When I look at a system and think about its security model, the first thing I start poking around at is where I think security is weakest. For instance, if my target is a Microsoft SQL Server box, I don’t generally look for a weakness in SQL Server itself. I start looking at the operating system, I look at accounts that may have access, and since I’m really worried about the data being taken, I look to see how backups are handled and where they are written to.
Read on for more information, as well as a link to Brian’s 2019 video on attacking SQL Server.