What Сan be Used to Provide Both File System Security and Database Security?
Security is one of the most important requirements in the modern IT. Users are worried about file system security on their computers. And such worries are often well-grounded. Businesses are worried even more about security and safety of proprietary databases with sensitive and personal information of their customers.
However, principles of ensuring both file system security and database security are the same. It’s not to let anyone unauthorized to view or copy data or destroy it. And threats may come in different forms. For file system security they may be viruses, Trojan horses, back doors (security breaches that may be present in the system without knowledge of the users), worms, etc.
Databases may be breached through hacker attacks, who may use stolen credentials, SQL-injections, etc.
What all the threats above have in common is that as a result both file system security and database security may be compromised.
The main and the most important principle that should be observed to ensure security is a strong identification method allowing the user to have or not to have access to the file system and database. That is why it’s important to use a strong password which can’t be brute-forced or otherwise hacked. It is also strongly recommended to use two-factor authentication, which is a must nowadays. Database security also strongly relies on proper authentication of database users. DataSunrise can provide two-factor authentication for databases it is protecting.
The next thing that immediately follows authentication in terms of security is privileges and access rights. The file system can be additionally protected if these are kept under strict control. Privacy of access is one the key things here.
However, threats to both file system security and database security may come not only from the inside, but from the outside as well. The ways to protect your file system and database can be divided in two groups: active and passive. A good example of active tools is firewalls. They are very effective in forbidding access for unauthorized users. The most popular passive tool is auditing which can be done both on your file system and databases.
DataSunrise Database Security Suite is a specialized set of tools that can ensure reliable protection of 20+ types of databases. Our customers can enjoy such highly customizable and versatile tools as Audit (Database Activity), Firewall (Security), Masking (both static and dynamic).
In addition to that please note that we can make our customers compliant with national and international sensitive data protection regulations such as HIPAA, PCI DSS, ISO27001, GDPR, SOX.
The best way to protect file system security is to use the DLP system. What is usually meant by DLP systems? When speaking about a DLP system people usually mean software products protecting companies from sensitive data leaks. The abbreviation DLP stands for Data Leak Prevention. Such systems can create a digital security parameter encircling companies and analyzing all outgoing and sometimes incoming information. At this not only Internet traffic is analyzed, but also a large number of other information sources, for example documents on external devices outside the protected security perimeter, documents that are printed out or sent to mobile devices vie Bluetooth, messengers, etc.
As DLP systems are intended for prevention of confidential information leaks, they must have built-in mechanisms capable of determining the confidentiality level of the documents appearing in the captured traffic. Basically, there are two most common methods: the first method includes analyzing the special document markers and the second one analyzes the content of a document. Currently, the second option is more popular as it is resistant and takes into account changes made to the document before sending it and allows easily expanding the number of confidential documents that system can work with.
So, answering the question asked at the beginning of this article: it’s better and more professional to use a designated solution to ensure file system security and a separate dedicated database security solution as DataSunrise.
