Summary
This document is in direct support of the Georgia Institute of Technology Policy. The Office of Information Technology (OIT) provides Sites @ Georgia Tech hosting services to academic and administrative units as well as students. This policy provides the necessary guidance to users of these services on support, content management, and site management.
Scope
This policy addresses all websites hosted by Sites @ Georgia Tech Hosting Services.
Web Hosting Service Ownership
Authorized Requesters
Current Georgia Tech employees and students can request Sites @ Georgia Tech Hosting services.
Service Ownership
Service ownership is limited to current employee and students.
- The owner(s) of the service may delegate management of the service within the capabilities and appropriate security measures of the service to anyone with a valid GT Account, including students, faculty, staff, alumni, applicants, retirees, affiliates, and guests. Service owners are responsible for maintaining their site administrators.
- All users with delegated management rights using the service will abide by all Georgia Tech policies and procedures, including the Georgia Tech Computer & Network Usage and Security Policy (CNUSP) and the Sites @ Georgia Tech Hosting Policy, and agree to the enforcement mechanisms defined by those policies.
- All site owners on Sites @ Georgia Tech are responsible for their site content, data, and files that are stored in their websites. Any public exposure becomes the full responsibility of the website owner.
Web Content
Adhering to Georgia Tech Policies
The content of sites hosted on Sites @ Georgia Tech Hosting Services must adhere to Georgia Tech and Board of Regents policies and State and Federal law.
- The content of sites hosted on Sites @ Georgia Tech Hosting Services must abide by all necessary Georgia Tech policies, including the campus Computer and Network Usage & Security Policy (CNUSP). These policies may be found at: http://www.policylibrary.gatech.edu/information-technology
- Redirecting the whole site to a site outside of Georgia Tech is prohibited. (Short-term redirects are allowed for faculty and research groups transitioning to another institution.)
- Offensive, illegal, political and/or commercial content is prohibited.
- Content must abide by copyright and fair use guidelines.
- No web site or server that is part of Sites @ Georgia Tech Hosting Services may receive, store, transmit, or process credit card information.
- All violations of these policies will be handled per the Security Incident procedure.
Security Vulnerabilities
OIT reserves the right to access system logs, account directories, site content, and other records to investigate and/or resolve system problems.
All site owners on Sites @ Georgia Tech are responsible for monitoring and prohibiting any offensive, illegal, political commercial, and/or spam content that may occur on form submissions, comments, and other site content.
Security Incident Procedure
If a site is found to be causing problems for other users, presenting a security threat, or enabling illegal activity, the site administrators will be notified and expected to take corrective action immediately.
- If any such urgent issues with a hosted web domain (as described above) cannot be resolved in a timely manner, OIT may take one or more of the following actions, in consultation with the domain owner, unit leadership, or campus leadership (as appropriate), depending on the nature and severity of the problem, as well as the time estimated for the site administrators to correct it:
- Restrict the public’s access to the web site
- Disable dangerous files by altering permissions, moving, or renaming them
- Terminate processes
- Disable the web site from access
- Remove the site administrator’s access to the site (e.g. when compromise is suspected)
- In cases where the compromise could impact the reputation of Georgia Tech, the incident will be remanded to the GT Incident Response team.
Compliance
Any person (or unit) who uses Sites @ Georgia Tech Hosting Services consents to all of the provisions of this policy and agrees to comply with all of its terms and conditions, with all Institute and Board of Regents policies, and with all applicable state and federal laws and regulations. Users have a responsibility to use these resources in an efficient, effective, ethical, and lawful manner. Violations of the policy may result in loss of usage privileges, administrative sanctions (including termination or expulsion) as outlined in applicable Georgia Tech disciplinary procedures, as well as personal civil and/or criminal liability.