Control Methods of Database Security


The practice of protecting database data from unauthorized access, theft, alteration, and destruction is known as database security. Protecting sensitive information from many risks, including hackers, nefarious insiders, and natural calamities, is the aim of database security. Organizations can implement database security safeguards using a variety of techniques. We will talk about some of the most popular database security control mechanisms in this article −

  • Authentication

  • Database Encryption

  • Access control

  • Inference control

  • Flow control

  • Database Security Applying Statistical Method

Authentication

Database security that verifies the user's login information stored in the database is known as database authentication. The user can access the database if their login information matches what is in there. In other words, the user must authenticate before accessing your database.

A genuine user who has permission to view some data cannot access other data that are not permitted. Your database cannot be accessed by any unauthorized or malicious users. In order to secure database security, database authentication is crucial.

Database Encryption

One of the best methods for preventing unauthorized access to your database while it is being stored or transmitted over the internet is encryption.

All kinds of sensitive data are encrypted and decrypted using several encryption algorithms, including AES, MD5, and SHA 1.

Typically, a database's plain text data is converted into unintelligible ciphertext via an encryption technique. Therefore, until the data is decrypted, hackers who get access to your database are unable to utilize it.

You are strongly advised to encrypt your important data before saving it in a database since doing so offers security and protects you from cyber-attacks.

Backup Database

Another kind of database security is backup, which may be used to recover data in the event of data loss, data corruption, hacking, or natural catastrophes. It continuously copies or archives the database on backup storage.

If you configured your primary and secondary servers in the same location, and the first server is destroyed, there is a potential that the secondary server will also be destroyed. As a result, you cannot execute your program, and your system will shut down until you are able to restart it.

It is advised to always physically configure the backup server in a different location to maintain database security. In that situation, you may retrieve the database from the backup server if the primary server is offline.

Access Controls

A crucial component of database security in DBMS (Database Management Systems) is access control. It entails limiting unauthorized users' or roles' access to the database and its objects, such as tables, views, and stored procedures. Information that is sensitive or secret is safeguarded against unauthorized access, alteration, or disclosure thanks to access control.

Inference control

Another crucial component of database security in DBMSs (Database Management Systems) is inference control. It speaks about the method used to stop unauthorized users from drawing conclusions about sensitive information from less sensitive data. Because even seemingly innocent information can be used in conjunction with other data to infer sensitive information, inference management is essential.

Consider a situation in which a database has information on a company's employees' wages and lengths of their service. If someone gets access to this data and is aware of the average compensation for employees with comparable work experience, they may estimate the pay of a single employee by comparing their income and years of experience to the average.

This estimation process is referred to as inference.

Flow control

In DBMS (Database Management Systems), "flow control" refers to the technique for controlling the data flow between various system components. The purpose of flow control is to guarantee the dependable, effective, and secure processing of data.

Database Security Applying Statistical Method

For organizations that keep sensitive or private information in their systems, database security is a major problem. Applying statistical techniques to identify abnormalities or trends that might point to a security breach or an effort to access unauthorized data is one form of database security.

Organizations may more efficiently regulate access to sensitive data, spot trends, and discover abnormalities by using statistical approaches to secure databases. But it's crucial to strike a balance between privacy concerns and security needs and to apply statistical approaches in a clear and moral way.

Conclusion

As databases frequently house sensitive and private information, database security is an essential component of database administration. DBMS provides various control mechanisms such as access control, authentication, authorization, encryption, backup and recovery, and auditing to ensure database security. By implementing these techniques, the possibility of unauthorized access, data loss, data corruption, and other security risks can be minimized.

Updated on: 26-Apr-2023

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