Challenges of database security in DBMS
Last Updated : 25 Apr, 2023
Seeing the vast increase in volume and speed of threats to databases and many information assets, research efforts need to be consider to the following issues such as data quality, intellectual property rights, and database survivability. Let's discuss them one by one. 1. Data quality -
- The database community basically needs techniques and some organizational solutions to assess and attest the quality of data. These techniques may include the simple mechanism such as quality stamps that are posted on different websites. We also need techniques that will provide us more effective integrity semantics verification tools for assessment of data quality, based on many techniques such as record linkage.
- We also need application-level recovery techniques to automatically repair the incorrect data.
- The ETL that is extracted transform and load tools widely used for loading the data in the data warehouse are presently grappling with these issues.
2. Intellectual property rights - As the use of Internet and intranet is increasing day by day, legal and informational aspects of data are becoming major concerns for many organizations. To address this concerns watermark technique are used which will help to protect content from unauthorized duplication and distribution by giving the provable power to the ownership of the content. Traditionally they are dependent upon the availability of a large domain within which the objects can be altered while retaining its essential or important properties. However, research is needed to access the robustness of many such techniques and the study and investigate many different approaches or methods that aimed to prevent intellectual property rights violation. 3. Database survivability - Database systems need to operate and continued their functions even with the reduced capabilities, despite disruptive events such as information warfare attacks A DBMS in addition to making every effort to prevent an attack and detecting one in the event of the occurrence should be able to do the following:
- Confident: We should take immediate action to eliminate the attacker's access to the system and to isolate or contain the problem to prevent further spread.
- Damage assessment: Determine the extent of the problem, including failed function and corrupted data.
- Recover: Recover corrupted or lost data and repair or reinstall failed function to reestablish a normal level of operation.
- Reconfiguration: Reconfigure to allow the operation to continue in a degraded mode while recovery proceeds.
- Fault treatment: To the extent possible, identify the weakness exploited in the attack and takes steps to prevent a recurrence.
Database security is an essential aspect of database management systems (DBMS) as it involves protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the data stored in the database. The challenges of database security in DBMS include:
Authentication and Authorization: One of the biggest challenges of database security is ensuring that only authorized users can access the database. The DBMS must authenticate users and grant them appropriate access rights based on their roles and responsibilities.
Encryption: Data encryption is an effective way to protect sensitive data in transit and at rest. However, it can also be a challenge to implement and manage encryption keys and ensure that encrypted data is not compromised.
Access Control: Access control involves regulating the access to data within the database. It can be challenging to implement access control mechanisms that allow authorized users to access the data they need while preventing unauthorized users from accessing it.
Auditing and Logging: DBMS must maintain an audit trail of all activities in the database. This includes monitoring who accesses the database, what data is accessed, and when it is accessed. This can be a challenge to implement and manage, especially in large databases.
Database Design: The design of the database can also impact security. A poorly designed database can lead to security vulnerabilities, such as SQL injection attacks, which can compromise the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data.
Malicious attacks: Cyberattacks such as hacking, malware, and phishing pose a significant threat to the security of databases. DBMS must have robust security measures in place to prevent and detect such attacks.
Physical Security: Physical security of the database is also important, as unauthorized physical access to the server can lead to data breaches.
Features that are used to enhance database security:
Backup and Recovery: DBMS systems include backup and recovery features that ensure that data can be restored in the event of a system failure or security breach. Backups can be created at regular intervals and stored securely to prevent unauthorized access.
Access Controls: Access controls can be used to restrict access to certain parts of the database based on user roles or permissions. For example, a DBMS can enforce rules such as not allowing a user to drop tables or granting read-only access to some users.
Database Auditing and Testing Tools: Database auditing and testing tools allow security personnel to monitor and test the security of the database. This helps in identifying security gaps and weaknesses in the system.
Data Masking: DBMS systems support data masking features which are used to protect sensitive data by obscuring it from view. This is especially useful in cases where sensitive data needs to be accessed by third-party vendors or contractors.