INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND NETWORK POLICIES WITHGUIDELINES FOR RESPONSIBLE USE OF IT RESOURCESPOLICY STATEMENT
IT and Network Policies are created and mandatory to implement for maintaining, securing
and ensuring legal and appropriate use of HITS IT resources. The policy terms assures acampus community with a high quality, trusted and secure computing environment, with a
responsibility of protecting and securing its property interests, data and intellectual property.
The HITS requires people to use its information technology resources in a responsible
manner, abiding by all applicable laws, policies, and regulations.
REASON FOR POLICYThe HITS provides information technology resources to a large and diverse group, including
faculty, staff, students, and guests. All members of this community are responsible for using
these resources in an ethical and respectful manner that protects. HITS’s sensitive
information and follows the IT policies. The HITS must uphold the tenets of academic
freedom, while recognizing that protecting information technology and data requires
community members to act responsibly when using these resources.
SCOPE
This policy applies to everyone who uses HITS IT resources, whether physically located on
campus or remotely connected. Hence this policy applies to all electronic information stored
or transmitted on the HITS Network and the supporting IT infrastructure and cover all
students, faculty, staff – whosoever use the HITS network.
ENTITIES AFFECTED BY THIS POLICYAll Departments and units of the HITS.
WHO SHOULD READ THIS POLICY
All members of the HITS community.

Page 1 of 9

INTRODUCTION
All employees and students are provided access to the HITS computer network and theInternet. The policy on the IT infrastructure aims to regulate its use by all its authenticatedusers and the respectable guests. Thus everyone use it appropriately and lawfully for thecontinuous availability of network and Internet access.
The policy when implemented and followed ensures that the electronic information isprovided to maintain and uphold the HITS business and its mission of education, researchand service.
The Priorities for the IT resources can be established and enforced when demand forcomputing resources exceeds available capacity. For use of HITS - wide computing
resources various priorities are:Maximum: Uses that directly support the educational, research and service missionsof the HITS.
Lowest: Uses that indirectly benefit the education, research and service missions of
the HITS; reasonable and personal communications.
Prohibited: Amusement activities (game playing, e-trading, E-shopping, social
networking, movies and songs, chatting/video chatting or use of VoIP services (likeskype etc) unless permitted, use of Torrent and p2p software and all activities inviolation of the Indian IT Act.
The HITS enforces these priorities when one such usage disturbs or impacts on other more
important usages.
PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
You agree to abide by the policy terms, by accepting your account password and related
information and accessing network or Internet system.
The following are major responsibilities each party has in connection with this policy:
Department: Implement operational, physical, and technical controls for access, use,transmission, and disposal of HITS data in compliance with all privacy and security
policies, procedures, and guidelines.
User: Use all (IT) resources and data in a manner that is legal, ethical, and consistent
with the mission of education, research. Abide by all applicable IT policies.
HITS IT Office: Interpret this policy, and provide clarification and education.
TERM OF PERMITTED USE
Network and Internet access extends throughout the term of one’s employment or stay atthe HITS, provided they do not violate the policy.
Page 2 of 9

