Overseeing database security can become challenging to organizations with a lot of end users. That’s because of the large number of sensitive data that should be managed and stored in the databases. Without the proper security measures in place, databases can easily become prey to attackers!
But how can you secure your sensitive data? The traditional way to do that is by keeping your web servers and database servers separate or by making a separate database when you want end-users to quickly and easily access their data. However, those practices are typically costly and time-consuming, and they do not necessarily guarantee safety. In that case, you might want to invest in better database activity monitoring solutions that can work on any database, whether it is hosted on-premise or in the cloud.
Look for a web-based solution
Database security that is web-based will deliver a centralized and secure access to data by logging all the activities, such as user authentication, SQL queries, wrong login attempts, IP address, database username, user ID, and more. This way, administrators have more visibility over who is accessing data and when or why it was accessed. The server can also be secured with antimalware and antivirus remediation, and all database activities will go through one server.
Integrate single sign-on and two-factor authentication
Using Okta, you can allow database users to log in without sharing a database password and username. You should also enable two-factor authentication along with LDAP integration and SSL, so users can access the data they need without exposing their passwords. User accounts can have password expiration and time-sensitive access to data.
Enable data masking
Dynamic data masking is an important aspect of robust database security measures. It will let administrators provide access only to the needed data by end users. This way, there is no need to make a separate database, and you can attain GDPR data protection and more savings down the line.
Manage logs and metrics
Use a log and metrics management software and integrate it with your database monitoring solution to actively monitor data access. This should also enable immediate detection of attacks and anomalies, so you can respond to them quickly.
