Employee Privacy Paper

Employee Privacy Paper

Employee Privacy Paper
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) has a very broad privacy policy.   It simply states: “We will not collect any personal information about anyone when they access our network services unless they choose to provide that information”   (NRAO Privacy Policy http://www.nrao.edu/policy/privacy.shtml).   E-mail addresses and other information that is collected from both employees and the NRAO user community will not be sold or released to anyone without the express written permission from the owner of such information.   NRAO’s use policy states that network facilities are for official and authorized purposes only, especially for commercial purposes or financial gain.   The policy does go on to say the ‘occasional’ personal communications from an individual’s workspace is acceptable if it does not affect the performance of official duties, are short and to the point, and don’t incur fees to the organization.   A new big push here at NRAO is on passwords and related security.   They have gone as far as putting the onus on the user by stating that the user is responsible for maintaining secure passwords for accounts on which he or she have authorized access and to use caution against others obtaining unauthorized access to his or her accounts   (NRAO Computing Use Policy http://www.nrao.edu/policy/usepolicy.shtml).   The NRAO e-mail use creates some log entries that include the regular information associated with normal e-mail operation.   These logs do not include the main body or text of the message.   This information is collected and retained as log files and will not be made available to the public.   This information is kept only for use in diagnosing system problems or activities that violate the NRAO Acceptable Use Policy or the employee rules.   “Computing facilities at the NRAO are the property of the United States government. They must be used in accordance with the NRAO/AUI policies on the use of government property and on appropriate...