Section IV: SSCC Computing Resources and Accessing Silo

For access to IRP data on Silo an SSCC Member account is needed. SSCC Lab accounts do not provide access to project spaces or the Silo environment.

If you do not already have an SSCC Member account you can apply for one here: https://www.sscc.wisc.edu/accounts/request-an-sscc-account/

Note that the SSCC account is completely separate from the UW NetID account and log in.

Silo is the SSCC’s restricted data environment, made up of two environments with different levels of security. Both consist of an isolated file system and servers for running analysis with statistical software installed.

RD is appropriate for data sets classified as fully-identified “Protected Health Information” (PHI) under HIPAA and other data with similar requirements.  IRP data scientists have access to Silo RD as they work with personally identifying information and fully-identified protected health information.

Silo (previously referred to as “Silo LDS”) is appropriate for data sets classified as “Limited Data Sets” under HIPAA and other data with similar security requirements. Researchers using state administrative data use this Silo environment.

Once everything is set up, using Silo is very similar to using WinStat, but there are some additional steps required at set up (such as multi-factor authentication). The security measures required by the kinds of data Silo was built to work with do impose some limitations:

Read the following article from SSCC about setting up and using Silo, including information on setting up multi-factor authentication: https://kb.wisc.edu/sscc/using-silo

Before gaining access to Silo, researchers must first sign the SSCC Silo Access Agreement, which includes technical requirements for computers that will be used to access Silo. By signing this agreement with the SSCC you are confirming that your computer will meet these requirements. Please consult with your local IT about your computer as needed.

WADC data files and other state administrative data files often take up large amounts of storage on Silo disk space. This is one reason that copies of WADC data files should not be made. Also, by using only the original WADC data files you’ll be more aware of revisions made to the files by the IRP data science team, and less likely to inadvertently share a file with another Silo user who may not yet be authorized to use it.

Projects are expected to periodically review their directories on IRP Silo spaces to identify large files that are good candidates for deletion.

Files that need to be retained but are not in immediate use should be compressed using the gzip command in LinSilo (note that compressing files using a Windows program may not always reduce disk space usage).

Use the IRP data scientists’ suggested good practices for managing project files on Silo:

• Compress files that haven’t been used in a week, using gzip
• Avoid making copies of data files whenever possible
• Exclude unneeded variables from output datasets, etc.

When working with and accessing IRP individual-level data on Silo from a remote location (outside of the Social Science building):

1. Only access Silo in a non-public place, such as another campus office location, or your home office. Do not access Silo while in computer labs, libraries, common spaces, coffee shops, restaurants, etc.
2. Run up-to-date anti-virus software and install security updates on your PC or laptop.

Also, please remember that laptops and other portable electronic devices are often the targets of theft.  This is one of the reasons that it is prohibited to store research data on any hard drives or removable media.  This is also why SSCC login and password information should not be “saved” in any of software programs on your computer, laptop, or portable electronic device.

SSCC offers articles on remote computing methods in their knowledge base: https://www.ssc.wisc.edu/sscc/pubs/remote.htm

UW-Madison Office of Campus Information Security has more information about securing your home computer and offers free Anti-virus software: https://it.wisc.edu/services/#security