Newly attested secure computing environments unlock broader research data capabilities at UIC

Dear faculty and staff,

We are pleased to announce that a new research infrastructure is now available through a partnership between Technology Solutions and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research. As you may know, multiple federal funding agencies require compliance with increased security measures for research-generated data. UIC now meets those requirements with the cloud-based, third-party-assessed National Institute of Standards and Technology 800-171 secure computing environment.

The external firm, Fortis by Sentinel, was engaged last fall to perform a security assessment of our dedicated security computing domain maintained by Technology Solutions. These auditors concluded that our approach to protecting UIC research data is a best practice and cost-effective solution. This domain provides isolation from main campus systems and services by applying various architectural and design concepts to enforce security boundary protection and to restrict/control information flow across various security domains.

In addition, OVCR, Advanced Cyberinfrastructure for Education and Research, and Technology Solutions’ Information Security teams developed a foundational system security plan that properly measures the setting of NIST 800-171 Policy IT security controls.

We are incredibly excited to share this update, as the independent audit by a third-party assessor allows UIC researchers to apply for and successfully receive awards and contracts using research data that warrants additional security measures.

With these new research infrastructure capabilities, Technology Solutions, ACER and OVCR continue to enable a broader portfolio of UIC research funded by grants and contracts requiring enhanced security and compliance oversight.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact acer@uic.edu or security@uic.edu.

Sincerely,

Shefali Mookencherry
CISO and Privacy Officer, Technology Solutions

Himanshu Sharma
Associate CIO, Research Technologies and Innovation, ACER

Andy Boyd
Associate Vice Chancellor for Research in Data Initiatives and Information/Chief Research Information Officer, OVCR

For more information, please contact:
Shefali Mookencherry
security@uic.edu