TACC Acceptable Use Policy

Definitions

  • TACC: Texas Advanced Computing Center.
  • UT Austin: The University of Texas at Austin.
  • USA: The United States of America.
  • AUP: TACC Acceptable Use Policy.
  • Information Resource: TACC owned, maintained, or controlled computers, networks, equipment, Data, media, or documents.
  • User: Any individual granted access to TACC Information Resources.
  • PI: A User that is authorized to manage Allocations, Service Accounts and Users on their Projects. A PI is considered to be an Allocation Manager and may appoint any number of Users as Allocation Managers on their Projects.
  • Allocation Manager: A User role that is authorized by a PI to manage Allocations, Service Accounts and Users on their Projects.
  • Project: A collection of Allocations, Service Accounts and Users that is managed by a PI.
  • Allocation: A provisioned amount and/or duration of an Information Resource.
  • Individual Account: An authenticated account assigned to an individual that provides direct access to an Information Resource.
  • Service Account: An account that provides indirect access to an Information Resource for Users on a Project or Allocation.
  • Data: All digital media or software that is stored or executed on Information Resources.
  • Protected Data: Data that is required to be maintained as private or confidential by applicable agreements, contracts, policies, regulations, or laws.
  • 3rd Party Data: Data that is not wholly owned by a Project’s PI, Users or the PI’s employer or academic institution.
  • HPC: High Performance Computing.
  • MFA: Multi-Factor Authentication.
  • NSO: Networking, Security and Operations team (acs-nso@tacc.utexas.edu).

General

Individuals who receive access or an allocation to any TACC Information Resource, regardless of how they receive it, are required to comply with UT Austin’s Information Resource Policy as well as UT Austin’s Code of Conduct when they are using these resources.

Information Resources shall only be provided to individuals conducting legal and ethical research in fields of study.

Users shall:

  • Establish their identity through a UT Austin approved Identity Provider prior to requesting a single Individual Account through the TACC account provisioning service.
  • Reverify their identity and institution affiliation as well as accept the latest version of this AUP at least once a year.
  • Only access and use Information Resources with permission from TACC.
  • Report misuse of Information Resources, violations of TACC or UT Austin policies, and/or disclosure of Protected Data to the TACC Security Office.
  • Comply with TACC policies, procedures, and directions from support personnel.

Users shall not:

  • Request or actively use more than one Individual Account.
  • Request an Individual Account with a false, invalid, or outdated identity or institution affiliation.
  • Participate in copyright infringement, Data theft, intellectual property theft, or any other unethical, illegal, or inappropriate activity while interacting with TACC staff or using Information Resources.
  • Engage in any activities that could disrupt or impede TACC operations.
  • Create, transmit, or store illegal, inappropriate, or sexually explicit Data on Information Resources.
  • Be paid, or otherwise profit from non-sanctioned activities using an Information Resource (cryptocurrency generation, etc.)

User Eligibility and Responsibilities

All Users shall log into an approved Identity Provider when requesting an Individual Account to access Information Resources through the TACC account provisioning service. Some Users may be required to perform a secondary approval process to obtain an Individual Account.

A PI shall:

  • Either hold a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree from an accredited university, or provide evidence of work in their proposed field of study, or be an employee of UT Austin.
  • Apply for an Allocation to perform research on Information Resources.
  • Only appoint eligible Allocation Managers to join their Projects.
  • Ensure that Users are trained on TACC and Project specific processes, procedures and controls prior to adding them to their Project.
  • Be held accountable for the actions of their Projects’ Users on Information Resources.

