If you are looking for a shared email account, you should go to our Shared Resources page. This page is about creating shared user accounts for devices.
It is against UNT Policy, State Law, and Federal Law to share your personally assigned credentials with another individual. This means that you are to keep your EUID password secure and private. A chart is available that delineates University of North Texas community members, their authorized computer resource access status, the duration of this status, and additional considerations.
CAS ITS will create a Shared (Generic) Account in the following scenarios:- Computer usage is logged via another mechanism.
- Access to the computer must be physically secured.
- Usage Logging mechanism is approved by ITSS Security.
- Computer runs a process/service that will not run in the background and will be accessed by multiple users.
- Access to the computer must be physically secured.
- Usage of the computer must be restricted to the running of the process/service.
If you feel that you have a use case for a Shared (Generic) Account, our Help Desk Manager and respective Desktop Managers will evaluate your use case and come with a solution that suits your specific needs. This request must be made by a 100% FTE Faculty or Staff member. CCing the 100% FTE in the request is acceptable, for information gathering purposes; however, we will eventually need an e-mail from the 100% FTE for final approval. Contact us to get the process started.
If a Shared (Generic) Account is approved, liability of usage auditing and accountability falls in the hands of the 100% FTE (aka the equipment custodian) that was given the final approval. This means that the equipment custodian will need to keep record of who was using the computer and when. This is often done with a paper log near the equipment.
Why is CAS so strict about this?
- We want to support you in whatever goals you have. With that said, we often have to ask you what you are tryin' to accomplish to better understand if what you are requesting is the best option based on policy, security, and functionality.
- Typically, we just need to grant user accounts access to shared location for files. Believe it or not, nine times out of ten a Shared User Account is not necessary to accomplish the end-goal.
- Students/assistants don't need a UNT domain account to login to the computer.
- Refer to the Policy references below. Additionally, precedence has been set on campus when the Federal Government came to campus and expected us to be able to determine exactly who was using a specific computer at a specific time. With a shared login, another means of tracking usage must be kept.
Policy
Sharing Personal Credentials
UNT Policy 3.10 (Computer Use Policy):
- Failure to protect a password or account from unauthorized use.
- A user is responsible for any usage of his or her computer account, computing resources or data entrusted to to him or her. Users should maintain the secrecy of their password(s).
Texas Penal Code, Chapter 33: Computer Crimes
- State of Texas law specifically pertaining to computer crimes. Among other requirements, unauthorized use of University computers or unauthorized access to stored data, or dissemination of passwords or other confidential information to gain access to the University's computer system or data is in violation of criminal law.
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986:
- Part of Title 18, Chapter 47, Section 1030. Makes it a crime to access a computer to obtain restricted information without authorization ...
Shared User Accounts
UNT Policy 3.10 (Computer Use Policy):- Multi-user host services are provided to University of North Texas faculty, staff, and students upon authorization of the system manager when such access is appropriate. Some remote services may be restricted by IP address.
- Public access systems must authenticate the identity of any individual retrieving, creating, and/or updating sensitive or confidential information about themselves.
- Public access systems must have security procedures in place to protect the privacy and confidentiality of individuals who access those systems, in accordance with federal and state laws.
- … Measures shall be taken to protect these assets against unauthorized access … whether accidental or deliberate …
- All individuals are accountable for their actions relating to information resources. Information resources shall be used only for intended purposes as defined by the institution of higher education and consistent with applicable laws.