Responsible Division: Center for Information Technology Services
Responsible Office: Center for Information Technology Services
Issue/Revision Date: September 22, 2017

Summary

The purpose of this policy is to state the requirements for remote access to computing resources and data hosted at Alcorn State University using Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology.

Policy Statement

This policy provides the security requirements for all Alcorn State University employees who are manipulating/accessing University data classified as confidential/restricted from remote locations. This policy does not apply to authorized and authenticated access to any University publicly accessible websites.

  1. ASU employees and authorized third parties using the VPN must ensure that unauthorized users are not allowed access to internal University networks and associated information/data.
  2. All individuals and machines connecting remotely are subject to the University’s acceptable use policy.
  3. All individuals connecting remotely shall only connect to or have access to machines and resources they have permission and rights to use.
  4. All devices connecting remotely shall have current anti-virus software and all operating system and application updates and patches. Firewalls should be enabled if possible.
  5. Additional requirements exist for remote work:
  6. The machine/device can be trusted. This means that the machine/device must be built and maintained in a manner that creates confidence in the security of the machine. Home machines used for remote work should use caution when used with applications prone to malware infections, such as peer-to-peer, gaming, and free (untrusted) software downloads.
  7. The user is approved by the unit/department to work remotely.
  8. All reasonable efforts are made to protect University data, keeping it in-house, on secured servers and devices wherever possible.
  9. Users who connect remotely to University systems that contain confidential/restricted data are required by University policy to use the campus VPN to maintain security of University data.
  10. Users needing access to their work desktop machines, or who need wider access to campus resources, must use the VPN in conjunction with an approved remote access technology.

Contact Information

Contact the CITS department for more information: (601) 877-6182