Database Security Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Database Security - Research Paper Example The DBMSs provide an interface that that enables users to interact with the database itself, other applications for capturing and analyzing data (Oppel, 2004). Database security is concerned with aspects aimed at protecting the contents of the database, users and owners. The protection ranges from system protection against software and hardware malfunction to intentional and unauthorized use of the database and unintentional access by entities not authorized. Databases may be exposed to threats in the form of loss of integrity, confidentiality, authenticity and availability. Most large databases face security challenges related to survivability, intellectual property rights and data quality. According to a report by the American firm Verizon, databases are at the core of any organization as they store confidential data and customer records, yet they are the most breached business assets (Kroenke & Auer, 2007). Data must be available at every necessary time, and it must only be available to appropriately authorized users (Elmasri & Navathe, 2010). It is also of critical importance to track users who access data and the data they access. Data authenticity ensures that data is edited by authorized sources and confirms that users accessing it are actually who they claim to be. Authenticity also verifies that outbound data is being delivered to the expected recipient. Through data integrity, external data is verified as having the correct format and the necessary metadata. Data integrity is also concerned with the accuracy and verifiability of input data as well as ensuring that data follows the correct rules of workflow for the organization (Kroenke & Auer, 2007). All changes to data and their authors must be reported as a compliance requirement for data integrity. Through data confidentiality, it is ensured that only correctly authorized users have access to confidential data. This ensures t hat the entire database is