Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to augment the Responsible Use Policy with specific information regarding peer-to-peer file-sharing applications.

Summary

The institution's goal with this additional policy is to:

• Realize the maximum value of the data network and Internet service for each member of the organization.
• Address any potential liability from instances when users download copyrighted material.
• Minimize network disruption.
• rotect the institution's intellectual property.
• Here is an explanation of each issue as it relates to file-sharing applications and our institution:
  

Maximum Value
The ongoing health of the company is contingent upon each worker giving each task his or her maximum attention and effort. Using a file-sharing application to search for files, downloading them onto the company network or a client machine, and reading or playing them at a workstation is not germane to an employee’s job duties and does not enhance a worker’s productivity. Another issue is the possibility that P2P applications could disrupt software on an employee’s workstation.

Liability
Although many materials have been placed on P2P networks with a creator’s consent, much of the material (images, software, movies, music, video) has been duplicated from copyrighted materials. Downloading such files onto the insitution network or a client machine places the institution at significant risk for legal action by the copyright holder and other organizations.

Network disruption
While the institution has significant Internet bandwidth to accommodate all college-related activity, performance can degrade significantly when P2P file-sharing applications are used, especially when large files are being downloaded. This problem is compounded when other users on the P2P network use institution bandwidth to download files from the user’s computer, which can significantly slow other services such as e-mail, Web browsing, and—more significantly— the institution's Web site.

Security
P2P networks can introduce significant gaps in an otherwise secure network. Threats such as worms and viruses can easily be introduced into the institution's network. P2P applications, if modified, can also allow users outside the institution to gain access to data on the employee’s computer or even the institution network. (Although most P2P applications allow users to disable file-sharing, such measures do little to prevent threats from being downloaded onto a user’s machine.) Some P2P applications will also allow third parties to see the user’s IP address. The use of so-called spyware, which can allow network users to see your Internet browsing or can harness the use of your machine’s resources, is also common on many P2P applications.

Protecting the institution's intellectual property
The use of P2P file-sharing applications can sometimes allow other members of the P2P network to have access to everything on your local machine, putting the institution's intellectual property assets, as well as an employee’s personal information, at risk.