Database Security

Question: Meaning and explanation about Database Security
Question From :

Aysha.k p

Farook college, Calicut
E-mail:ayshaas@gmail.com

Answer :

Introduction to Database:

           A database is a system intended to organize, store, and retrieve large amounts of data easily. It consists of an organized collection of data for one or more uses, typically in digital form. One way of classifying databases involves the type of their contents, for example: bibliographic, document-text, statistical. Digital databases are managed using database management systems (DBMS), which store database contents, allowing data creation and maintenance, and search and other access.

  

Database Security:

“Securing the DB may be the single biggest action an organization can take to protect its assets”

Database security is the system, processes, and procedures that protect a database from unintended activity. Unintended activity can be categorized as authenticated misuse, malicious attacks or inadvertent mistakes made by authorized individuals or processes. Database security is also a specialty within the broader discipline of computer security.

In  the simplest way Data security is the protection of the database from unauthorized users.

The network is more open one so the Database security is more critical thing now a days  

Traditionally databases have been protected from external connections by firewalls or routers on the network perimeter with the database environment existing on the internal network opposed to being located within a demilitarized zone . Additional network security devices that detect and alert on malicious database protocol traffic .

TIP: firewalls or routers are network devices

Data security actually is an important function of a database management system whether it is centralized or distributed.

Data security controls have two major aspects:
1. data protection
2. authorization control

Data protections make sure that no any unauthorized person can understand the physical contents of data.

Databases provide many layers and types of information security, typically specified in the data dictionary, including:

TIP: Data dictionary means  is a "centralized repository of information about data such as meaning, relationships to other data, origin, usage, and format.

• Access control

Access control is a system which enables an authority to control access to areas and resources in a given physical facility or computer-based information system.

Real world example: A lock on a car door is essentially a form of access control. A PIN on an ATM system at a bank is another means of access control

• Auditing

The general definition of an audit is an evaluation of a person, organization, system, process, enterprise, project or product. The term most commonly refers to audits in accounting, but similar concepts also exist in project management, quality management, and energy conservation.

Audits are performed to ascertain the validity and reliability of information. Better auditing give better security for our data base

• Authentication

Authentication (To ensure  real or genuine) is the act of establishing or confirming something (or someone) as authentic, that is, that claims made by or about the subject are . This might involve confirming the identity of a person, tracing the origins of an artifact, ensuring that a product is what its packaging and labeling claims to be, or assuring that a computer program is a trusted one.

• Encryption

In cryptography, encryption is the process of transforming information (referred to as plaintext ) using an algorithm (called cipher) to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key. The result of the process is encrypted information (in cryptography, referred to as ciphertext).

 In many contexts, the word encryption also implicitly refers to the reverse process, decryption, to make the encrypted information readable again .

TIP: Cryptography  is the practice and study of hiding information. Applications of cryptography include ATM cards, computer passwords, and electronic commerce.

Encryption And decryption

• Integrity controls

Data integrity is data that has a complete or whole structure. All characteristics of the data including business rules, rules for how pieces of data relate, dates, definitions and lineage must be correct for data to be complete. Per the discipline of data architecture, when functions are performed on the data the functions must ensure integrity.

 Examples of functions are transforming the data, storing the history, storing the definitions (Metadata) and storing the lineage of the data as it moves from one place to another.

The most important aspect of data integrity per the data architecture discipline is to expose the data, the functions and the data's characteristics.

In terms of a database data integrity refers to the process of ensuring that a database remains an accurate reflection of the universe of discourse it is modelling or representing. In other words there is a close correspondence between the facts stored in the database and the real world it models

Data integrity is normally enforced in a database system by a series of integrity constraints or rules. Three types of integrity constraints are an inherent part of the relational data model:

entity integrity, referential integrity and domain integrity.

Database security can begin with the process of creation and publishing of appropriate security standards for the database environment. The standards may include specific controls for the various relevant database platforms; a set of best practices that cross over the platforms; and linkages of the standards to higher level polices and governmental regulations.

Levels of Data Security

Human level

Database application program

Database system

Operating System

Physical level

Any way all these levels are directly and indirectly depends on the  database security layer that we discussed in the above paragraphs. 

Links for advanced reference :
1)E-Book 
2)Google Books