View source for Acceptable Use and Security Policy


== Overview ==
The intention for publishing an Acceptable Use Policy are not to impose restrictions that
are contrary to Maker Nexus’s established culture of openness, trust and integrity. 
We are committed to protecting the employees, volunteers and members and the organization from
illegal or damaging actions by individuals or groups, either knowingly or unknowingly.
Internet/Intranet/Extranet-related systems, including but not limited to computer equipment,
software, operating systems, storage media, network accounts providing electronic mail, WWW
browsing, and other file exchange protocols, are the property of Maker Nexus. These systems are to be used for
purpose in serving the mission in the course of normal operations. 

Effective security is a team effort involving the participation and support of every user
who deals with information and/or information systems. It is the responsibility of every 
computer user to know these guidelines, and to conduct their activities
accordingly.

== Purpose ==
The purpose of this policy is to outline the acceptable use of computer equipment at Maker Nexus. 
These rules are in place to protect the employee, volunteers, members and Maker Nexus. Inappropriate
use exposes Maker Nexus to risks including virus attacks, compromise of network systems
and services, and legal issues.
== Scope ==
This policy applies to the use of information in electronic devices including but not restricted to
general computing, storage and embedded control computing devices, IOT, and network resources (hereafter called 'DEVICES') 
in accordance to the mission of Maker Nexus. <br>
This policy applies to DEVICES intended for member and event/class participants (hereafter called 'OPEN DEVICES')
as well as CLOSED DEVICES, those used strictly for Maker Nexus internal use.

All employees, volunteers, contractors, consultants, temporary workers, members and event/class participants (hereafter called 'USER')
at Maker Nexus are responsible for exercising good judgment regarding appropriate use of
information, electronic devices, and network resources in accordance with Maker Nexus
policies and standards, and local laws and regulation. 

Exceptions to this policy are documented in section [[Acceptable_Use_and_Security_Policy#Exceptions]].<br>
This policy applies to USERS at Maker Nexus, including all personnel affiliated with third parties. <br>
This policy applies to all DEVICES that are owned or leased by Maker Nexus.<br>
This policy applies to all personal DEVICES of USERS that connects to and transits Maker Nexus networks.<br>
Connection to Maker Nexus networks implies acceptance of this policy.<br>

== Policy ==

=== Ownership ===

Maker Nexus proprietary information stored on electronic and computing devices
whether owned or leased by Maker Nexus, the employee or a third party, remains
the sole property of Maker Nexus. You must ensure through legal or technical
means that proprietary information is protected in accordance best practices in
data protection standards.

Employees, volunteers and contractors have a responsibility to promptly report the theft, 
loss or unauthorized disclosure of Maker Nexus proprietary information.

Employees, volunteers and contractors may access, use or share Maker Nexus proprietary information only to the
extent it is authorized and necessary to fulfill your assigned job duties.

Employees, volunteers and contractors are responsible for exercising good judgment regarding 
the reasonableness of personal use and if there is any uncertainty, they should consult their supervisor or manager.

For security and network maintenance purposes, authorized individuals within
Maker Nexus may monitor equipment, systems and network traffic at any time.

Maker Nexus reserves the right to audit networks and systems on a periodic basis to
ensure compliance with this policy.

=== General Use ===

=== Security and Proprietary Information ===

All mobile and computing devices that connect to the internal network must comply with the following requirements.

System level and user level passwords must comply with the Password Policy. Providing
access to another individual, either deliberately or through failure to secure its access, is
prohibited.

All non-computing devices must be secured with a password-protected screensaver with the
automatic activation feature set to 10 minutes or less. You must lock the screen or log off
when the device is unattended.

USERS must use extreme caution when opening e-mail attachments received from
unknown senders, which may contain malware while using Maker Nexus DEVICES.

=== Unacceptable Use ===

The following activities are, in general, prohibited. Employees may be exempted from these
restrictions during the course of their legitimate job responsibilities (e.g., systems administration
staff may have a need to disable the network access of a host if that host is disrupting production
services).

Under no circumstances are USERS of Maker Nexus authorized to engage in any
activity that is illegal under local, state, federal or international law while utilizing Maker Nexus-owned resources.

The lists below are by no means exhaustive, but attempt to provide a framework for activities
which fall into the category of unacceptable use.

