KB014: UCR Secure Research Enclave: A Guide for Researchers

Last Updated: February 25, 2026

What is the Secure Research Enclave?

The UCR Secure Research Enclave is a highly protected, cloud-based computing environment designed to support research projects that involve sensitive or regulated data. It provides the necessary technical, administrative, and physical safeguards to meet stringent cybersecurity requirements, such as those mandated by the Department of Defense for NIST 800-171 Rev 2 compliance.

This service allows you to focus on your research while the university’s IT Solutions (ITS) team manages the complex security infrastructure, ensuring your work remains compliant and protected.

Who Is This For?

This environment is specifically for research projects that have contractual or regulatory obligations to protect sensitive data. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Department of Defense (DoD) funded projects requiring enhanced security.
• Research involving data subject to NIST 800-171 Rev 2 or CMMC Level 2 compliance.
• Projects with other sensitive data types that require a managed, high-security environment (consult with us to confirm).

Note: The current environment is certified only for NIST 800-171 level data. A separate solution for projects with lower-level P3/P4 data is available (e.g., CHASS Server Room for eligible researchers).

Key Features & Protections

• Controlled Access: Strict identity and access management ensures only authorized individuals can access the environment.
• Data Encryption: All data is encrypted both in transit and at rest.
• Continuous Monitoring: The environment is continuously monitored for security threats and vulnerabilities.
• Regular Auditing: The system undergoes regular audits to ensure ongoing compliance with security standards.
• Managed Infrastructure: ITS manages the underlying cloud infrastructure, firewalls, and security configurations.

How to Get Started: The Onboarding Process

1. Initial Consultation: Contact the Research Computing team to discuss your project’s data security requirements. We will review your contract, grant, or Data Use Agreement (DUA).
2. Data Security Plan (DSP) Development: We will work with you and the campus Information Security Office (ISO) to create a formal Data Security Plan that documents the specific controls and procedures for your project.
3. Billing & MOU: Provide your project’s Chart of Accounts (COA). ITS will then draft a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the recharge services, which you will review and sign.
4. Mandatory Security Training: Before access is granted, the PI and all authorized researchers must attend a mandatory Zoom training session with Research Computing and the ISO Risk team. This session covers researcher responsibilities, secure access methods, compute rules, and strict protocols for data ingress/egress.
5. Environment Provisioning: Once the MOU is signed and training is complete, ITS will provision a dedicated, isolated workspace for your project within the Secure Enclave.
6. Access Granted: Our team will provide you and your approved research staff with secure access credentials and instructions.

Cost Structure

Our goal is to provide this essential service sustainably and transparently. The costs are structured as follows:

Covered by UCR ITS:

• The underlying secure infrastructure (firewalls, monitoring, core networking).
• The labor costs for initial setup and ongoing security management.

Recharged to Your Project (Direct Costs):

• Cloud Compute Resources: Virtual Machines (VMs), GPUs, etc., consumed by your project.
• Cloud Storage: All data storage used by your project.
• Administrative Fees (detailed in the MOU):
  • One-time Setup Fee: $135
  • Annual Support Fee: $407

Contact Us

To start the conversation or for any questions, please contact: Chuck Forsyth Director, Research Computing charles.forsyth@ucr.edu research-computing@ucr.edu