The challenge
Conducting research with sensitive data poses significant challenges across various research domains, impacting both researchers and data providers. Researchers often find themselves deterred by the complex processes required to access the necessary data. Simultaneously, data providers frequently lack the requisite infrastructure or technical expertise to offer controlled and secure environments for data access. Consequently, there is a notable absence of a collaborative platform that would enable the finding, sharing, and processing of sensitive data in an efficient and secure manner.
The solution
SANE follows the Five Safes principles and makes use of ISO 270001 certified SURF services. The secure environment has undergone thorough penetration tests to guarantee data providers a high level of safety. SANE is currently available on SURF Research Cloud, which uses SRAM to form collaborations between data providers and researchers.
Tinker and Blind SANE
Tinker SANE
Tinker SANE gives researchers full access to work with sensitive data without the ability to copy it outside of SANE. After the analysis is done, the data provider checks and releases the output results.
Blind SANE
Blind SANE allows researchers to submit analysis code for the execution by the data provider in SANE. This way of working with data is used when the data provider cannot grant access to the full data overview in SANE.
Why SANE?
Facilitating data access
SANE broadens access to confidential datasets for researchers by providing tools that help data providers minimise the risk of confidentiality breaches. Data providers remain in full control of their data, as stipulated by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Extending existing datasets
With SANE offering a secure environment for data analysis and an extra layer of data protection, data providers are able to share sensitive data for research purposes without risks of disclosure. This allows researchers to use richer datasets for their projects.
Well-known analysis tools
Through SANE, the researcher can use analysis tools that he or she is used to. Tinker SANE is a standard Windows-machine and both Tinker and Blind SANE offer a wide variety of analysis tools, with Rstudio and Jupyter Notebooks being pre-installed.
Generic solution
SANE establishes standard specifications for developers at ODISSEI and CLARIAH, enabling them to create customisable analytical tools compatible with a variety of data providers, eliminating the need for individual adjustments. This makes SANE a valuable, future-proof option independent of current institutes.
High security standards
SANE is a specific configuration of SRAM (SURF Research Access Management) and SRC (SURF Research Cloud) and passed an independent penetration test by a specialised company in November 2023. This makes SANE part of SRAM and SRC’s ISO 27001 certification. ISO 27001 is an international standard to measure information security. SURF performs periodic internal audits and assessments to ensure continuous improvements and adjustments of the Information Security Management System.
Scalable cloud infrastructure
As SANE has a cloud-based infrastructure, it scales almost infinitely. Currently running on SURF HPC Cloud, you’re just a few clicks away from using a machine with 64 GB RAM or an A10 GPU. In the future, SANE can run on any cloud provider, including Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS). SANE will be able to run on-premise at the data provider as well.
How to set up SANE?
- Off-the-shelf solution
Data providers can typically set up SANE and share their data within 30 minutes in collaboration with a researcher. - Project budget
A typical SANE environment costs between € 25-300 per month, depending on the computational requirements. The Small Compute Applications grants are available for using SANE. - Request a collaboration
The data provider acts as the administrator and the researcher is a regular member. Requesting the collaboration can be done through the SURF servicedesk.
Additional questions about using SANE can be addressed to SANE Project Manager, Lucas van der Meer.
About the collaborators
ODISSEI
The national research infrastructure for the social sciences in the Netherlands, facilitating groundbreaking research through data, expertise, and resources.
SURF
A cooperative of Dutch education and research institutions dedicated to enhancing digital services and fostering knowledge sharing through innovation.
CLARIAH
A distributed research infrastructure for the humanities and social sciences, providing access to extensive digital data collections and user-friendly applications.
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash