IT Services Policy

a. spamming and invasion of privacy - sending of unsolicited bulk and/or commercial messages over the Internet using the University’s IT Facilities or using the University’s IT Facilities for activities that invade another's privacy;

b. intellectual property right violations - engaging in any activity that infringes or misappropriates the intellectual property rights of others, including patents, copyrights, trademarks, service marks, trade secrets, or any other proprietary right of any third party;

c. hacking activities in accessing illegal or without authorization computers, accounts, equipment or networks belonging to another party, or attempting to penetrate/circumvent security measures of another system. This includes any activity that may be used as a precursor to an attempted system penetration, including, but not limited to, port scans, stealth scans, or other information gathering activity;

d. the transfer of technology, software, or other materials in violation of applicable laws and regulations and the distribution of internet viruses, worms, Trojan horses, pinging, flooding, mail-bombing, or denial of service attacks. This includes any activities that disrupt the use of or interfere with the ability of others to effectively use the node or any connected network, system, service, or equipment;

e. export control violations;

f. uttering threats;

g. using the University’s IT Facilities in violation of applicable laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, advertising, transmitting, or otherwise making available Ponzi schemes, pyramid schemes, gambling, fraudulently charging credit cards, pirating software, or making fraudulent offers to sell or buy products, items, or services;

h. distribution of pornographic materials to minors including child and adult pornography; and/or

i. various types of violation related to religion, gender, ethnic and other human rights.

a. ensure they do not disrupt the University’s wider IT systems or cause an increase or significant resource demand in storage, capacity, speed or system performance e.g. by sending large attachment to a large number of internal recipients;

b. ensure they do not harm the University’s reputation, bring it into disrepute, incur liability on the part of the University, or adversely impact on its image;

c. not seek to gain access to restricted areas of the network, personal data and any “hacking activities” are strictly forbidden;

d. not use email for the creation, retention or distribution of disruptive or offensive messages, images, materials or software that include offensive or abusive comments about ethnicity or nationality, gender, disabilities, age, sexual orientation, appearance, religious beliefs and practices, political beliefs or social background;

e. not send email messages that might reasonably be considered by recipients to be bullying, harassing, abusive, malicious, discriminatory, defamatory, and libelous or contain illegal or offensive material, or foul language;

f. not upload, download, use, retain, distribute, or disseminate any images, text, materials, or software which might reasonably be considered indecent, obscene, pornographic, or illegal;

g. not engage in any activity that is likely to

- corrupt or destroy other users’ data or disrupt the work of other users;

- disrupt the effort or resources of the University or its staff in maintaining the University’s IT Facilities, or engage in activities that serve to deny service to other users;

- fall outside the scope of normal work-related duties or educational purposes – for example, unauthorised selling/advertising of goods and services;

- affect or have the potential to affect the performance of damage or overload the University’s IT Facilities, system, network, and/or external communications in any way;

- be a breach of copyright or license provision with respect to both programs and data, including intellectual property rights;

h. not send chain letters or joke emails from a University account.

a. The University has recommended practice guidelines for dealing with emails, when its staff are out of the office. When activating the "out of office" facility, messages should name an alternative member of staff for correspondents to contact, if necessary. This will ensure that any important messages are picked up and dealt with within required timescales.

b. When highly important emails are anticipated during absence period, the employee (or his/her manager) should make arrangements for notification and access by another appropriate member of staff.

c. Where sensitive and confidential information needs to be sent via email for legitimate reasons, please be aware that email is essentially a non-confidential means of communication. Emails can easily be forwarded or archived without the original sender’s knowledge. They may be read by persons other than those they are intended for.

d. Staff must exercise due diligence when writing emails to avoid being rude or unnecessarily terse. Emails sent from the University may be interpreted by others as University’s statements. Staff are responsible for ensuring that their content and tone are appropriate. Emails often need to be as formal, professional and businesslike as other forms of written correspondence.

e. Staff should delete all personal emails and attachments when they have been read and should also delete all unsolicited junk mail. In the process of archiving emails, staff should ensure inappropriate material is not archived.

f. Staff must be cautioned when opening any attachments or emails from unknown senders. Staff must use their best endeavour to ensure that any file downloaded from the internet is done so from a reliable source with updated anti-virus software installed.

g. Staff who receive improper email from individuals or organisations inside or outside the University, shall discuss the matter in the first instance with their direct line manager or supervisor; and IT department.

a. Computer and network facilities are provided to Users primarily for their educational and work-related use only. These facilities have tangible value. Consequently, attempts to circumvent accounting systems or to use the computer accounts of others will be treated as forms of attempted theft.

b. General rules and regulation concerning the use of computers, services, networks and the University’s IT Facilities must be observed and aligned with all applicable laws in Malaysia. Breaches of the policy, for example, by downloading pornographic materials or sharing the unauthorized copying and/or alteration, may be treated as gross misconduct which could lead to suspension or expulsion from the University and could result in criminal proceedings.

c. Users are expected to abide by these rules and policies prior to any activity that would appear to threaten the security or performance of University’s computers and networks. Failure to do so may result in disciplinary action. In addition to violating the rules and policies, certain computer misconduct is prohibited by the laws of Malaysia. Therefore, it is subject to criminal and civil penalties and legal proceedings. Such computer misconduct includes knowingly gaining unauthorized access to a computer system or database falsely obtaining electronic services or data without payment of required charges, etc. Similarly, serious legal penalties may result from the misuse ore illegitimate use of the University computers or network to violate international digital data protection laws.

d. Users are expected to backup their work-related data regularly and ensure their data are kept safely.