SE-2222_DatabaseSecurity

Contents
Main Concepts
Control Measures
Common threats and challenges
Database Security Priority Areas

1. Main Concepts
Types of Security
Threats to Databases
Database Security - Part of a Common System

1. Types of Security
Database Security Issues

Company that we have analyzed

Kaspi+Egov

Threats to Databases
Loss of integrity. Database integrity refers to the requirement to protect information from incorrect changes.
Loss of availability. Database availability means the accessibility of objects to a user or program that has a legal right to these data objects.
Loss of confidentiality. Database confidentiality refers to the protection of data from unauthorized disclosure.

Database security must address and protect the following:
The data in the database
The database management system (DBMS)
Any associated applications
The physical database server and/or the virtual database server and the underlying hardware
The computing and/or network infrastructure used to access the database

2. Control Measures

Access control
It includes two main components: authentication and authorization.
Authentication is a method of verifying the identity of a person who is accessing your database.
Authorization determines whether a user should be allowed to access the data or make the transaction he’s attempting.

5. Data encryption
Database encryption is the process of converting data, within a database, in plain text format into a meaningless cipher text by means of a suitable algorithm.
Database decryption is converting the meaningless cipher text into the original information using keys generated by the encryption algorithms.

Common threats and challenges
1. Human error
2. Exploitation of database software vulnerabilities
3. Denial of service (DoS/DDoS) attacks
4. Malware
5. Attacks on backups

Human error
Accidents,
weak passwords,
password sharing,
and other unwise or uninformed user behaviours continue to be the cause of nearly half (49%) of all reported data breaches.

Denial of service (DoS/DDoS) attacks
In a denial of service (DoS) attack, the attacker floods the target server — in this case, the database server — with so many queries that the server can no longer perform legitimate queries from real users, and in many cases the server becomes unstable or crashesor making it extremely slow.
In a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack, a stream arrives from multiple servers, making it difficult to stop the attack.
DoS/DDoS Attacks Solutions:
security patches for operating systems,
router configuration,
firewalls
intrusion detection systems.

Malware
Malware is software written specifically to exploit vulnerabilities or otherwise cause damage to the database. Malware may arrive via any endpoint device connecting to the database’s network.
Malware Solutions:
A range of antivirus software, firewalls and other strategies are used to help protect against the introduction of malware, to help detect it if it is already present, and to recover from malware-associated malicious activity and attacks.

8. Attacks on backups
Threats are compounded by the following:
Growing data volumes: Data capture, storage, and processing continues to grow exponentially across nearly all organizations. Any data security tools or practices need to be highly scalable to meet near and distant future needs.
Cybersecurity skills shortage: Experts predict there may be as many as 8 million unfilled cybersecurity positions by 2022..

Encryption, software and applications
Encryption: ALL data—including data in the database, and credential data—should be protected with best-in-class encryption while at rest and in transit.
Database software security: Always use the latest version of your database management software, and apply all patches as soon as they are issued.
Application/web server security: Any application or web server that interacts with the database can be a channel for attack and should be subject to ongoing security testing and best practice management.

Backup security: All backups, copies, or images of the database must be subject to the same (or equally stringent) security controls as the database itself.
Auditing: Record all logins to the database server and operating system, and log all operations performed on sensitive data as well. Database security standard audits should be performed regularly.
https://www.ibm.com/cloud/learn/database-security
Backup and Auditing