“The HITS has the right to suspend the access to its IT resources and related services, at
any time for technical reasons, policy violations, or other concerns.”
Internet facility can be accessed by the faculty and staff members using lan / wifi
connectivity. Every faculty/Staff cabin has been provided with cabled network and it isexpected that faculty/Staff members to use cabled network as preferred network.
Access to internet facility for HITS hostel is free and is governed by rules and regulations of
this policy, however access to social networking and YouTube is allowed from 3:30 PM to
8:00 AM.
Internet access can be granted to guests on demand of concerned faculty/staff members.
PURPOSE AND USE
HITS offers access to its network and Internet facility for educational and research purposes
only. If one is unsure of the business activity use whether appropriate or not, must consult
the server room staff for usage.
GENERAL RULES
All users must comply with HITS Rules, Regulations and Policies, cyber laws, IT Act ofGovernment of India and the terms of (applicable) contracts including software licenses
while using HITS IT resources. It may include but not limited to: privacy, copyright,
trademark, obscenity and child pornography; hacking, cracking and similar activities, Scams
and pyramid schemes, the HITS’s Student Code of Conduct etc.
Users are responsible for ascertaining the necessary authorizations before using the HITS
IT resources. They are responsible for the activities from their accounts. Under any
circumstances, Accounts and passwords must not be used by persons other than those towhom they have been assigned by the account administrator. Any detect/suspect ofunauthorized use of accounts or resources must be reported to the appropriate accountadministrator.
Users who violate this policy will be subjected to disciplinary action.
NETIQUETTE RULES
Employees/students must follow the rules of network etiquette (netiquette). That is, theymust be polite, follow the organization's electronic writing and content guidelines, and use
the network and Internet facility legally and appropriately. The HITS will determine of thematerials, files, information, software, communications, and other contents and activities
that are permitted or prohibited, outlined below under violations.
VIOLATIONS
The following activities are considered as violations under The HITS - computer network
and Internet use policy (this list is illustrative, not exhaustive and may include more related
activities):
Page 3 of 9Illegal activities under local, state and National laws
Any activity that is illegal is a violation of HITS IT policy. Alleged violations will be referred tothe campus Judicial Administrator. In addition, offenders may be investigated and/or
prosecuted by the appropriate local, state or national authorities.







Using, transmitting, viewing or searching for obscene and pornographic materials.
Conducting unauthorized business on Internet (including share trading).
Seeking inappropriate, offensive, vulgar, suggestive, abusive, harassing, belligerent,
threatening, defamatory actions or misleading language and materials.
Revealing other persons personal information, or accessing, transmitting, receiving
or seeking unauthorized and confidential information.
Making availability of any materials, whose possession or distribution is illegal.
Circulating/Broadcasting hate mails, message/announcements or images intended toharm or humiliate others, discrimination or individual attacks on others, or expressing
animus towards any person or group by any reason (contest, color, religion, national
origin, gender, sexual orientation or disability) is prohibited.

Unauthorized access
Computer Systems can have security holes or other breakpoints /weak points that people
can use to gain unauthorized access to the system and data. So, unacceptable andunauthorized use of IT resources and data includes (but not limited to) the following:













Any attempt to acquire or using passwords of others; attempt to use or using thecomputer accounts of others;
Accessing others folders, files, work, network (unless permitted), or computer, andinterrupting communications of others.
Any kind of transmit/Download of copyright materials without having consent from the
copyright holder; one should assume all materials are confined to copyright laws
except any explicit authorization to use them is provided.
Use of social networking sites unless permitted.
Watching/downloading movies and songs.
Making HITS IT resources available to individuals not related to HITS without
approval of an authorized HITS official.
The interception of communications by parties not explicitly intended to receive themwithout approval of an authorized HITS official.
Unauthorized duplicity or use of licensed computer software.
Any unauthorized access, control, or broadcast of electronic information or data thatis confidential under the HITS's policies.
Connecting your machine to any wireless network other than the designated network
while on-campus, unless authorized.
Providing substances prohibited by the universities employment policy/IPR Policy or
the Employee Rules regulations.
Any attempt to alter any HITS computing or networking resources without taking
permission or beyond individual's level of authorization; Unauthorized wiring,
including attempts to create unauthorized network connections, or any unauthorized
extension or re-transmission of any computer or network services.
Page 4 of 9

Maliciously accessing, altering, deleting, damaging or destroying any computer
system, network, program or data. Examples are:
 Changing or deleting another user’s account/password of another user, Using an unauthorized account, damaging or deleting HITS files
 Altering the HITS network system, mishandling, damaging or tampering withcomputer equipment, software or settings.

