Prevent Internal Information Leak with DB encryption as the ultimate level of security 

 

DB Encryption is now an axis of DB security with clear standards for designating products. For a small-scale DB, it would not matter whether a product is domestic or international, but for a DB with a few million data processed within 24 hours, index search/non-stop mode are definitely required. The most important thing is if unencrypted encryption/decryption key is permanently stored on the disk, the product cannot be guaranteed in regard to confidentiality while used on a DB server or application server, therefore, encryption is useless in such a case.
 
DB encryption is the ultimate security. In other words, it disables any leak by internal personnel, any export using a DB manager’s authority, and other leaks by backing up a file system as whole with root authority. And of course, it blocks any attempted invasion from the outside. The leak risks from the outside happen quite frequently, and many networks’ security products and DB access control products are capable of defending to certain levels. However, the leaks by internal personnel are hard to block, therefore, security targets (scope of internal personnel) should include managers as well.

 

Yet, there are preconditions. One of them is that encryption/decryption keys should not be stored on the disk in any case so that they will not leak with data. This precondition is designated in accordance with FIPS-140-2 Level 1 regulation internationally and Encryption Module Verification Standards VSL1 of the National Intelligence Agency.
 
To check if a product is a safe one made according to the regulations, reboot the DB server and run a simple test to see if encryption/decryption service is done normally without entering a key, and if the key is permanently stored on the disk, encryption will not take effect. If it is a safe product, errors should occur when it requires inquiry of a figure with encryption/decryption authority, and it should operate normally after entering the key and policy from a Manager Console of the product.

Principles of DB Encryption

 

The encryption algorithm has been standardized, therefore, encryption/decryption performance itself is almost designated.  
 
Even if in the future a DB server has many fast CPUs, it might be possible to encrypt the entire DB, but it is yet to be realized. Therefore, through limited selection, a DB with high priority should include “Social Security Number, Account Number, and Password” according to “Information Communication Network Law Enforcement Regulations”. In particular, passwords should not be decrypted so they are encrypted with a one-way algorithm. Therefore, the DB encryption solution selects columns for encryption, and at that time, the algorithm for selection includes secret key methods of AES, ARIA, SEED, TDES and DES, etc., and SHA-1 was used for the one-way algorithm in accordance with standards by the National Intelligence Agency.
 
Once the algorithm is selected, a column of the table has been designated for encryption, and non-stop mode is required if it is a running DB. This is because DB service cannot be stopped while encryption is constructed for many hours. CubeOne automatically runs in non-stop mode while executing a consistent job of the whole construction process and terminates once it is finished. Once encryption is completed and service requests registered, the encryption/decryption engine is operated automatically by the DB, and at that time, access control (authority check) is executed and service provided when encryption/decryption authority is available. Otherwise, it denies encryption and decryption.
 
At the same time, requests and results remain in a log. On this point, the deciding factor for operation possibility is an index search through encrypted indexes. Social Security number and account number should be encrypted according to enforcement laws, and they are columns, used as search keywords, producing indexes. Encryption is necessary as dump through index leak is possible. And, Optimizer should be able to prepare encrypted indexes after sorting, which is not a simple technology.
 
CubeOne provides index search technology through non-stop mode and encrypted indexes, having encrypted many large DBMS and enabled operations. It has been proven that performance is a considerable factor in DB encryption but it is not an impossible situation. In actuality, a large-scale DB opened by CubeOne runs without additional installations of H/W.

Technology of DB Encryption

 

In today’s technology of DB encryption, domestic products are much more advanced than outside products, in particular, essential technologies mentioned above are powerful functions that cannot be seen in international products. Therefore, based on the excellent performance and function of domestic products, even companies in the private sector without the necessity of introducing domestic products initiate DB encryption introduction projects for successful construction and operation.
 
Let’s look into a few of the most recently developed technologies that are helpful to clients. Partial encryption tech, hybrid load balancing encryption tech, and Dual Sync Mode appeal to clients with a good response. First, partial encryption technology encrypts designated digits without dividing columns, therefore, it enables the process without giving a user with encryption/decryption authority. In short, it can encrypt the last seven digits of a Social Security number and enable index search without decryption authority. Hybrid load balancing technology enables Advanced Index by linking with  Plug-In installed inside of API and DB so that applications requiring a large amount of data input/output can be rapidly decrypted and processed regardless of DB, upgrading fast performance and index search at the same time. Also, in such a case, there is an advantage of section encryption. Dual Sync Mode is a technology that restores data to the previous state if there is a problem when construction of encryption is completed and stabilized, without requiring a long time for decryption. This technology gives operators comfort just like insurance and is already provided along with the two other technologies mentioned above.
 
As we have discussed, encryption is now an axis of DB security with clear criteria for designating products. For a DB on a small scale, it would not matter whether a product is domestic or international, but for a DB with a few million data processed within 24 hours, index search/non-stop mode are definitely required.
 
The most important thing is that you cannot just go over performance and function, but you have to bear in mind that if unencrypted encryption/decryption keys are stored permanently on a DB server or application server without ensuring confidentiality, the encryption will not take effect.

 

 

alex@eglobalsys.co.kr)>