Database Security: Separation of Duties

Hi all, today I will share my DB security knowledge and one of the alternative ways to tighten your DB security.

Database security in a nutshell

Database security is the process of protecting a database from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction. It is a critical aspect of information security and is necessary to protect sensitive and confidential information stored in databases. Database security involves a combination of technical and procedural controls to ensure that only authorized individuals can access, use, or modify the data stored in a database. This includes implementing secure database design, access controls, and monitoring and auditing database activity.

Database security is important for organizations of all sizes and industries as it helps to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive data. This can include personal information, financial data, intellectual property, and other sensitive information. With the increasing use of digital information and the growing number of cyber threats, database security has become even more important to protect organizations from data breaches, fraud, and other malicious activities.

Effective database security requires a comprehensive approach that includes identifying and assessing risks, implementing security controls, and monitoring and testing the effectiveness of these controls. This includes using encryption to protect data in transit and at rest, implementing access controls to restrict access to sensitive data, and implementing security policies and procedures to ensure that only authorized individuals can access and use the data. Additionally, regular monitoring and testing of database security is necessary to identify and address any vulnerabilities and to ensure that the security controls are working as intended.

Why the separation of duty is important for Database Security?

Separation of duty is a security principle that is often applied to databases in order to prevent fraud and abuse of sensitive information. It is a technique that ensures that a single individual or group of individuals does not have complete control over a critical process or system. This is accomplished by dividing the tasks and responsibilities for a system or process among multiple individuals or groups.

In the context of database security, separation of duty is the practice of ensuring that different individuals or roles have different levels of access to the database and that no single individual has complete control over the entire database. This can include separating the roles of database administrator, data owner, and data user, and ensuring that each role has a specific set of responsibilities and access privileges.

For example, a database administrator would have the ability to create and manage the database, while a data owner would be responsible for maintaining the integrity of the data. A data user would have the ability to access and use the data, but would not have the ability to make changes to the data or the database structure.

Separation of duty helps to prevent fraud and abuse by making it more difficult for a single individual to misuse the data. It also helps to ensure that the database is being used for its intended purpose and that sensitive information is being protected. This is one of the key security principles that can be applied to databases to prevent security breaches and unauthorized access.

How to do that?

There are several products available that can be used to implement separation of duty in databases. Some of these include:

1. Oracle Database Vault: This is a security feature in the Oracle Database that helps to protect sensitive data by restricting access to the database based on predefined security rules. It allows the creation and enforcement of security policies based on roles and privileges, and provides additional security features such as realms and command rules.
2. Microsoft SQL Server: The Microsoft SQL Server has built-in security features that allow for separation of duty, such as role-based access control (RBAC) and server roles. RBAC allows you to assign specific permissions to roles, which can then be assigned to specific users or groups.
3. IBM DB2: IBM DB2 has a feature called “Row and Column Access Control” (RCAC) that allows you to restrict access to specific rows and columns in a table based on user roles and privileges. This can be used to implement separation of duty.
4. MySQL: MySQL has a feature called “Row-based Access Control” (RBAC) that allows you to restrict access to specific rows in a table based on user roles and privileges. This can be used to implement separation of duty.
5. PostgreSQL: PostgreSQL has a feature called “Row-level Security” that allows you to restrict access to specific rows in a table based on user roles and privileges. This can be used to implement separation of duty.

These are just a few examples of products that can be used to implement separation of duty in databases. It’s important to keep in mind that different products may have different features and capabilities, so it’s important to research and evaluates the different options before choosing a product to use.

Detailed: Oracle Database Vault

Oracle Database Vault is a security feature in the Oracle Database that helps protect sensitive data by restricting access to the database based on predefined security rules. It is designed to protect against internal and external threats, such as privileged users accessing sensitive data, unauthorized access to sensitive data, and unauthorized changes to security policies.

One of the key features of Oracle Database Vault is its ability to create and enforce security policies based on roles and privileges. This allows administrators to control access to sensitive data based on the user’s role and responsibilities within the organization. For example, a user with the role of “HR Manager” may be granted access to sensitive employee data, while a user with the role of “IT Support” may not.

Oracle Database Vault also provides additional security features, such as the ability to create and manage “Realms” which are used to group together objects and users based on their security requirements. This allows administrators to enforce different security policies for different groups of users and objects. Additionally, Oracle Database Vault provides a “Command Rule” feature that allows administrators to define rules for specific SQL commands, such as SELECT, UPDATE, and DELETE. This allows administrators to control access to sensitive data based on the type of command being executed.

Oracle Database Vault also provides auditing and reporting capabilities, which allow administrators to track and monitor access to sensitive data. This can be useful for compliance and regulatory requirements, as well as for identifying and addressing security breaches.

Overall, Oracle Database Vault is a powerful security feature that can help protect sensitive data in the Oracle Database. It provides a flexible and granular way to control access to sensitive data based on roles, privileges, and SQL commands, and it provides auditing and reporting capabilities to help track and monitor access to sensitive data.