Mailing Violations
Flooding someone with numerous/ large e-mails or with suspicious content is to disrupt
them or the related group, which causes problems not only for the local system but also
disrupts service for thousands of other innocent bystanders. Such activities include, but are
not limited to, the following:








Using the HITS e-mail system to relay personal e-mails.
Engaging in spam activities (i.e., sending unsolicited electronic communications tolarge groups of individuals at the same time) or sending e-mail chain letters.
Sending hate mail, statements or images intended to injure or humiliate others,
threats, personal attacks on others or statements expressing animus towards any
person or group by reason of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual
orientation or disability is prohibited. This includes any such messages transmitted
via e-mail, instant messaging or any other electronic means which rely on the HITS
network for transmission.
Interference with or disruption of the computer or network accounts, services, or
equipment of others, including, but not limited to, the propagation of computer"worms" and "viruses", the sending of electronic chain mail, and the inappropriate
sending of "broadcast" messages to large numbers of individuals or hosts;
Unauthorized scanning of networks for security vulnerabilities.
Wasting the computer resources, printer toner or paper, sending electronic chain
letters, e-mail copies to nonessential readers, e-mails to group lists unless it isappropriate for everyone on a list to receive the e-mail, and organization wide e-mails
without your supervisor's permission.

ForgeryAltering electronic communications to hide your identity or to harm some otherperson, even ones that are intended as pranks or jokes are considered as violations.
A few of them includes:
Alteration of the content of a message originating from another person or computerwith intent to deceive.
Misrepresentation (including forgery) of the identity of the sender or source of anelectronic communication.
Using the HITS network or computer resources for commercial purposes or personal
gain.
Misrepresenting oneself as another user by using their ID’s.

Page 5 of 9

Security and Network Breach Installing software on any HITS owned equipment (pirated or freeware/shareware).
Using software that is not licensed or approved by the HITS.
 Attempting to monitor or capture HITS network traffic.
 Intentionally compromising the privacy or security of electronic information; andintentionally infringing upon the intellectual property rights of others in computer
programs or electronic information (including plagiarism and unauthorized use or
reproduction).
 Attempting to security of various software or other security measures placed on
HITS network systems or computers.
 Creating LMS courses without content which misleads the students and HITS
members.
 Engaging in illegal activities, violating the Employee Codes/Rules/regulations, or
encouraging others to do so.
 Circumventing network bandwidth restrictions by altering the network address.
 Mishandling, damaging or tampering with computer equipment, software orsettings.
 Disrupting or attempting to disrupt network traffic or attempting to overload or
crash the HITS network and attached systems.
 Maintains insecure passwords on IT devices attached to the network Attaching misconfigured IT devices to the network.
 Compromising an IT device, use of an application or computing system attachedto the network.
 To perform network or system scans on resources not authorized by the IT
security department.
GUIDE LINES
1. Network registry:
HITS is concerned with creating and maintaining a central registry service. The said service
maintains an updated database with current records of all the devices connected to thecentral network, including the wireless connections. IT department must provide thetechnical tools necessary to access the central network registry service to network
administrators who manage subnets.
Users and system Administration (must entries): MAC Address, IP Address (if static),
Network id/user id.
Network administration:
To register all devices connected to networks under their domains for which individual users
or systems administrators
Network administrators of separated subnets, must also update the network registry service
with logs of addresses of devices that connect to their networks.

Page 6 of 9

2. Authentication to IT resources
To protect the IT resources from unauthorized use, HITS must protect them and support
regulations governing the privacy and security of sensitive data by the use of electronic
identifiers and secure passwords to control access. There are four categories of users:
Applicant IDs, Net IDs or specific user IDs, Guest IDs,
Sponsored Net IDs.
Administration job:Passwords must be in encrypted form.
Passwords must never be stored in clear text on a server. o Server must be in asecure area with limited access.
System administration must be handled by some HITS IT staff member only.
Server should adhere to standardized procedures.
Secure IDs should be used to access the system.
To avoid unauthorized access, users (all categories) must follow specific rules for creating
and using of complex passwords as:
Do’s:
Choose at least eight characters, including at least three of the following four charactertypes:
Uppercase letters
Lowercase letters
Numbers
Symbols found on your keyboard, such as ! * - () : | / ?...including blank spaces.
Don’ts:Use words from the dictionary
Use names or nicknames, address, birthday, etc.
Include any of these:
Repeating characters, such as AAA or 555
Alphabetic sequences, such as abc or CBA
Numeric sequences, such as 123 or 321
Common keyboard sequences, such as ABCD
3. Mass E-mailing
An e-mail directed to any or all of the following: faculty, staff (academic and nonacademic),
student, and alumni. There are two forms of mass e-mail communication: emergency andnon-emergency.
Emergency E-mail: can be send to all except alumni. An e-mail that is distributed with max
priority, above all others. It has a deleterious effect on network performance, and istherefore used only in urgent or extraordinary circumstances.
Non-Emergency E-mail: may sent to all.
Page 7 of 9