The following activities are strictly prohibited, with no exceptions:
# Violations of the rights of any person or company protected by copyright, trade secret,patent or other intellectual property, or similar laws or regulations, including, but not limited to, the installation or distribution of "pirated" or other software products that are not appropriately licensed for use by Maker Nexus.
# Unauthorized copying of copyrighted material including, but not limited to, digitization and distribution of photographs from magazines, books or other copyrighted sources, copyrighted music, and the installation of any copyrighted software for which Maker Nexus or the USER does not have an active license is strictly prohibited.
#  Accessing data, a server or an account for any purpose other than serving the Maker Nexus mission, even if you have authorized access, is prohibited.
# Exporting software, technical information, encryption software or technology, in violation of international or regional export control laws, is illegal. The appropriate management should be consulted prior to export of any material that is in question.
# Introduction of malicious programs into the network or server (e.g., viruses, worms, Trojan horses, e-mail bombs, etc.).
# Revealing any account password to others or allowing use of your account by others. This includes family and other household members when work is being done at home by employees, volunteers, contractors and consultants.
# Using a Maker Nexus computing asset to actively engage in procuring or transmitting material that is in violation of sexual harassment or hostile workplace laws in the user's local jurisdiction.
# Making fraudulent offers of products, items, or services originating from any Maker Nexus account or network.
# Making statements about warranty, expressly or implied, unless it is a part of normal job duties.
# Effecting security breaches or disruptions of network communication. Security breaches include, but are not limited to, accessing data of which the employee is not an intended recipient or logging into a server or account that the employee is not expressly authorized to access, unless these duties are within the scope of regular duties. For purposes of this section, "disruption" includes, but is not limited to, network sniffing, pinged floods, packet spoofing, denial of service, and forged routing information for malicious purposes.
# Port scanning or security scanning is expressly prohibited unless prior authorization by appropriate Maker Nexus staff.
# Executing any form of network monitoring which will intercept data not intended for the employee's host, unless this activity is a part of the employee's normal job/duty.
# Circumventing user authentication or security of any host, network or account.
# Introducing honeypots, honeynets, or similar technology on the Maker Nexus network.
# Interfering with or denying service to any user other than the employee's host (for example, denial of service attack).
# Using any program/script/command, or sending messages of any kind, with the intent to interfere with, or disable, a user's session, via any means, locally or via the Internet/Intranet/Extranet.
# Providing information about, or lists of, Maker Nexus employees, volunteers, consultants, contractors, members or other visitors to parties outside Maker Nexus without authorization from appropriate Maker Nexus staff.


=== Email Communications ===

When using Maker Nexus resources to access and use the Internet, employees, volunteers, consultants and contractors must realize they represent
the organization. Whenever employees state an affiliation, they must also clearly
indicate that "the opinions expressed are my own and not necessarily those of Maker Nexus".

Do not 
# Send unsolicited email messages, including the sending of "junk mail" or other advertising material to individuals who did not specifically request such material (email spam).
# Send any form of harassment via email, telephone or paging, whether through language, frequency, or size of messages.
# Engage with unauthorized use, or forging, of email header information.
# Solicit email for any other email address, other than that of the poster's account, with the intent to harass or to collect replies.
# Create or forward "chain letters", "Ponzi" or other "pyramid" schemes of any type.
# Use unsolicited email originating from within Maker Nexus's networks of other Internet/Intranet/Extranet service providers on behalf of, or to advertise, any service hosted by Maker Nexus or connected via Maker Nexus' network.
# Post the same or similar non-business-related messages to large numbers of Usenet newsgroups (newsgroup spam).

=== Blogging and Social Media ===
Blogging by employees, whether using Maker Nexus property, systems and networks or personal computer systems, is also subject to the terms and restrictions set forth in this Policy.  Blogging is acceptable, provided that it is done in a professional and responsible manner, does not otherwise is not detrimental to Maker Nexus' best interests and mission, and does not interfere  with an employee's regular work duties. 

Maker Nexus Confidential Information policy also applies to blogging. As such, employees, volunteers, consultants, and contractors are prohibited from revealing any Maker Nexus confidential or proprietary information, trade secrets or any other material.

Employees shall not engage in any blogging that may harm or tarnish the image, reputation and/or goodwill of Maker Nexus and/or any of its employees. Employees are also prohibited from making any discriminatory, disparaging, defamatory or harassing comments when blogging or otherwise engaging in any conduct prohibited by Maker Nexus' Non-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment policies.

Employees may also not attribute personal statements, opinions or beliefs to Maker Nexus when engaged in blogging. If an employee is expressing his or her beliefs and/or opinions in blogs, the employee may not, expressly or implicitly, represent themselves as an employee or representative of Maker Nexus. Employees assume any and all risk associated with blogging.

Apart from following all laws pertaining to the handling and disclosure of copyrighted or export controlled materials, Maker Nexus trademarks, logos and any other intellectual property may also not be used in connection with any blogging activity without appropriate Maker Nexus staff authorization.

== Policy Compliance ==


=== Compliance Measurement ===

Designated Maker Nexus staff will verify compliance to this policy through various methods, including but
not limited to, business tool reports, internal and external audits, and feedback to the policy
owner.

=== Exceptions ===

Any exception to the policy must be approved by the appropriate Maker Nexus staff in advance.
Documentation should include: Date approve and any time limits and a statement of policy exemption and who it applies to along with a justification statement.

''Template''
* Title
** Date Approved/Time Limit:
** Exemption Statement:
** Justification Statement:

=== Non-Compliance ===

An employee found to have violated this policy may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and
including termination of employment.

A contractor or consultant found to have violated this policy may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and
including termination of contract.

A volunteer, member or any other person found to have violated this policy may be subject to disciplinary action, 
up to and including permanent termination of membership and restriction to enter the facility for any function.

== Related Standards, Policies and Processes ==

* Membership Handbook
* Employee and Volunteers Handbook
* [[Ethics and Conduct]]
• Data Classification Policy
• Data Protection Standard
• Social Media Policy
• Minimum Access Policy
• Password Policy

== Definitions and Terms ==

The following definition and terms can be found in the SANS Glossary located at:
https://www.sans.org/security-resources/glossary-of-terms/
*  Blogging
* Honeypot
* Honeynet
* Proprietary Information
* Malware
* Spam