especially (but not exclusively) those that deal with intellectual
property protection, privacy, misuse of Village of Mamaroneck resources,
sexual harassment, information and data security, and confidentiality.
C.
Unnecessary or unauthorized Internet usage causes
network and server congestion. It slows other users, takes away from
work time, consumes supplies and ties up printers and other shared
resources. Unlawful Internet usage may also garner negative publicity
for the agency and expose the municipality to significant legal liabilities.
D.
Access to electronic communications gives each individual
Internet user an immense and unprecedented reach to propagate Village
of Mamaroneck messages and serve the public. Because of that power,
one must take special care to maintain the clarity, consistency and
integrity of the Village of Mamaroneck image and posture. Anything
any one employee writes in the course of acting for the Village of
Mamaroneck on the Internet could be taken as representing the Village
of Mamaroneck posture. That is why the Village expects employees to
forego a measure of individual freedom when participating in electronic
communications as outlined below.
E.
While direct connection to the Internet offers a cornucopia
of potential benefits, it can also open the door to some significant
risks to data and systems if the Village and its employees do not
follow appropriate security discipline. As presented in greater detail
below, that may mean preventing machines with sensitive data or applications
from connecting to the Internet entirely, or it may mean that certain
users must be prevented from using certain Internet features. The
overriding principle is that security is to be everyone's first concern.
Village of Mamaroneck employees can be held accountable for any breaches
of security or confidentiality, including any and all branches.
F.
DISPLAY
DOCUMENT
GRAPHICS
As used in this policy, the following words shall
have the meaning indicated:
Includes monitors, flat-panel active or passive matrix displays,
monochrome LCDs, projectors, televisions and virtual-reality tools.
Covers just about any type of file that can be read on a
computer screen as if it were a printed page, including the so-called
HTML files read in an Internet browser, any file meant to be accessed
by a word processing or desktop publishing program or its viewer,
or the files prepared for the Adobe Acrobat reader and other electronic
publishing tools.
Includes photographs, pictures, animations, movies or drawings.
A.
General provisions.
(1)
The Village of Mamaroneck has the option of installing
software and systems that monitor and record all Internet usage. The
security systems are capable of recording (for each and every user)
each World Wide Web site visit and each e-mail message into and out
of the Village's internal networks, and the Village reserves the right
to do so at any time. No employee should have any expectation of privacy
as to his or her Internet usage. Managers may review Internet activity
and analyze usage patterns and they may choose to publicize this data
to assure that Village of Mamaroneck Internet resources are devoted
to maintaining the highest levels of productivity.
(2)
The Village reserves the right to inspect any and
all files stored in private areas of its network in order to assure
compliance with policy.
(3)
The display of any kind of sexually explicit image
or document on any Village of Mamaroneck system is a violation of
the Village'spolicy on sexual harassment. In addition, sexually explicit
material may not be archived, stored, distributed, edited, or recorded
using the Village'snetwork or computing resources.
(4)
The Village of Mamaroneck may use independently supplied
software and data to identify inappropriate or sexually explicit Internet
sites. We may block access from within its networks to all such sites
that the Village knows of. If an employee finds himself or herself
connected accidentally to a site that contains sexually explicit or
offensive material, he or she must disconnect from that site immediately,
regardless of whether that site had been previously deemed acceptable
by any screening or rating program.
(5)
The Village of Mamaroneck Internet facilities and
computing resources must not be used to violate the laws and regulations
of the United States or any other nation, or the laws and regulations
of any state, city, province or other local jurisdiction in any material
way. Use of any Village of Mamaroneck resources for illegal activity
is grounds for immediate dismissal, and the Village will cooperate
with any legitimate law enforcement activity.
(6)
Any software or files downloaded via the Internet
into the Village of Mamaroneck network become the property of the
Village of Mamaroneck. Any such files or software may be used only
in ways that are consistent with its licenses or copyrights.
(7)
No employee may use Village of Mamaroneck facilities
to download or distribute pirated software or data.
(8)
No employee may use the Village of Mamaroneck Internet
facilities to propagate any virus, worm, Trojan horse or trap-door
program code.
(9)
Each employee using the Internet facilities of the
Village of Mamaroneck shall identify himself or herself honestly,
accurately and completely when setting up accounts on outside computer
systems.