Whosoever wishes to send mass e-mail must take permission from the higher
administration top officials, along with the permission of staff and faculty members (which
are included).
DATA BACKUP
Google drive, which is a complete Data management solution. Following steps will beadhered by all while using the Google drive.
 Download Google drive on your PC to keep files in sync with your files stored on theweb.
 Desk top version can be downloaded: http://www.google.co.in/drive/download at
Carry out the two-step verification for security purposes.
 This facility to be used only for Academic purpose/official documents and not forrecreational/personal requirements like songs, movies, personal photographs etc.
CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
Employees may have access to confidential information about THE HITS, once written
approval is granted. With the approval of management, employees may use e-mail tocommunicate confidential information internally to those with a need to know. Such e-mailmust be marked "confidential." When in doubt, does not use e-mail to communicate
confidential material. When a matter is personal, it may be more appropriate to send a hard
copy, place a phone call, or meet in person.
PRIVACY
Network and Internet access is provided as a tool to accomplish the organization's strategic
goals and objectives. The HITS reserves the right to monitor, inspect, copy, review, andstore at any time and without prior information any and all network and Internet use, as wellas any and all materials, files, information, software, communications, and other content
transmitted, received, or stored in connection with this use. All such information, content,
and files are the property of The HITS. Network administrators may review files andintercept communications for any reason, including, but not limited to, maintaining system
integrity and ensuring employees are using the system in accordance with this policy.
NONCOMPLIANCE
The use of the computer network and the Internet is a privilege, not a right. Violation of thispolicy, at the minimum will lead to disciplinary action. Policy breaches include violating theabove provisions and failing to report violations by other users. Permitting another person touse your account or password to access the network or the Internet including, but notlimited to, someone whose access has been denied or terminated is a violation of policy. In
case another user violates this policy using ones account, the account holder will be held
responsible and both will be subject to disciplinary/administrative action. Criminal violations
may lead to criminal or civil prosecution.

Page 8 of 9

SECURITY MEASURES
Physical security: to protect resources such as keys, doors, and/or rooms maintained to thelevel of security commensurate with the value of the resources stored in those locations.
Administrative security: to protect resources such as:Full implementation of the most current authentication and authorization technologies.
Most recently tested and approved software patches available.
Most contemporary and available security configurations.
Most contemporary and available virus protection.
Configuration of secure passwords on all IT devices
REVISION
This policy may be modified as deemed appropriate by the HITS. Users are encouraged toperiodically review the policy as posted on the HITS’s website page.
WAIVER
When restrictions in this policy interfere with its service mission, research, or educational,
members of the HITS community may request a written waiver from the Registrar, THE
HITS, Chennai.
CONTACTS
Employees/students can contact the server room for any information security related issue
at: e-mail : sysad@hindustanuniv.ac.in
WEB ADDRESS FOR THIS POLICY
https://hindustanuniv.ac.in
DISCLAIMER
Security is neither perfect nor permanent. This is even more true for Information and IT
infrastructure where change is the only constant - systems change, requirements change,
new bugs are discovered, new vulnerabilities are disclosed, new threats arise, oldvulnerabilities take new forms - all this as the information and the equipment go throughtheir lifecycles from creation and use to destruction, and from great value for theorganization to none. In thisDynamic environment, this document attempts to bring some long-lasting order andbalance. Owing to the very nature of its subject, this document, too, is neither perfect nor
permanent. The document must necessarily be periodically updated for it to remain
effective.

Page 9 of 9