A PI and Allocation Manager shall:

  • Be currently employed and/or appointed by a US domiciled institution that is eligible for receiving and executing US federal, state, or local research grants. This includes educational institutions, government labs, non-profit or for-profit entities within the United States (note: Users may come from outside the US, if affiliated with a US PI).
  • Maintain a valid email address from their current employer or academic institution on their Individual account.
  • Only invite or admit eligible Users that meet at least one the following identity criteria to join their Project:
    1. The PI or Allocation Manager has established a personal, academic or professional relationship with the User (typically the User is a known student or employee of the PI or Allocation Manager).
    2. The PI or Allocation Manager has established a personal, academic or professional relationship with the User’s academic advisor or supervisor (typically the User is a student or employee of a known Co-PI or collaborating senior researcher).
    3. The user’s email that was used to request an account matches the domain of the institution specified.
    4. If the user’s email does not match the domain of the institution and the person is not known, the PI is responsible for documenting and verifying the user’s identity.
  • Be responsible for all User activities on their Projects, Allocations, and Service Accounts.
  • Authorize Users on their Projects to use, modify, destroy, share, or disclose Project specific Data.
  • Remove a User’s access to their Projects and report the User to the TACC Security Office if the User is no longer trusted, has misused an Information Resource, is suspected of illegal or unethical activities, or has otherwise failed to comply with this AUP.

Information Resource Access, Use and Security

TACC may terminate or modify a User’s access to Information Resources for any reason at any time without notice.

Users shall:

  • Comply with TACC processes, procedures, controls, and directions from TACC staff.
  • Comply with Project specific processes, procedures, controls, and directions from the Project’s PI.
  • Use Information Resources within the constraints of authorized Projects, Allocations or permissions and only create, transmit, or store Data on Information Resources that is directly applicable to authorized Allocations as permitted by current agreements, contracts, regulations, and laws.
  • Respect the privacy of members of the UT Austin and TACC communities.
  • Protect TACC, UT Austin, Users, and 3rd parties from misuse or theft of identity data, Project specific data, proprietary data, 3rd party data, or intellectual property.
  • Only use devices that are password protected to access Information Resources.
  • Only access TACC networks using NSO approved entry points, processes, and methodologies.
  • Securely maintain TACC issued logins, credentials, and passwords.
  • Change password or re-create their MFA token whenever there is a suspicion that the User’s account has been compromised.
  • Only request a refund for jobs that were terminated due to an Information Resource failure.

Users shall not:

  • Share or release TACC issued logins, MFA credentials, or passwords that can be used to access TACC Information Resources.
  • Attempt to access Information Resources that are not explicitly allocated or authorized.
  • Attempt to circumvent Information Resource security measures or controls.
  • Attempt to scan or probe any Information Resource without prior authorization from the NSO.
  • Use an Information Resource in a way that is not in compliance with TACC’s mission, contracts, agreements, regulations, or laws.
  • Use Information Resources for work that is not related to the Project for which access was granted.
  • Request a refund for User application software failures.

Service Accounts

PIs shall:

  • Obtain an Individual Account prior to requesting a Service Account.
  • Request a Service Account from the NSO only for authorized Projects and Allocations.
  • Monitor and control the use of a Service Account.
  • Contact the NSO if or when a Service Account has been compromised or misused.
  • Deactivate any Service Accounts that are no longer needed.

NSO shall:

  • Approve or reject Service Account requests for a specific Project.
  • Create Service Accounts and maintain Service Account credentials.
  • Assign a User to manage a Service Account.
  • Terminate access to a Service Account when it is misused or no longer required without notice.

Data

While TACC endeavors to maintain the integrity of all research data, and to retain data even beyond allocation periods on a best effort basis, TACC reserves the right to remove Data from Information Resources at any time without notice if misuse is detected, if directed by a funding or law enforcement agency or appropriate official from the User’s home institution, or if the User or PI fails to maintain active allocations.

Data created on TACC systems is considered the property of the PI and Project (subject to applicable rules from funding agencies and the PI’s employment agreement with their home institution), and neither TACC nor UT shall assert any additional IP rights to this data (with the exception of UT-Austin employees, to whom additional constraints apply).

PIs shall:

  • Control who accesses their Project’s Data. The PI has the right to restrict or remove access to Data from Project’s Users at any time without notice.
  • Control how their Project’s Data is stored, copied, used, shared, disseminated, or transferred.
  • Obtain all necessary rights and permissions to access, store or use 3rd Party Data prior to uploading or using it on an Information Resource.

