FIONA remote access system

The FIONA remote access system is a data secure research dataset processing environment for unit-level datasets needed in research, such as Statistics Finland's micro datasets.

Using the system requires a user licence granted by Statistics Finland's Research Services and an agreement concerning the use of the system. Using FIONA is subject to a charge.

Go to FIONA

Conditions for using the remote access system

Before the researcher can process a research dataset in the FIONA remote access system, the researcher must conclude a remote access commitment in Statistics Finland’s licensing service together with the organisation’s person responsible for remote access use. In the remote access commitment, the researcher defines the modes of work and agrees to follow the rules related to remote access of datasets. If the researcher works from abroad, a separate remote access commitment from abroad must be concluded and the user licence must be updated if necessary. Remote access use is possible only in EU and EEA countries and in those non-EU countries in which the level of data protection has been recognised as adequate by the European Commission.

The remote access system must only b used for the purpose mentioned in the user licence and its functioning must not be hindered in any way.

Remote access use is possible only through the network of the organisation that has signed the remote access agreement. The IP addresses of organisations starting remote access use are checked and approved by Statistics Finland. Only researchers with user licences may use the data in the FIONA remote access system. If the researcher's employer changes, the researcher must submit a new remote access commitment and update the user licence.

The principal investigator and the organisation's person responsible for remote access use are obliged to inform Statistics Finland of any changes in data protection or data security within their organisation that are of significance to remote access use.

Researchers must commit themselves to ensuring that both computers, networks and work premises are data secure. If the researcher wants to work from home, it must be made sure that the work can take place with a VPN connection through the employer's network.

The mobile phone on which the Duo Mobile application for identification in the remote access system is installed must be stored carefully.

Logging in to FIONA

If you are logging in to FIONA for the first time, read the instructions below on how to activate the two-step authentication and verify your mode of identification. Before your first login, you should already have a granted user licence, approved pledge of secrecy and remote access commitments and information that your user ID has been opened for the FIONA project.

1. Download the Duo Mobile application

Logging in to the FIONA remote access system requires two-step authentication. For that, you need the Duo Mobile application on your phone. Download the application from

Google Play Store (Android phones)
App Store (iOS phones)

From 2 February 2026, Duo mobile must be version 4.85.0 or later. You can check the version of an already installed application from the three-line menu in the top left-hand corner, where the version number is shown at the bottom.

The phone's operating system must be iOS version 16.0 or later or Android 11.0 or later. The operating system of Huawei phones is not supported.

2. Activate the application

After you have installed the application, wait for the activation message on your phone. The Research Services orders it for you. You will receive the activation message by text message. Open the link in the message and activate the application.

The message is valid for seven days. If the message is no longer valid, you can contact FIONA's technical support.

Instructions for making a support request (wiki.eduuni.fi)

3. Register or verify your authentication method

Logging in to FIONA requires strong authentication. You can use the following services for authentication:

Haka
Suomi.fi
Edugain
Virtu / Government identification service
eIDAS.

If you use Haka login

If you use Haka login, supply information on the attribute value of the Haka ID to the Research Services. The attribute is “EduPersonPrincipalName” and it is similar to an email address. You can check the attribute value by logging in to https://rr.funet.fi/haka.

If you use Suomi.fi login

If you use Suomi.fi login, register to FIONA once at https://adfs.eta.csc.fi/adfs/ls/IdpInitiatedSignon.aspx. Select Suomi.fi from the menu. Identify yourself with your online banking identifiers or a mobile certificate. Please note that you must be logged in to your organisation's network when identifying yourself.

The first login is shown as failed to the user, but the required information is obtained to activate the ID.

If you use the EduGAIN login abroad

To get an EduGAIN identifier, the researcher's home organisation abroad must verify the researcher's identity. The Research Services check that the transfer of the organisation's EduGAIN identifiers follows this process.

If you use the eIDAS login abroad

The eIDAS identification is supported through Suomi.fi authentication. The eIDAS identification requires that the user has an approved identification token in the country in question.

To use the eIDAS identification, select Suomi.fi as the login method, and then Identification methods for foreigners at the bottom of the page. You can then choose the country and log in using the redirect function.

Updated list of countries from which eIDAS login is possible (suomi.fi)

How to log in to FIONA

Before logging in to FIONA, always set the browser to full screen mode so that the resolution and dimensions of the remote desktop are correct. The supported browsers are Chrome and Firefox.

If you have access right to several remote access projects, select the project to which you want to log in at this stage. If you have access right to only one project, you are directed straight to the mobile certificate stage.

