1. 
2. Keeping Your Virtual Machine and Data Safe

The Digital Research Alliance of Canada (the Alliance) enables users to create virtual machines (VMs) in private clouds. A VM is like a small, private server that runs on a larger, shared physical computer. VMs frequently host public web applications, or publish data and other resources online.

VMs provide researchers with a great deal of flexibility, but since users rather than Alliance Federation staff manage them, they involve additional user responsibilities.

When you create a VM, you accept responsibility for its management and security. This document provides you with tools to quickly get up to speed on creating and securing your first Alliance VM.

Control access to your VM

• Only provide SSH access to users who require it.
• Encourage users to authenticate via SSH keys and discourage the use of passwords.
• Don't let users share accounts, SSH keys, or passwords.
• Don't expose services to the internet that your users don't require. 
  (For example, if you don't have a public website, don't run a web server application or open common ports used by web servers like port 80 or 443.)

Control access to your data

• Only let users access the files and applications they require to do their work.
• Only let users and applications access data you wish to publish.
• Limit data access to read-only when possible.

Update your VM and its software

• Update your operating system and applications regularly.
• Remove unused or unneeded applications from your VM.
• Only install applications from your operating system’s available repositories, or from authorized sources identified by Alliance Federation staff.

Care and Keeping

• Backup your VM and data regularly to reduce the risk of information loss in the event of a failure or security incident.
• Monitor your VM and log files associated with important applications.

Securing your VM is manageable and there are a number of resources to support you, including ACENET’s Research Consultants and Cybersecurity Analyst (security@ace-net.ca). You can also consult the wiki documentation provided by the Digital Research Alliance of Canada.

Helpful Links

Digital Research Alliance of Canada Cloud VM Quick Start Guide

Digital Research Alliance of Canada Cloud VM Security Guide

Digital Research Alliance of Canada Cloud VM Backup Guide

Digital Research Alliance of Canada Cloud Web Server Configuration Guide

Digital Research Alliance of Canada Cloud Database Server Configuration Guide

Securing Your Digital Research Alliance of Canada VM Presentation