  Research use of sensitive information -- personally identifiable information
(PII), protected health information (PHI), commercial or proprietary data, and
the like -- is increasing as researchers' skill with "big data" matures. Duke
University's Protected Network is an environment with technical controls in
place that provide research groups with essential pieces of security measures
needed for studies using sensitive information. The environment uses
virtualization and authorization groups extensively to isolate data, provide
elasticity of resources, and flexibly meet a range of computational
requirements within tightly controlled network boundaries. Since its beginning
in 2011, the environment has supported about 200 research projects and groups
and has served as a foundation for specialized and protected IT infrastructures
in the social sciences, population studies, and medical research. This article
lays out key features of the development of the Protected Network and outlines
the IT infrastructure design and organizational features that Duke has used in
establishing this resource for researchers. It consists of four sections: 1.
Context, 2. Infrastructure, 3. Authentication and identity management, and 4.
The infrastructure as a "platform."
