Charter for remote control service

Charter governing the remote control service in support of computer operations

Subject to Ratification by ISG

A remote connection facility is available to ISS and faculty, school and departmental computer support staff, for the purpose of maintaining the operation of computer systems within the DS & Admin Domains.

The following Charter, which has been produced based upon the JANET-CERT document "A Suggested Charter for System & Network Administrators" and through consultation with the computer support community, applies to the use of this facility.

Computer Support staff who are granted use of the remote control facility are required to abide by the conditions of this Charter. Any failure by them to do so could result in action being taken against them in accordance with existing University proceedings:

1. Remote connection privileges will only be granted to computer support staff who have been verified by the Director ISS as being bona-fide computer support staff. These are hereby referred to as Remote Control Administrators.
2. The remote connection facility has been made available purely for the maintenance of computer systems. It must not be used to verify that users are adhering to policies that govern the use of those systems, and it will not be used to investigate alleged criminal activity or claims of misconduct.
3. Remote Control Administrators have the ability to control a desktop machine as another user, without knowledge of the user's secret password. Consequently, any actions taken using Remote Control can generate false log entries on local and remote systems. A log entry may show that a user has taken a particular action from a desktop machine, when in reality the action was taken by another person elsewhere, using Administrative Remote Control. Consequently, where a user is accused of any wrong doing in their use of a computer system, they should be made aware of this aspect of Remote Control and that they can request log files associated with the remote connection system from ISS, for the dates and times in question.
4. Remote connections to third party machines will only be made by Remote Control Administrators responsible for those specific machines, and only in response to a recognised user's request for support, made through normal ISS or departmental procedures. Any Remote Control Administrators who is unsure of their jurisdiction concerning any machine is to seek appropriate authorisation prior to proceeding with remote access.
5. Remote Control Administrators, who are granted remote access, undertake not to browse the systems that they access, or attempt to gain access to data or areas of computers that are not associated with a fault or problem. On accessing a computer remotely, any administrator who stumbles across data that they consider to be confidential is to immediately quit the session and contact the user, in order to alert them to the problem and arrange a further session.
6. Where the content of a file or communication appears to have been deliberately protected by the owner, for example by encrypting it, Remote Control Administrators must not attempt to make the content readable without specific authorisation from the owner of the file.
7. Remote Control Administrators must not, without the specific permission of the file owner, perform activities that will result in the loss or destruction of information.
8. Remote Control Administrators will not deliberately alter or add any data on a third party machine. If it is necessary to make changes to user files, it should be done so in a way that preserves the information within the files. If a change is made to user file or filestore, then the affected user will be informed of the change and the reason for it as soon as possible after the event.
9. Remote Control Administrators commit to maintain confidentiality, and undertake not to disclose to anyone any information that is viewed or accessed when performing Remote Control activities; unless the information (or image) that they view is suspected of being illegal in which case it will be reported to the IT Security Co-ordinator for investigation.
10. Before taking control of a PC the Remote Control Administrators must contact the user and arrange with them a time to perform the operation. They must never take control of a PC that has been locked by the user.
11. Any user who participates in the remote control service, who believes that a Remote Control Administrator has failed to abide by any aspect of this Charter, should report the matter in the first instance to the University's IT Security Co-ordinator.
12. Anyone who, having reported a failure of a Remote Control Administrator to abide by this Charter, feels that their complaint has not been satisfactorily addressed by the University's IT security Co-ordinator, should appeal in accordance with the University's grievance procedures.
13. Using the Remote Control facility for any other purpose than to assist the end-user with a problem, or a request for assistance, is potentially a breach of trust. If a Remote Control Administrator is requested or instructed to use the facility for any purpose other than to undertake support work at the request of the PC owner, they must immediately report this request to the University's IT Security Co-ordinator. In such circumstances the IT Security Co-ordinator will contact the person requesting or instructing the Remote Control Administrator to use the facility, and explain that such access is not permitted within the framework of the law. This will be followed up in writing and copied to the Chair of the ISG.
14. The process for activating remote control will be
    • User reports fault which is then recorded, e.g. fault report generated in HEAT via Helpdesk;
    • Remote Control Administrator contacts the user;
    • if possible Remote Control Administrators fixes the problem while user is present at their PC;
    • if not, Remote Control Administrators and User agree a time-band within which the Remote Control Administrators will connect to the User's PC;
    • user agrees not to leave their PC locked during this period.
    As an exception, it may be necessary for an Administrator to remotely access a machine without following the above process, when the machine in question is creating network problems, or is considered to be a risk to the remainder of the network i.e. virus outbreak or a machine having been compromised being used to attack other machines.
15. Each time that a PC has been accessed through remote control connection, the respective user will be sent an automatically generated e-mail informing them who accessed their machine remotely, at what time and on what date, and providing details of the PC that the connection was made from.