Users shall:

  • Comply with PI specified rules on Data that is wholly owned by the PI, PI’s Project Users, or PI’s employer or academic institution.
  • Comply with all applicable 3rd Party Data agreements, contracts, policies, regulations or laws.
  • Own and be responsible for the Data they generate on, or upload to, an Information Resource.
  • Only use NSO authorized software services to store and access Data on Information Resources.

Users shall not:

  • Use, modify, destroy, share, or disclose Data without prior authorization from their PI.
  • Have any expectation of privacy from authorized TACC staff on any Data they create, transmit, or store on Information Resources.

Data Retention

When a Project is terminated, all Project Data stored in the /home and /work directories on Information Resources shall be retained for a period of 30 days. User Data stored in a long-term archive system may be retained for a period of up to 36 months if requested by the PI prior to the termination of the associated Project. When a Project is terminated or a User is denied access to Information Resources due to non-compliance with this AUP, all associated Data may be deleted at any time without notice.

Protected Data

Access to Protected Data shall be strictly limited to TACC personnel and Project Users that are authorized by the NSO. TACC and Project specific processes and procedures shall be implemented and followed by all Project Users to safeguard Protected Data confidentiality. Examples of applicable Protected Data agreements, contracts, policies, regulations, or laws include but are not limited to International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), Export Administration Regulations (EAR), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Business Associate Agreements (BAA), Technology Control Plans (TCP), Memoranda of Understanding (MOU), Data Transfer Agreements (DTA), Data Use Agreements (DUA), Confidential Data Control Plans (CDCP), or agreements, between UT Austin and the Principal Investigator (PI).

PIs shall:

  • Define and apply Project specific processes, procedures and controls on their Projects’ Protected Data to comply with all applicable agreements, contracts, policies, regulations or laws.
  • Train Users on Project specific processes, procedures and controls prior to adding them to their Project.

Users shall:

  • Maintain Protected Data confidentiality, usage, and dissemination according to all applicable agreements, contracts, policies, regulations or laws.
  • Comply with all applicable TACC and Project specific processes, procedures and controls.
  • Only use Protected Data for its intended purpose.
  • Store Protected Data on authorized Information Resources.
  • Encrypt all Protected Data transmitted across a network using TACC authorized tools and processes.

Users shall not:

  • Attempt to circumvent TACC and Project-specific Protected Data processes and procedures.
  • Store Protected Data on unauthorized storage systems, local hard drives or portable devices without permission and direct supervision of the NSO.
  • Use, modify, destroy, share, or disclose Protected Data in any manner that would contradict the appropriate agreements, laws, or regulations that control the data.

Research Citations

Users shall reference TACC in any research report, journal or publication that requires citation of a User’s work that includes Information Resources. The recognition of the TACC resources used to perform research is important for acquiring future funding for the next generation hardware, support services, and TACC’s Research & Development activities in HPC, visualization, Data storage, and grid infrastructure.

Recommended Citation Format: https://www.tacc.utexas.edu/about/citing-tacc/

Non-Compliance

TACC may terminate or suspend a User’s access to Information Resources for failure to comply with this AUP at any time without notice.

TACC may take legal and/or disciplinary action in response to any User’s unethical or illegal activity associated with using Information Resources.

If a User violates TACC’s policies, they may face disciplinary actions that may include, but are not limited to the following:

  1. Written or verbal warnings.
  2. Revocation of access privileges to Information Resources.
  3. Deletion of User owned Data from Information Resources.
  4. Report the User’s activities to their PI, employer, or academic institution, or applicable government or law enforcement agency.
  5. Civil or criminal prosecution.

Document Revision History

Date Sections Affected Modified By Description
January 6, 2025 New version Dan Stanzione Yearly Review
March 22, 2023 All sections revised Nathaniel Mendoza Yearly Review
July 12, 2019   Nathaniel Mendoza Yearly Review
April 3, 2018 Cryptocurrencies added Nathaniel Mendoza Yearly Review
December 1, 2016   Nathaniel Mendoza Yearly Review
December 1, 2015   Nathaniel Mendoza Yearly Review
December 1, 2014   Nathaniel Mendoza Yearly Review