Because research is frequently collaborative, you need to be able to keep sensitive genomic data secure, but still easy to share with collaborators. Terra was designed to help you balance these competing requirements with consent-specific Authorization Domains. AD protection follows a workspace when it's copied and only allows authorized access to both primary and generated data. Read on to see how.

Contents

Securing controlled-access data in a cloud-native environment
  - Traditional approach to data security
  - Improving data security with authorization domains
Some Authorization Domain examples
  - Example 1: One lab, one research project/group
  - Example 2: One lab, multiple projects/access groups
  - Example 3: Cross-institution collaborations
A step by step guide to setting up and using authorization domains

Securing controlled-access data in a cloud-native environment

Researchers need authorization to work with sensitive (i.e. controlled) data. On Terra, access to primary data on external platforms is controlled via linked authorization (see this article to learn more). Additionally, you can protect data you bring to a workspace bucket or generate in an analysis by limiting access to project workspaces where sensitive data are stored and analyzed. Terra uses Authorization Domains - a built-in function - to streamline and centralize this security process.

Traditional approach to data security

Let’s say the data are private to your lab and stored in a workspace bucket. You know you are a member of your lab (indicated by the blue color in the diagram above), so you can access your lab’s data (also blue) in the workspace.

You clone the original workspace, run an analysis, and generate derived data. This is possible because your role allows you to copy the that workspace and access the data in the original workspace bucket.

If a new coworker asks you to share your workspace with them, you would (traditionally) be responsible for checking that this new coworker is officially a part of your lab. As the owner of the cloned workspace, there are no restrictions on how or with whom you share it. You’d have to keep track for yourself which of your fellow scientists have up-to-date authorization.

In this model, the burden of defining and enforcing security lies with individual researchers.

Improving data security with authorization domains

Enter Authorization Domains, which are like a badge associated with a workspace that allows access only to people with the same badge. When you clone a workspace that has an Authorization Domain, the badge stays with the new copy: anyone who wants to access the copy has to have the badge.

You no longer need to worry about accidentally sharing sensitive data because if you try to share the cloned workspace with a user who doesn’t have the right badge, that researcher won’t be able to enter.

How authorization domains prevent accidental data sharing
Let’s revisit our example from before, but with the addition of Authorization Domains. The PI sets up the original workspace where the sensitive data are store with an Authorization Domain to control access to the data (far left) in diagram above).

You are in your lab’s Authorization Domain, so you have access to the original workspace and primary data (assuming it has been shared with you). You clone the original workspace, do your analysis and generate some derived data (middle of diagram above).

Note that your clone does not include the primary data, which is in the original workspace bucket. You may not think about the security implications of sharing your clone, especially since only those with authorization (and permissions in the original workspace) can access data in the original bucket. However, the generated data in the clone are also restricted access. 

Since all ADs are inherited, the copied workspace also has the lab Authorization Domain. When you try to share the workspace with a new coworker, Terra will verify that your coworker is in the Authorization Domain before allowing access to the workspace (far right in diagram above).

Removing the burden of enforcing data access from the individual
In this way, the Authorization Domain keeps track of access so you don't have to. And it's straightforward to adjust group membership (who is in the Authorization Domain) as lab members change. Once membership is updated, it affects access to every AD-protected workspace right away.  

Some Authorization Domain examples

A step-by-step guide to setting up and using Authorization Domains

(steps 1 and 2 shown above)

Step 1: Set up a group (i.e. give users their badges)

Authorization Domains versus Managed Groups

All Authorized Domains are managed groups. But all managed groups are not authorization domains Managed groups are a way to grant a single type of permission for a resource to a set of individuals: Share a workspace with a group Grant can-compute permission to a group Include a group on a Terra Billing project, etc.  An Authorization Domain is a managed group with strictly defined and enforced workspace permissions: Authorization domains restrict workspace access to the individuals in the group ADs are assigned to workspaces when they are created and follow all workspace copies

Before you can assign an Authorization Domain to a workspace, you will need to set up an authorization domain group. There are two ways to set up and manage groups, depending on whether you use a third-party or user-defined group

Third-party groups (TCGA, TARGET, GTEx)

For third-party groups, access depends on external permissions. Currently Terra supports third-party party groups including TCGA Controlled-Access, GTEx, and Target. To gain access, you must link your Terra account to your eRA Commons or NIH account on your Profile page.

	Click here to learn how to link data authorization to your Terra account

Terra then checks for the user ID of the linked account in the dbGAP access list to complete the authorization.

Step 2: Create workspace and assign the workspace Authorization Domain 

When creating a workspace, you'll start from this form (screenshot below).

You can select one or more groups for the Authorization Domain in the dropdown. (If you don’t see your group in the list, you may need to create it. See Step 1 above). An Authorization Domain can only be set when creating the workspace, and once set, it cannot be removed from the workspace. It will be copied over to any cloned version of the workspace, protecting any derived data.

Step 3: Share the workspace - step-by-step instructions

To complete the process, you can now share the workspace, either with the group you used in the Authorization Domain, or with one or more individuals.

To share with a group, start typing the name into the Sharing dialog and choose from the autocomplete options:

	What happens when someone not in the AD tries to access the workspace?
	If you share with individuals or a group not in the Authorization Domain, they will see the workspace greyed out in their workspace list. When they click it, Terra will send an email to all owners of the groups in the Authorization domain requesting access. Once the user has the proper badge(s), they can enter the workspace to see the protected data.

	Trouble accessing a GTEx, TARGET, or TCGA  workspace?
	If you receive an error message that you aren't a member of the authorization domain for a GTEx, TARGET, or TCGA workspace, this generally means your authorization in your NIH/dbGaP link isn't active. Access to the AD is automated based on authorization from dbGaP, which is updated every six hours on Terra. To learn more about linking to external servers, see this article.