K. Brian Kelley gives us an overview of what database security entails:

We have to be sure we know what accesses our data. There isn’t a technical solution that can automatically give us the answer. We can’t run a PowerShell script and know immediately everything that hits our key financial database. Over time we can collect that information, but the key word is “time.” If I look today, and today is not quarter end, then I don’t see the quarter end processes. If we’re looking at our HR related databases, then we really don’t know everything unless we also take into account the annual enrollment period.

The only way to be able to follow the principle of least privilege correctly is to know who and what access our data. This also includes ad hoc access, like folks running reports through SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) or doing analysis through Microsoft Excel. Therefore, in order to improve our data protection, we have to understand what accesses that data.

Obviously, documentation is required. When we have documentation there’s always the problem with keeping that documentation updated. While there are tools available, this task ultimately falls to people. Realistically, this is a battle we will always have to fight. Taking time to update documentation means we take time from other efforts. However, if we want to be serious about data protection, we have to know what accesses that data in order to be able to protect it.

It’s interesting to contrast this with Alex Yates’s essay on the topic.

Alex Yates has a controversial topic and some interesting thoughts:

Unfortunately, traditional database security has failed us.

Developers need access to the dev database to do their work. They need to be able to use appropriate test data to test their code. Traditional security features (logins, roles and users – even encryption technologies, dynamic data masking and row level security, etc) can be used to manage who has access to the data in production systems, but if a dev or test database already has the sensitive data these fundamental security features are worthless with regard to data protection. Even encrypted data only remains secure if the keys remain safe.

Sure, traditional security features protect the data in the production system – but not if it has already been copied to a less secure environment. And most people don’t track that with anywhere near as much rigor as they should.

To protect data effectively, we need to think much more consciously, not just about the production database, but also about all the other databases and backups that make up our database lifecycles, including dev and test systems and dev workstations. We need to know exactly where our security perimeter lies. Any copy of sensitive production data needs to live within the security perimeter and not outside it.

Read the whole article.