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Office of Information Technology

VPN Acceptable Use Policy

I. Purpose

This policy provides guidelines for Remote Access Virtual Private Network (VPN) connections to the NC State University network.

II. Definition

A VPN is a secured private network connection built on top of a public network like the internet.

III. Scope

This policy applies to all NC State faculty, staff and students who utilize a VPN to access the NC State network, including VPN implementations that allow direct access.

IV. Policy

Approved NC State faculty, staff and students may utilize the benefits of a VPN, which is a “user-managed” service. This means the user is responsible for selecting an Internet Service Provider (ISP), coordinating installation and installing the required software.

V. Implementation

The VPN is an IP-only resource. Other protocols are not supported.

It is the responsibility of the employee with VPN privilege to ensure that unauthorized users are not allowed access to the NC State network

VPN access is controlled using ID and password authentication. For faculty, staff and students, the ID is their Unity ID and password.

All traffic destined for NC State networks is logged and associated with the user, as permitted by NC State Administrative Regulations, section II, G (Computer Use Regulation).

  • Only traffic destined for NC State networks will travel across the VPN tunnel; all other traffic will go through the user’s ISP unless the full-tunnel VPN service is used.
  • VPN users will be automatically disconnected from the NC State network after a predetermined amount of inactivity. The user can immediately log on again to reconnect to the NC State network
  • Users of this service are responsible for the procurement and cost associated with acquiring basic internet.
  • Users must install the VPN client software to activate their VPN access. For details, see Connect with the NC State VPN

VI. Enforcement

This policy regulates all VPN services on the NCSU network, and users must comply with the Computer Use Regulation. To maintain security, VPN services will be terminated immediately if any suspicious activity is found. Service may also be disabled until the issue has been identified and resolved. Any NC State employee found to have intentionally violated the VPN Acceptable Use Policy will be subject to loss of VPN privileges.

By choosing to use the NC State VPN, you hereby agree to all terms and conditions listed above.