Threats to Database Security Part 1

Today, all company needs to save data and information, these kinds of data different from company to other such as (pictures, employee and Customer data); it’s so rarely to find companies used papers to save important data.We don’t disagree on database type, Sure Oracle is the best but there’s another product in the market today such as Oracle, Microsoft and k2 but all these products have common thing Called Threats .

Before this, we need to know what we mean with database Security since it’s my article subject
Database Security: can be defined as a system or process by which the “Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability (CIA) of the database can be protectedUnauthorized entry or access to a database server signifies a loss of confidentiality; unauthorized alteration to the available data signifies loss of integrity; and lack of access to database services signifies loss of availability. Loss of one or more of these basic facets will have a significant impact on the security of the database.
This is the common defined for database security.For an illustration of this concept, imagine that the website of a company contains information like who they are, what they do, and what prospective customers have to do to contact them for their queries. In this case, the availability of the database services is more important when compared with other factors like the confidentiality or integrity of the database security.
Threats and risks to databases have increased and therefore, the need for securing databases has also increased. When it comes to securing a database, lots of things have to take care of , if you was focused On pervious talking you will know that I am talking about:
1- Confidentiality
2- Integrity
3- Availability

Confidentiality

What I mean in this word is so simple by encrypting the data stored in the database,two type of encryption in database :
1-Data-in-transit:
This refers to data that is moving within the network. Sensitive data, for example, that is sent through network layers or through the Internet. A hacker can gain access to this sensitive data by eavesdropping. When this happens, the confidentiality of the data is compromised. Encrypting datain-transit avoids such compromises.

2- Data-at-rest:
It is possible for a hacker to hack the data that is stored in the database. Encrypting data-at-rest prevents such data leakages.

Integrity
 
I am not going to say it’s too simple to, because I don’t want from Listeners to kick me; but guys for me It’s simple sorry, Integrity talking about which users have to be given what permissions in the database For example, data related to employee information is stored in a database. An employee may have permission for viewing the records and altering only part of information like his contact details, whereas a person in the human resources department will have more privileges.

To make sure everything is going to be ok just following these steps:

  • Change the password, once the database is installed.
  • Policies to set strong passwords have to be enforced. A good idea is to have a policy of changing the passwords once per a month.
  • Does your company have multiple database administrators? If yes, segregate the duties
    among these database administrators. 

Simple steps (again simple) save you and your company. 

Now last but I am not finished yet



Availability

Databases must not have unplanned downtime, to ensure this, following steps have to be taken:

  • To ensure high availability, usage of database clusters is recommended. 
  • Databases should be secured against security vulnerabilities.
  • Backup the data at periodic intervals to ensure data recovery in case of application issues.

As we all know there’s nothing perfect so when we talk about Security, that mean we talk about Threats and attackers. With the increase in usage of databases, the frequency of attacks against those databases has also increased; Database attacks are an increasing trend these days. What is the reason behind database attacks? One reason is the increase in access to data stored in databases. When the data is been accessed by many people, the chances of data theft increases. In the past, database attacks were prevalent, but were less in number as hackers hacked the network more to show it was possible to hack and not to sell proprietary information. Another reason for database attacks is to gain money selling sensitive information, which includes credit card numbers, Social Security Numbers, etc. We previously defined database security and talked about common database security concepts. Now let’s look at the various types of threats that affect database security.



Thank You 
Written By : Osama Mustafa 
Consider this as part one since i will post another one related to this .
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Usage of OS_AUTHENT_PREFIX

1. Overview

1) OS_AUTHENT_PREFIX is an important initialization parameter to configure Oracle External User environment.
2) External User is a kind of Oracle External Authentication solution.
3) With Oracle External User, the user authentication process is accomplished by operating system automatically.
4) Authorized OS user can access Oracle database directly without providing username and password other than logon with prompting these information.

