The Secure Research Environment (SRE) is a university virtual environment built to protect sensitive research data by employing secure cloud infrastructure. In contrast to the current UMB research computing environment, which uses a local desktop setup, the SRE is designed to limit the potential for data misuse or unauthorized access.
Safeguarding health-related information and other sensitive personal data, including Social Security numbers is a critical priority to UMB. The Secure Research Environment (SRE) has been established to ensure the protection of both this data and intellectual property generated from research studies. Utilization of the SRE is mandatory for any research that involves sensitive data, such as data supplied by the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS). The SRE adheres to HIPAA regulations and relevant IT security policies to secure Protected Health Information (PHI) and Personally Identifiable Information (PII).
The SRE provides UMB faculty with a secure platform for conducting research remotely, eliminating the need for local computing. Researchers are granted access to data and software within a protected cloud environment. Use of the SRE mitigates the risk of data breaches, improves computational capabilities, and delivers a personalized workspace tailored to the needs of the Principal Investigator (PI) and team.
We are pleased to announce that our Secure Research Environment (SRE), built in Microsoft Azure, has received formal approval for its System Security Plan (SSP) for use by the Department of Defense (DoD). This approval confirms that our environment meets the requirements of NIST 800-171, ensuring robust protection of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) in accordance with federal standards.
In parallel, we are actively preparing a submission for an NIST 800-53 compliant environment to further extend our capabilities and compliance coverage. This next phase will support broader research initiatives and enhance our alignment with federal cybersecurity frameworks.
We appreciate the continued collaboration across teams and will share updates as the 800-53 submission progresses. For questions or further details, please contact the SRE support team.
For definitions to SRE related abbreviations or to learn more about how PHI & PII are defined, download & print the SRE Glossary here or view the glossary from the drop-down menu below.
|
Term |
Definition |
|
AVD |
Azure Virtual Desktop - the virtual environment that SRE uses |
|
Azure infrastructure |
Microsoft’s cloud platform; an evolving collection of integrated cloud services spanning compute, data storage, and software applications |
|
Cloud computing |
The delivery of computing services—including servers, storage, databases, software, and analytics—over a computer network |
|
Data steward |
Person responsible for ensuring the quality, security, and fitness of the data for the purpose of the research |
|
Egress of data |
The output flow of research results |
|
Epic |
The medical data repository UMMS uses for research data |
|
Faculty researcher |
The UMB faculty member sponsoring the research project, often the Principal Investigator. The data and SRE requestor must be a faculty researcher. |
|
HIPAA |
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act - a federal law that required the creation of national standards to protect sensitive patient health information from being disclosed without the patient's consent or knowledge |
|
Honest broker |
The data steward for the owner of research data who acts to collect and provide that data to research investigators |
|
ICTR |
Institute for Clinical & Translational Research |
|
IHC |
Institute for Health Computing - leverages advances in network medicine, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning to create a premier learning health care system that evaluates both de-identified and secure digitized medical health data to improve outcomes for patients across the state of Maryland |
|
Ingress of data |
The input of research data used for analyses |
|
Intellectual Property (IP) |
Creations of the mind such as research work or collections of data analyses |
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PHI |
Protected Health Information - a.k.a. personal health information. Examples include: •Names •Geographic subdivisions smaller than a state (Note: this includes ZIP code) •Elements of dates (except year) •Ages over 89 •Telephone numbers •Vehicle identifiers and serial numbers, including license plate numbers •Fax numbers •Device identifiers and serial numbers •Email addresses •Web Universal Resource Locators (URLs) •Social security numbers •Internet Protocol (IP) addresses •Medical record numbers •Biometric identifiers, including finger and voice prints •Health plan beneficiary numbers •Full-face photographs and any comparable images •Account numbers •Any other unique identifying number, characteristic, or code •Certificate/license numbers |
|
PI |
Principal investigator - the main researcher on a project |
|
PII |
Personally Identifiable Information - information that, when used alone or with other relevant data, can identify an individual. Examples include an individual’s first name or first initial and last name in combination with any one or more of these data elements: • Social Security number, an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, a passport number, or other identification number issued by the federal government • A driver’s license number or State identification card number •An account number, a credit card number, or a debit card number, in combination with any required security code, access code, or password, that permits access to an individual’s financial account •Health information, including information about an individual’s mental health, Medical Record Number •A username or e–mail address in combination with a password or security question and answer that permits access to an individual’s e–mail account |
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RIC |
Research Informatics Core – the group within the ICTR that administers the UMMS-controlled research data |
|
Sensitive data |
Revealing personal data such as health related data and other types that are not meant to be made public |
|
SRE |
Secure Research Environment |
|
UMB |
University of Maryland Baltimore |
|
UMMS |
University of Maryland Medical System |
To learn more about the SRE, additional information can be found on the following pages:
Azure, Microsoft’s cloud platform, is an evolving collection of integrated Cloud Services spanning compute, data storage, and software applications.
Reduced operational overhead. No need to:
Capacity
Agility
Redundancy
Availability
Sustainability
Security
Cost
Partnerships
AVD is a Microsoft Azure-based system used for accessing the Azure Cloud infrastructure. With an Internet connection, it provides access to applications and data in Azure. The hardware used for access does not need strong computing capabilities since that work is handled on the virtual end in Azure.
The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) Secure Research Environment (SRE) is a centralized virtual environment designed to protect sensitive and restricted research data. Secure virtual desktop environments and custom compute allow researchers to access sensitive data under a higher level of control and data protection. Data is segregated per research project and only accessible by the research team that is assigned to the enclave.
Azure Defender for Cloud helps keep your data and applications safe when you're using Microsoft's Azure cloud services. It scans for any suspicious activity or potential problems and takes action to prevent or address them, making your cloud environment more secure. It will be enabled for all subscriptions as part of the deployment automation.
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