Secure Research Environment (SRE)

The Secure Research Environment (SRE) is a project-specific, collaborative virtual platform (hosted on-premises) for the secure storage and analysis of sensitive research data. It supports controlled access, as well as regulated data import and export, and includes compute and software capabilities.

It is intended to help researchers meet their legal, contractual, and ethical obligations when working with sensitive data (see Data classification standard).

Request a consultation to learn more about the capabilities of an SRE and cost-recovery pricing.

• University-approved system for sensitive data
• Aligned with university security standards
• On-premises virtual platform for secure collaboration and analysis
• Project data is encrypted
• Auditable data ingress, egress, and access
• Role-based controlled access and rights based on project needs

• Microsoft Windows Server and Linux Operating Systems
• Standard and tailored compute options (see below)
• Standard list of applications with the ability to add specific features upon request (see below)
• Project environments are separated from each other
• Access requires two-factor authentication
• Secure access via web browser
• Copy-and-paste from a project is not possible

• No internet access from within the environment
• Software libraries, packages and modules can only be added by the SRE team
• Not intended to store research data for long-term archiving

Standard software available to be installed

• R
• R-Studio
• Python
• Common Python and R Libraries (list available on request)
• SAS
• SPSS
• Matlab
• Microsoft Office (Windows only)
• Libre Office (Linux)

Other applications maybe be installed on request depending on licensing restrictions.

• Indicative SRE options and pricing.

Step 1: Request or consultation

• Needs and costs analysis and support for grant proposal or ethics application

Step 2: Training and documentation

• Working with sensitive data training
• Using SRE training
• Documenting the project
• Providing resources to project members

Step 3: Project deployment

• Set up SRE project templates
• Arrange specific software licensing requirements
• Deploy SRE virtual machines
• Load data
• Set up project and role-based access

Step 4: Maintenance and support

• Updates to virtual machines
• Project SRE user support
• Monitoring and logging
• Maintain SRE backend and portal
• Annual review

Step 5: Project completion

• Review storage requirements
• Archive project data
• Archive project

By using Centre for eResearch (CeR) services, you agree to:

• Only use these services for the purpose of undertaking research, commonly in association with a specific research project or programme. Projects that have a commercial component may have to be hosted on a separately licensed service.
• Undertake security maintenance on specific services where appropriate (e.g. patching on Nectar Cloud Virtual Machines)
• Work with CeR to review service settings (e.g. virtual machine allocation or storage option) each year, or as required by a particular service, to ensure efficient and sustainable use
• Participate in an annual user survey and provide details of research outputs supported by your use of CeR services
• Comply with the University’s IT Acceptable Use Policy and IT Security Policy
  

Application

The CeR acceptable use applies to:

• All members of the University community whether at the University or elsewhere
• Services that CeR provides, directly or indirectly through internal partners (e.g. Connect) and external partners (e.g. NeSI)

Eligibility

CeR services are available to doctoral students and University staff for the purposes of undertaking research, commonly a specific research project.

Suspension or withdrawal of services

Service users should expect email correspondence from CeR regarding specific requirements of acceptable use (e.g. service review or need for security maintenance). Failure to abide by these terms and specific requirements may result in a suspension of service followed by a withdrawal of service.

Research Data Support Services
Email: researchdata@auckland.ac.nz

Yvette Wharton
eResearch Solutions Lead, Centre for eResearch
Email: y.wharton@auckland.ac.nz