2. Official Reference

OS_AUTHENT_PREFIX
Parameter type
String
Syntax
OS_AUTHENT_PREFIX = authentication_prefix
Default value
OPS$
Modifiable
No
OS_AUTHENT_PREFIX specifies a prefix that Oracle uses to authenticate users attempting to connect to the server. Oracle concatenates the value of this parameter to the beginning of the user’s operating system account name and password. When a connection request is attempted, Oracle compares the prefixed username with Oracle usernames in the database.
The default value of this parameter is OPS$ for backward compatibility with previous versions. However, you might prefer to set the prefix value to “” (a null string), thereby eliminating the addition of any prefix to operating system account names
Note:
The text of the OS_AUTHENT_PREFIX parameter is case sensitive on some operating systems.
See Also:
l Your operating system-specific Oracle documentation for the default value
Create Oracle database user with OS authentication solution.

3.1 Prerequisite Checking

1) OS Environment
C:\Documents and Settings\ZYY> sqlplus “/as sysdba”
SQL*Plus: Release 10.2.0.1.0 – Production on 星期四 6 11 17:02:49 2009
Copyright (c) 1982, 2005, Oracle. All rights reserved.
连接到:
Oracle Database 10g Express Edition Release 10.2.0.1.0 – Production
SQL> SELECT OSUSER, USERNAME, PROGRAM FROM V$SESSION;
OSUSER USERNAME PROGRAM
——————– ——————– ——————–
SYSTEM ORACLE.EXE (q001)
SYSTEM ORACLE.EXE (QMNC)
SYSTEM ORACLE.EXE (q000)
YYBB\ZYY YYBB\ZYY sqlplus.exe
SYSTEM ORACLE.EXE (MMNL)
SYSTEM ORACLE.EXE (MMON)
SYSTEM ORACLE.EXE (CJQ0)
SYSTEM ORACLE.EXE (RECO)
SYSTEM ORACLE.EXE (SMON)
SYSTEM ORACLE.EXE (CKPT)
SYSTEM ORACLE.EXE (LGWR)
SYSTEM ORACLE.EXE (DBW0)
SYSTEM ORACLE.EXE (MMAN)
SYSTEM ORACLE.EXE (PSP0)
SYSTEM ORACLE.EXE (PMON)
Note:
n This practice is intended to be taken on Microsoft Windows platform.
n YYBB” is the Computer Name on which runs the Windows OS.
n ZYY” is the User Name which be used to logon to Windows OS.
2) Database Environment
SQL> SHOW PARAMETER OS_AUTHENT
NAME TYPE VALUE
———————————— ———————- ————–
os_authent_prefix string
remote_os_authent boolean FALSE
Note:
n The value of OS_AUTHENT_PREFIX parameter is set to “” (a null string).

3.2 Create External User

1) Create User in Oracle Database
SQL> CREATE USER “YYBB\ZYY” IDENTIFIED EXTERNALLY;
Note:
n In the above demo case, the value of OS_AUTHENT_PREFIX parameter is set to “” (a null string), the corresponding username in Oracle database should be YYBB\ZYY.
n If the value of OS_AUTHENT_PREFIX parameter is set to “OPS$”, the corresponding username in Oracle database should be OPS$YYBB\ZYY.
n Do NOT forget the Double Quotation Marks(“”) embrace the username YYBB\ZYY, otherwise, you will get an ORA-00911 warning against the special character \.
n Be aware of the keyword “EXTERNALLY”.
n Do NOT be reckless with “IDENTIFIED” which should NOT be followed by “BY”.
2) Grant Privileges to Oracle User
SQL> GRANT RESOURCE, CONNECT TO “YYBB\ZYY”;
Note:
n Grant appropriate and Minimum privileges to this Oracle user according to your system security acquirement.
n Oracle user name might be Case Sensitive on some platforms.

3.3 Test External User

1) Logon Oracle Database with External User
C:\Documents and Settings\ZYY>sqlplus /
SQL*Plus: Release 10.2.0.1.0 – Production on 星期四 6 11 17:26:51 2009
Copyright (c) 1982, 2005, Oracle. All rights reserved.
连接到:
Oracle Database 10g Express Edition Release 10.2.0.1.0 – Production
SQL>
Note:
n You do NOT need to provide username and password to logon to Oracle database through sqlplus.
2) Check the Current Logon User
SQL> SHOW USER
USER YYBB\ZYY
SQL> SELECT USERNAME FROM DBA_USERS;
USERNAME
————————————————————
YYBB\ZYY
SYS
SYSTEM
MDSYS
OUTLN
XDB
Note:
n Current logon user is “YYBB\ZYY”.
n You can now access Oracle database via your OS user account directly.