SANE

Trusted research environment for analysing sensitive data

A secure research environment in which researchers can analyse sensitive data whilst data providers retain full control over the data. This enables new research to be carried out without barriers relating to privacy, copyright or competition. You can use the secure analysis environment within the SURF Research Cloud.

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onderzoeker in lab aan het werk met computer

Advantages

Secure data analysis

Researchers can work with sensitive data without the data ever leaving the secure environment.

Confidence in data sharing

Organisations feel confident about making data available because SANE offers robust security and control measures.

Working within the powerful research environment of the SURF Research Cloud

Researchers gain access to all the familiar tools of the SURF Research Cloud and scalable computing power within a secure, trusted research environment.

Do you have a question about SANE? Get in touch.

Secure analysis environment

The Secure ANalysis Environment (SANE) utilises ISO 27001-certified SURF services and has undergone thorough penetration testing to guarantee a high level of security for data providers. SANE is available on the SURF Research Cloud, which uses SURF Research Access Management (SRAM) to manage trusted access for data providers and researchers.

There are currently 2 versions of SANE available:

With Tinker SANE, researchers are provided with a virtual desktop to view and edit the data. However, it is not possible to transfer the data outside the Tinker environment. The software available within Tinker SANE is managed by the data provider. See the details on the service desk.
With Blind SANE, the researcher can submit a non-interactive analysis to be carried out using the sensitive data in a controlled environment. The researcher cannot view the data during this process. The analysis can be a script or a Docker container. See the details on the service desk.

Applying for SANE

You apply for SANE as part of the NWO ‘Small Computing Time Requests’ call.

Webinar: introduction to SANE

Watch a demonstration of the online environment, a showcase of a successful pilot project and a discussion on how SANE can help your research project.

Go to webinar

In our knowledge base, you’ll find the SANE user manual containing all the information you need on working with sensitive data.

The sensitive data workflow in 8 steps

Most workflows involving sensitive data consist of 8 steps, with SANE forming part of the ‘data processing’ step. Together with a wide range of partners, we are building a framework for managing sensitive data across all the different steps. On this page, you can see all the process steps and the solutions SURF is working on.

Partners

SANE was developed by SURF and the following partners:

ODISSEI (Open Data Infrastructure for Social Sciences and Economic Innovations)
The Royal Library (KB)
The Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision (NISV)
CLARIAH (Common Lab Research Infrastructure for the Arts and Humanities)