Your database is at risk of unauthorized access. What are you doing to protect it?

Utilize encryption for data both in transit and at rest, adding an additional layer of protection to sensitive information. Conduct regular security audits to identify and rectify potential vulnerabilities, staying proactive against evolving threats. Implement multi-factor authentication to enhance user verification and mitigate the risks associated with compromised credentials. Maintain a rigorous patch management strategy to keep software and systems up-to-date, addressing known vulnerabilities promptly. Employ firewalls to monitor and control incoming and outgoing network traffic, fortifying the perimeter defence.

Start by spending time alone with the database. Understand its purpose, how users use it, and why. List who can access it and their permissions. Track each user's actions. Gather your own facts, then ask for justifications. Create a whitelist for allowed access and engage with anything outside it. Ensure well-known security standards are applied, beginning with access controls. Set up the necessary tools to automate audit log analysis. Once you reach this step, we can talk about what comes next.

1. Encryption is the bare minimum. You can also add more layers of encryption using Customer Managed Keys(CMK). 2. Implement Identity and Access Management. Only the rightful authorized users should have access to the data. 3. Follow the Principle of Least Privilege. 4. Ensure that you protect your databases by validating inputs and queries, to prevent from SQL Injection attacks. 5. Have strict network access policies and firewalls. 6. Use Data Masking at both Row and Column levels. 7. Use Key rotation techniques. 8. Audit and monitor your Database continuously and generate alerts. Use Intrusion Detection/Prevention tools. 9. Use tools to prevent DOS/DDOS attacks. 10. Regularly update and patch your DB 11. Security is Mindset. Educate this.

Protecting your database from unauthorized access involves implementing strong security measures, one crucial step in this process is identifying & classifying your data - Develop a data classification framework that categorizes data into different levels such as Public, Internal Use Only, Confidential - Restrict access to sensitive data to only those individuals or roles that require it for their job responsibilities - Use RBAC to enforce the policies - Apply encryption to sensitive data both at rest and in transit - Enable auditing features in your database to track, log access to sensitive data - Implement data masking or redaction techniques to hide sensitive information when displayed to users who do not have the necessary permissions

If your database faces unauthorized access, consider strengthening passwords, implementing encryption, and regularly monitoring access logs for any unusual activity. Additionally, keep software and security patches up to date.

- Require strong authentication mechanisms for database access. Utilize username/password combinations, MFA, or integration with centralized identity & authentication systems - Establish strict procedures for user account creation, modification & deletion - Implement RBAC to assign permissions based on roles rather than individual users - Adhere to the principle of least privilege by granting users the minimum level of access required to perform their job functions - Utilize ACLs to specify which users or system processes are granted access to objects - Implement encryption mechanisms such as TDE, SSL/TLS - Enable auditing features to log database activities - Restrict database access to specific IP addresses or ranges

Securing your database against unauthorized access requires the implementation of strong authentication & encryption • Implement robust authentication mechanisms to ensure that only authorized users can access the database • Enable MFA to add an additional layer of security • Integrate with centralized authentication systems, such as LDAP, Active Directory • Encrypt data both at rest and in transit to protect it from unauthorized access • Configure the database to accept connections only over secure channels • Conduct regular security audits to identify, address vulnerabilities • Implement access controls, authorization policies to restrict user privileges • Develop & maintain an incident response plan to address security incidents promptly

When auditing is enabled it produces an audit trail of database operations that can include what database object was impacted, who performed the operation, and when it occurred. Depending on the level of auditing enabled, an actual record of what data actually changed also may be recorded. Tracking who does what to which piece of data is important to identify threats and implement regulatory compliance. Although external access is a threat to security, studies show the majority of security threats to be internal, w/i your organization (60% to 80% of all threats). Auditing is crucial to find an unauthorized access emanating from an authorized user. However, auditing occurs post-activity; it does not do anything to prohibit access.

Monitoring and auditing are crucial components of database protection. However, I believe that we should start with enhancing organizational awareness and training. Employees who interact with database systems must be thoroughly informed about the risks and methods to counter security breaches. Proper training can effectively aid in identifying and preventing intrusion attempts through the database, thereby establishing a strong line of defense against internal security threats.

Daily auditing and reviewing accesses are vital for continuing business. I have seen in some organizations, that they remove all unnecessary access monthly and ask for new orders.