Verify the authentication to FIONA with Duo Mobile authentication. Three alternative ways to verify logging in are shown on the display, but these need not be taken into consideration.

You will receive an approval request in the Duo Mobile application on your phone. Accept the request with the green “Approve” option.

Several erroneous login attempts lock the user ID for approximately 20 minutes. After this, you can try logging in again.

Log out or disconnect

When you stop working in FIONA, log out completely from the system. Select the so-called character icon in the Startup menu and after that sign out.

If you have runs or other application executions of long duration in progress, you can disconnect the connection while leaving the session open. Select the “power button” in the Startup menu and then disconnect. In projects involving several users it should be noted that if your session is left open, the resources or licences will not be freed to other users.

Consideration of data protection in FIONA

The data must be processed so that the information in the dataset will not become known to a third party, so the data on the screen must not be shown, shared or copied (e.g. as a screen capture or a photograph). Protected personal identifiers or Business IDs must not be written in an email message, for example. Sharing the display of the remote access system in a remote meeting is not allowed for data security reasons even if each participant in the meeting has a user licence to the dataset and/or unit-level data subject to user licence is not visible on the display.

It is forbidden to use artificial intelligence agents or similar methods for guiding FIONA.

The remote workstation must be locked when it is left unattended. The user must log out from the system when no longer working with the remote access. If the researcher or customer breaches the agreements or instructions on remote access use, the remote access connection of the researcher or of the whole organisation is shut down.

Both Statistics Finland and researchers are responsible for the data protection of research datasets. Statistics Finland is responsible for the data protection of the datasets prior to their release for research use and for the data security of the remote access environment. Researchers must for their part ensure data protection during the research use of their datasets and when publishing research outputs.

The researcher is responsible for the implementation of data protection in the research output published. The Research Services use a checking process for research outputs, by which due diligence in data protection matters is also supported. The checking process is described in more detail in the section Output checking process.

Tips for using FIONA

Please note that FIONA can be used only on one display.

If the resolution is weak, try using FIONA in the Firefox browser.

You can set an individual file to read-only mode if you wish to protect files from accidental deletion or changes. Select “Read-only” from the file properties.

Supported applications and applications installed by default

Software	Version for machines set up after 01/2024	Version for machines set up after 10/2024	More information
Adobe Acrobat Reader DC	Up-to-date	Up-to-date
Google Chrome	Up-to-date	Up-to-date
LibreOffice	7.6	Up-to-date
Notepad++	8.5.7	Up-to-date
LyX	2.3.7	2.4.1
MiKTeX	23.4	24.1	MikTex 22.10
R	4.3.1	4.4.1
RStudio	2023.06.2+561	2024.09
Octave	8.3	9.2.0
KDiff3	0.9.98	0.9.98-2
Anaconda3	2023.07	2024.6
Stata	18	18
Qgis	3.32	3.38.2

Software	Version information	More information
GUI	Gnome
GNU Emacs	24.3.1
LibreOffice	5.3.6.1 30 (Build:1)
VS Code	1.77.3
git	2.18.4
R	4.2.1	CRAN library packages available
R studio	2022.07.2
Python	3.6.8
Stata	17

Folder structure in FIONA

The data are located on the D: drive as follows:

custom-made: custom-made dataset, in the path D:\projectcode\custom-made\
metadata: variable descriptions of ready-made datasets
ready-made: ready-made datasets
external: external datasets (concerns only new projects to be opened, for old projects external datasets are entered in the external folder only at the researcher's request)

The work files are saved on the W: drive, where the remote project users can create their own sub-folders, for example.

As a rule, the project’s storage space on the W: drive is 300 GB. Additional space can be purchased according to the valid price list.

The E: drive is better (advanced speed and longer storage time) backed up than W:, so it is recommended to store the codes and corresponding small and important files on the E: drive.

Problem situations and maintenance

In problem situations, you can contact FIONA technical support directly: Instructions for making a support request (wiki.eduuni.fi)

It is advisable to attach a screenshot of the error message and information about the time of the problem to the support request. In problem situations the researchers should primarily contact their own organisation’s IT support.

Statistics Finland is not responsible for the user support of the software.

Statistics Finland has the right to shut down the system for maintenance reasons. A regular maintenance break is on the third Tuesday of each month. Information about future maintenance breaks and possible other disturbances in FIONA is available on the Topical in FIONA page.

Installation of packages for a FIONA project

You can install R packages independently by means of the CRAN library.

You can install Stata packages with the help of the instructions.

Instructions for installing R packages (PDF)Instructions for Stata package installations (PDF)