(10)
Only those employees or officials who are authorized
to speak to the media, to analysts or at public gatherings on behalf
of the Village of Mamaroneck may speak/write in the name of the Village
of Mamaroneck in any electronic communications. Where an individual
participant is identified as an employee or agent of the Village of
Mamaroneck, the employee must refrain from any political advocacy
and must refrain from the unauthorized endorsement or appearance of
endorsement by the Village of Mamaroneck of any commercial product
or service not sold or serviced by this Village of Mamaroneck, its
subsidiaries or its affiliates.
(11)
The Village of Mamaroneck retains the copyright to
any material posted on the Internet by any employee in the course
of his or her duties.
(12)
Employees are reminded that it is inappropriate to
reveal confidential information, and any other material covered by
existing Village of Mamaroneck secrecy policies and procedures, on
the Internet. Employees releasing such confidential information, whether
or not the release is inadvertent, will be subject to the penalties
provided in existing Village of Mamaroneck policies and procedures.
(13)
Use of Village of Mamaroneck Internet access facilities
to commit infractions such as misuse of Village of Mamaroneck assets
or resources, sexual harassment, unauthorized public speaking and
misappropriation of intellectual property are also prohibited by general
Village of Mamaroneck policy and will be sanctioned under the relevant
provisions of the personnel handbook.
(14)
Because a wide variety of materials may be considered
offensive by colleagues, constituents or suppliers, it is a violation
of Village of Mamaroneck policy to store, view, print, or redistribute
any document or graphic file that is not directly related to the user's
job or the Village of Mamaroneck activities.
(15)
In the interest of keeping employees well-informed,
use of news briefing services like Pointcast is acceptable, within
limits that may be set by each department' s activities.
(16)
Employees may use their Internet facilities for nonbusiness
research, or browsing during mealtime or other breaks, or outside
of work hours, provided that all other usage policies are adhered
to and with the consent of their department head manager.
(17)
Employees with Internet access must take particular
care to understand the copyright, trademark, libel, slander, and public
speech control laws of all countries in which this governmental agency
maintains a business presence, so that the Village's use of the Internet
does not inadvertently violate any laws which might be enforceable
against it.
(18)
Employees with Internet access may not use Village
of Mamaroneck Internet facilities to download entertainment software
or games, or to play games against opponents over the Internet.
(19)
Employees with Internet access may not use Village
of Mamaroneck Internet facilities to download images or videos unless
there is an express business-related use for the material.
(20)
Employees with Internet access may not upload any
software licensed to the Village of Mamaroneck or data owned or licensed
by the Village of Mamaroneck without the express authorization of
the manager responsible for the software or data.
B.
Technical requirements.
(1)
User IDs and passwords help maintain individual accountability
for Internet resource usage. Any employee who obtains a password or
ID for an Internet resource from the Village of Mamaroneck must keep
that password confidential. Village of Mamaroneck policy prohibits
the sharing of user IDs or passwords obtained for access to Internet
sites.
(2)
Employees should schedule communications-intensive
operations, such as large file transfers, video downloads, mass e-mailings
and the like, for off-peak times.
(3)
Any file that is downloaded must be scanned for viruses
before it is run or accessed.
C.
Security measures.
(1)
The Village of Mamaroneck has installed an Internet
firewall to assure the safety and security of the agency's networks.
Any employee who attempts to disable, defeat, or circumvent any security
facility will be subject to immediate dismissal. Employees should
be familiar with and adhere to procedures for the use of e-mail facilities.
(2)
Files containing sensitive Village of Mamaroneck data,
as defined by existing data security policy, that are transferred
in any way across the Internet must be encrypted.
(3)
Only those Internet services and functions with documented
business purposes for this agency will be enabled at the Internet
firewall.
I acknowledge that I have received a written
copy of the Internet Acceptable Usage Policy for the Village of Mamaroneck.
I understand the terms of this policy and agree to abide by them.
I realize that the Village of Mamaroneck security software may record
and store for management use the electronic e-mail messages I send
and receive, the Internet address of any site that I visit and any
network activity in which I transmit or receive any type of file.
I understand that any violation of this policy could lead to my dismissal
from employment or even criminal prosecution.
If you have any question regarding this policy
or any situation not specifically addressed in this policy, see your
supervisor or the Village of Mamaroneck Human Resource Coordinator.
This policy is subject to revision. Village of Mamaroneck will adequately
post revisions, but it is the user's responsibility to ensure that
his/her use of the Village of Mamaroneck computing and communication
resources conforms to current policy.
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