Most of our computer systems have reasonably robust security mechanisms to protect information from unintended access. However, these mechanisms, by themselves, may be inadequate for a university community, for whom sharing is as important as protection of individual privacy. Users must supplement a system's security mechanisms by using the system in a manner that preserves the privacy of others. Files owned by individual users are to be considered as private, whether or not they are accessible by other users. That you can read a file does not mean that you may read a file.
Files belonging to individuals are to be considered private property.
For example, users should not attempt to gain access to the files or directories of another user without explicit authorization. Programs should not store information about other users without the users' prior knowledge. Personal information about another individual, which a user would not otherwise disseminate to the UCSD community, should not be stored or communicated on the system without the individual's explicit written permission. Be aware that electronic mail and computer files are not private in any absolute sense. Administrators and operations personnel may have access to mail, files and accounts in the normal course of their duties.