Kansas State University's Research Information Security Enclave

Like most higher education institutions, Kansas State University was presented with a unique dilemma as the United States government began implementing requirements for safeguarding Controlled Unclassified Information, or CUI, and similar sensitive research. How we can ensure the security of research data while effectively meeting information security requirements, and not impeding research efforts or placing the administrative/technological burden on researchers? Specifically, 40% of the institutions sponsored research portfolio, roughly $75 million annually, was at risk. Kansas State University leadership elected to pursue a cloud-based solution allowing the sensitive research to be isolated to a secure and dedicated location that would meet the NIST SP 800-171 r2, or similar, safeguarding standard without adversely affecting the broader institution. To that end, Kansas State University partnered with Microsoft in the development of a cloud-based enclave via Microsoft Azure, which we have branded as the Research Information Security Enclave, or RISE. This unique dilemma was also an opportunity for Kansas State University to not only meet our contractual obligations, but also be a good partner in the safeguarding of sensitive information. This session will include members of Kansas State University’s research and IT teams and review our RISE journey as well as provide real-world lessons learned.