Efficient and secure register data for research use

27.04.2011

In Finland, administrative and statistical registers represent a huge information resource for research that serves both science and decision-making.

CSC and the Finnish Information Centre for Register Research (ReTki) have investigated what kind of arrangement and electronic infrastructure would best serve the needs of register-based research. The microdata remote access system, MIDRAS, was also pilot-tested during the investigation.

As a result of the survey, the recommended practice is to provide a remote desktop service to support register data use in research that is straightforward, easy to use, secure, and reduces work for all parties. Furthermore, it is recommended to provide a data catalogue to facilitate data searches and a centralized research application service as supplementary services.

Data is analyzed on the remote desktop server where the necessary programs are installed. The original data is maintained by its owner organisation: researchers can browse and analyze the data they applied for on the remote desktop, but they can only download the results of the analyses to their own workstations.

Information security is a specific focus: users gain access to the data by research permit, which is issued on the basis of a research plan. Strong user authentication is used for logging in to the remote desktop, and data is only transferred in encrypted, pseudonymized form..

An essential property of MIDRAS is that it allows information from several sources to be combined, for example, employment and health information, or cause of death and income information. Source materials are produced by, for example, Statistics Finland, Kela – The Social Insurance Institution of Finland, the National Institute for Health and Welfare, Population Register Centre, the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, the Financial Supervisory Authority, and Finnish Tax Administration.

The project's final report presents an operational model for the remote use of register data and its implementation plan phase by phase. The report was created in collaboration by CSC – IT Center for Science Ltd and the Finnish Information Centre for Register Research (ReTki). The initial implementation of the system is planned to take place in 2012.

More information

The MIDRAS website and report summary 

Panu Kalliokoski
Project Manager
panu.kalliokoski at csc.fi, tel. +358 50-3818526

Kimmo Koivunen
Development Manager,
kimmo.koivunen at csc.fi, tel. +358 40-8408196