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What is Database Encryption?

January 10th, 2009 by Shenron

Nowadays, information is one of the most valuable commodities. The internet has enabled people to share information across the globe. Unfortunately, there are people who have found ways to take advantage of this as cyber crimes are now as common as the ones done in the streets. Like the criminals in the real world, thieves in the internet also adapt to the changes in their playing field, and these criminals gain or use their knowledge to take advantage of unsuspecting victims. Due to this, IT professionals have developed ways to make sure that information and data is secured in any database. Encryption is the key in making sure that information in a database is secure.

Database Encryption

Database encryption is basically protection from the loss of important information. This loss can either be unintentional or intentional. Apart from someone getting access into your database, there are also other ways that you can lose data. Data can be lost through physical means such as swapping hard drives or if the storage device gets destroyed. Encryption then is a process which involves transforming information into an unreadable data through the use of an algorithm called a cipher. The person who knows the key is the only one who will able to read the data by deciphering it. This method was originally used by the military to communicate and prevent enemies from knowing their plans, but nowadays, it is used to protect pertinent information in computers, networks, mobile telephones, ATMs, and storage devices. In terms of networks, this involves the internet, particularly online merchants and e-commerce websites, where personal and financial information can be found.

Database encryption is common among online merchants. The most common example of this is passwords. When you type a password when checking your email or logging in to any type of account, you see symbols instead of the actual letters.

Database encryption depends on what you want to protect your system from, so encryption can be a daunting task especially if you are dealing with databases which are complex systems. It’s important to know what you are getting into because, if things don’t go as planned, you may end up spending the next couple of years making it all work.

Why Use Database Encryption

If you want to protect database objects, files, or storage media, you use encryption for media protection. If you want to give access to a few people or protect yourself from people who have privileged user access, you need encryption for separation for duties. This is more difficult because databases are literally complex. Databases have structured data such as indexes, and messing with them will have an impact on the performance of your database, apart from the normal effect encryption has on the system. This usually results into a 2- to 30-year project due to the changes that are going to be implemented on the database and on the applications.

So before you decide going for a database encryption, it is important to know what you are after and what you need to protect your system from to avoid a major headache.

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