Planning for a Secure Research Environment
Planning for a Secure Research Environment
The Research Lifecycle Programme is leading a consultation exercise to inform the development of a Secure Research Environment (SRE) at The University of Manchester.
This activity is part of the University’s response to the cyber incident. Since June, the research landscape has changed significantly and how academics are able to manage research projects will continue to be impacted.
The RLP team are being supported by a team from Red Maple / Tyburn who are specialists in working with universities and cyber security.
Moving forward, the University will need to be demonstrably more secure than before the incident. This move will enable the University to restore the confidence of funders, partners and collaborators.
This also gives us a unique opportunity to develop a world-leading approach to the collection, storage, management and processing of research data giving the University a competitive advantage.
RLP’s work around establishing an SRE will be to ensure that the needs of research and researchers are fully represented during any security improvement initiatives, including the adoption of ISO 27001 the standard for information security management.
Between December and February, we will be speaking to key stakeholders across the academic schools and professional services team to gather a more complete picture of the challenges currently faced by researchers. This consultation will include one to one meetings, informal discussions and wider town hall style meetings and surveys.
Key questions for these sessions will include:
- How do we do our research?
- Where do we store our data?
- How do we analyse the data?
- Is the equipment that we use secure?
Whilst the programme is keen to hear about the barriers and challenges that colleagues face, especially around the collection and storage of research data, we will also be keen to hear about systems and approaches that work well and that could be utilised by other researchers at the University.
The feedback will be analysed by an Tyburn / Red Maple. They will report on the best ways to create a secure research environment that meets the needs of research, without compromising the varied needs of researchers across the University’s different schools and faculties.
0 Comments