Acceptable Use Policy

01 Overview

This Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") governs the use of all services provided by QSupport Cloud (Pty) Ltd ("QSupport Cloud"), including but not limited to managed private cloud hosting, backup and disaster recovery, Veeam Cloud Repository storage, and hosted voice services.

By accessing or using any QSupport Cloud service, you ("the Client") agree to comply with this AUP in full. This AUP forms part of the Master Services Agreement between QSupport Cloud and the Client and is incorporated by reference into all service agreements.

QSupport Cloud reserves the right to suspend or terminate services — without notice in serious cases — where this AUP is breached.

02 Scope

This AUP applies to:

• All clients with active QSupport Cloud service agreements
• All end users, employees, contractors or agents of the Client who access QSupport Cloud services
• All resellers and IT service providers accessing QSupport Cloud infrastructure on behalf of their own clients
• Any third party granted access to QSupport Cloud services by a Client

The Client is responsible for ensuring that all end users and authorised third parties comply with this AUP. Breaches by end users are treated as breaches by the Client.

03 Permitted Use

QSupport Cloud services may be used for lawful business purposes consistent with the service agreement, including:

• Hosting line-of-business applications, databases, and workloads within the agreed service scope
• Storing business data and backups in accordance with agreed retention and compliance requirements
• Operating hosted voice systems for legitimate business communication
• Accessing management interfaces and client portals for authorised administrative purposes
• Reselling QSupport Cloud services to end clients in accordance with a signed reseller agreement

04 Prohibited Activities

The following activities are strictly prohibited on all QSupport Cloud infrastructure and services:

Security & Network Abuse

• Attempting to gain unauthorised access to any system, network, or data — including other clients' environments
• Conducting port scanning, network probing, or vulnerability assessments against QSupport Cloud or third-party systems without explicit written authorisation
• Launching denial-of-service (DoS or DDoS) attacks, flood attacks, or any form of network disruption
• Deploying malware, ransomware, spyware, viruses, trojans, worms or any malicious code
• Intercepting network traffic not destined for your own services
• Attempting to circumvent or disable security controls, monitoring systems, or access restrictions

Illegal Content & Activity

• Hosting, distributing or transmitting any content that is illegal under South African law or applicable international law
• Storing, distributing or transmitting child sexual abuse material (CSAM) — this will result in immediate termination and referral to law enforcement
• Facilitating fraud, identity theft, phishing, or any form of financial crime
• Hosting content that infringes copyright, trademarks, or other intellectual property rights
• Operating services designed to facilitate illegal gambling, unlicensed financial services, or pyramid schemes

Communication Abuse

• Sending unsolicited bulk email (spam) or using QSupport Cloud infrastructure as a mail relay
• Using hosted voice services for robocalling, mass automated dialling, or telemarketing without appropriate consent
• Impersonating any person, organisation, or entity in communications
• Harvesting email addresses or personal information from third parties without consent

Resource Abuse

• Using QSupport Cloud resources for cryptocurrency mining without explicit written authorisation
• Consuming resources in a manner that adversely impacts other clients or the platform — including excessive CPU, bandwidth, or storage consumption outside agreed limits
• Reselling or sub-licensing QSupport Cloud services without a signed reseller agreement
• Using QSupport Cloud infrastructure to provide services materially different from those specified in the service agreement

05 Security Obligations

Clients are responsible for maintaining reasonable security practices within their own environments, including:

• Maintaining strong, unique credentials for all management interfaces and not sharing access credentials between users
• Enabling multi-factor authentication where available and recommended
• Keeping all software, operating systems and applications patched and updated where within client scope
• Promptly reporting any suspected security incident, breach, or unauthorised access to QSupport Cloud
• Not providing access to QSupport Cloud services to unauthorised third parties
• Ensuring that any application deployed on QSupport Cloud infrastructure does not introduce vulnerabilities that could affect other clients or the platform

QSupport Cloud is responsible for platform-level security as defined in the service agreement. Application-level security and end-user credential management remain the Client's responsibility.

06 Data & Privacy

Clients must ensure that all data stored or processed on QSupport Cloud infrastructure complies with applicable South African law, including POPIA (Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013).

• Clients are responsible for obtaining appropriate consent from data subjects before storing their personal information on QSupport Cloud infrastructure
• Clients must not store data on QSupport Cloud infrastructure that they do not have the legal right to hold or process
• Clients are responsible for implementing appropriate access controls to protect personal information stored within their environment
• QSupport Cloud's Data Processing Agreement (available on request) governs how QSupport Cloud processes personal information on behalf of clients

QSupport Cloud's full Data Protection Policy is available at qsupportcloud.com/privacy-policy/.

07 Monitoring

QSupport Cloud monitors its infrastructure and services for availability, performance, security threats, and AUP compliance. This monitoring is performed at the platform and network level and does not extend to client data content except where required to investigate a reported security incident or AUP violation.

QSupport Cloud may retain logs of platform-level activity for security investigation, incident response, and compliance purposes. Clients consent to this monitoring as a condition of service.

QSupport Cloud will cooperate with lawful requests from South African law enforcement and regulatory authorities, including the Information Regulator.

08 Suspension & Termination

QSupport Cloud reserves the right to take the following actions in response to AUP violations, at its sole discretion:

• Warning: For minor or first-time violations, QSupport Cloud may issue a written warning and require remediation within a specified timeframe
• Suspension: Services may be suspended with or without notice depending on the severity of the violation and the risk to QSupport Cloud or other clients
• Immediate termination: Services will be terminated without notice for violations involving illegal content, security attacks, or conduct that poses an immediate risk to QSupport Cloud infrastructure or other clients
• Referral to authorities: QSupport Cloud will report illegal activity to the South African Police Service and any other relevant authority

Suspension or termination for AUP violations does not entitle the Client to a refund of any prepaid service fees.

09 Reporting Abuse

If you believe QSupport Cloud infrastructure is being used in violation of this AUP — including by third parties — please report it immediately.

10 Amendments

QSupport Cloud reserves the right to amend this AUP at any time. Clients will be notified of material changes via email or through the client portal. Continued use of QSupport Cloud services following notification of an amendment constitutes acceptance of the revised AUP.

The current version of this AUP is always available at qsupportcloud.com/acceptable-use/.

Effective: 1 January 2020  ·  QSupport Cloud (Pty) Ltd  ·  Reg. No: 2019/289933/07