CLASS: Secure Research Environments

Explore Research and Compliance in the Cloud

Join research leaders, CIOs, IT and security professionals for a community-driven learning journey. Built with input from over 20 members of the secure and compliant research community, this three-phase webinar and workshop series is designed to inform and empower your entire institution to effectively plan and execute a comprehensive strategy for leveraging the cloud for secure research.

The Internet2 CLASS program, in collaboration with the Regulated Research Community of Practice and the CaRCC Research Cybersecurity Interest Group, is facilitating this comprehensive webinar and workshop series that helps you navigate secure research and compliance in the cloud.

Special Offer for Full Series Participants: Institutions that participate in all sessions of a series phase will receive one hour of personalized consulting (up to a maximum of 3 hours) with experienced community members to help launch your secure research initiative.

Strategy Sessions: Program Leadership

For VPs of Research, CIOs, and Research Computing Directors.

Traditional approaches to research security are no longer adequate in today’s environment. Drawing on experience from universities and NSF-funded research facilities, this session helps you connect the dots between emerging federal requirements and institutional risks to research integrity, funding, and reputation.

Key Takeaways:
- Why research security risk ownership must extend beyond individual labs and departments
- How universities can evolve their governance structures, policies, and technical controls
- Overview of federal requirements, such as NSPM-33, NIST SP 800-171, and CMMC 2.0
Speaker:

Mike Corn, Executive Strategic Consultant for Vantage Technology Consulting Group
- Former Cybersecurity Advisor for Research Infrastructure at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Chief Information Security Officer at the University of California, San Diego
1-2 p.m. ET

Cost: Free

Register Today
This live session focuses on achieving organizational alignment. Hear guidance on designing, implementing, operating, and sustaining a secure cloud IT environment for research, including organizational strategy, structure, and governance.

Key Takeaways:
- Research revenue opportunities
- Regulatory environment landscape assessment
- Who needs to be involved — and why?
- How to organize your team to do the work
Speaker:

Bill Barnett, Chief Research Computing Officer at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School
- Former Senior Director of Research Computing at Harvard Medical School
1-2 p.m. ET

Cost: Free

Register Today

Strategy Sessions: Service Leadership

For Directors of Research Computing, Research Compliance, and IT Security/Compliance professionals

This webinar session provides guidance on policy controls and key roles, as well as the cross-functional coordination required for a robust NIST SP 800-171 compliance program. The session addresses real-world technical implementation considerations and costs, as well as the decision between on-premises and cloud solutions.

Key Takeaways:
- Learn to efficiently meet regulatory requirements
- Why you need more than a FedRAMP Certified Cloud
- Learn about Affirming or Empowered Officials
- Get guidance on the number of environments you need to build to meet all requirements
Speakers:
- Mary Duarte Millsaps, Director of Research Compliance at North Carolina State University
  - Member and former chair of the Association of University Export Control Officers (AUECO)
- Jill Gemmel, Associate Vice President of Research Computing and Data at Clemson University
  - Vice Chair of the Coalition for Academic Scientific Computing (CASC); co-lead of the CASC working group that produced “Research Computing’s Response to NIST SP 800-171”
1-2:30 p.m. ET

Cost: Free

Register Today
Security and compliance are often viewed as barriers to research, but when aligned with the research mission, they can enhance both efficiency and competitiveness. This webinar demonstrates how cybersecurity can accelerate research while reducing institutional risk.

Key Takeaways:
- What cybersecurity and consulting services are needed?
- How you can build a portfolio of pre-secured technology solutions
- How do these solutions complement one another?
Speaker:
- Will Drake, CISO and Principal Security Analyst at Indiana University
  - Launched the SecureMyResearch service at the Indiana University Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research in 2019
1-2 p.m. ET

Cost: Free

Register Today
Join us for a workshop that helps you build a core “tiger team” for the development and operations of your secure research environment. Designed for multiple participants from the same institution to attend together, we’ll work through practice exercises to stress test the identified groups and consider how these groups fit into the larger institutional context.

This workshop is limited to 40 participants (up to 6 per institution), so sign up early to secure your seat.

Key Takeaways:
- Tiger Team Roster: A list of 5-8 people to consult with on challenging research scenarios that don’t clearly fit the standard SRE model
- Full Stakeholder List: Complete identification of everyone who needs awareness or related communications about the SRE effort
Instructor:
- Jason Armbruster, CLASS Consultant for Internet2
  - Associate Deputy Director of ACCESS Support at the University of Colorado Boulder
12-4 p.m. ET

Cost: $100 for CICP; $150 for Internet2 members; $200 for non-members

Register Today

Design Sessions: Technical Planning

For IT Operations, Research Computing, Security Operations, Networking, and IAM professionals.

- Mental Models for Secure Research Environments
- Real World Implementation Case Studies
- Security Controls: From Interpretation to Review
- Cloud Platform Architectures (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud)
- Multi-Cloud Architecture Strategies
Full schedule and registration details will be announced following the Strategy sessions. Content will be adjusted based on participant feedback from earlier sessions.

Technical Implementation

Deep-dive technical sessions on specific implementation topics

- Identity, Access, and Attestation
- Networking and Boundaries
- Configuration and Change Management
- Monitoring and Logging
- System Security Plans (SSPs)
Detailed schedule to be announced.

Have a question about the series? Contact CLASS

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