What we're solving
NIH RAS is an authentication and authorization service provided by the NIH Center for Information Technology. NIH RAS was developed to facilitate access to NIH’s open and controlled data assets and repositories in a consistent, secure, and user-friendly manner.
Terra, as the host of AnVIL data, enforces access controls for many NIH controlled access datasets. The old system of enforcing access controls, relying on dbGaP telemetry files, is brittle, error-prone, and a cause of poor user experience. RAS provides an opportunity, via the GA4GH Passports standard, to provide an access control mechanism that is stable, more secure, and compliant with modern security practices.
What's changing for you
Once RAS integration for AnVIL data is available in Terra, you will see a new option to link your Terra account with RAS on your profile's external identities page, which will direct you to NIH RAS to enter your eRA Credentials.
If you currently link your Terra account with your NIH account to access AnVIL's controlled datasets using dbGaP, Terra will instead use your RAS passport to determine what data you are authorized to access.