LINKAGE Program Enclave Features and Security

The LINKAGE Program offers comprehensive support services to participating Researchers and Studies, including NIA’s free platform for linked data analysis, the LINKAGE Enclave.

Enclave Data Analysis Platform

The LINKAGE Enclave is a cloud-based statistical analysis environment for accessing and analyzing linked data sets.

Through LINKAGE Enclave, authorized users have free access to:

  • Personalized workspaces (up to 300 GB shared workspaces and 100 MB per user for individual workspaces)
  • Processing servers with:
    • 32-core AMD 2nd Gen EPYC 7502
    • 2.0 TB RAM
    • 30 TB NVMe storage
  • Linked CMS and NIA-funded Study datasets
  • Statistical applications
    • MATLAB*
    • Python
    • R
    • SAS
    • Stata
    • SPSS*
  • Office applications
    • Adobe Acrobat Reader
    • Microsoft Excel
    • Microsoft Word
    • Notepad++ (Text Editor)

*Limited licenses are available.

LINKAGE Enclave Security

LINKAGE has a Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 (FISMA) certification through CMS. For more information about the Enclave and its software, hardware, licenses, or security, please contact the LINKAGE team .

Safeguards

As a FISMA-certified system, the LINKAGE Enclave meets over 450 federal security requirements, including but not limited to those specified in the sections below.

Annual Audits

A federal agency-authorized Third-Party Assessment Organization (3PAO) conducts annual FISMA audits of the enclave.

Physical Security

  • 24/7 Video monitoring of LINKAGE Enclave resources to detect unauthorized access to enclave facilities.
  • Intrusion detection alarms that directly alert local police authorities to any tripped room alarms for immediate investigation.
  • Undisclosed data center location that limits the ability of malicious groups to locate and attack enclave facilities.

System Security

  • Multiple firewalls that control the flow of information into and out of the enclave.
  • Blocked internet within the Enclave to limit Internet-based hacks and data breaches.
  • Data encryption that protects LINKAGE data both at rest and in transit.
  • Logs of Enclave administrator and user activity that help identify any user who attempts to take any unauthorized enclave actions.

User and Administrator Security

  • Compliance Officer for your project, who is responsible for managing your team’s access to the enclave.
  • Remote identity proofing as part of account configuration.
  • Multifactor authentication via Duo Security.

DBSR