The database remains one of the most important parts of backend development today, and securing that database is an enormous job for backend developers. Every year, millions of records are compromised just because steps to secure a database are not applied properly. Data in the wrong hands could produce dire consequences, such as financial loss and legal matters.
That’s why database security best practices are needed to save the database management system from cyber attacks, and in turn, continue to build customer trust. In this article, we will discuss what we mean by database security, why it is important, and the 10 best practices of database security needed in backend development.
What is Database Security?
Database security is the set of strategies, practices, tools, and technologies required to protect database management systems from unauthorized access and malicious cyberattacks. It is used to preserve database confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
This term is not to be confused with database integrity because database security deals with the protection of data, whereas database integrity is concerned with the quality of data.
In detail, database security deals with:
- Data
- Database management system (DBMS)
- Physical server/virtual server
- Computing infrastructure used to access the database
Therefore, the objective of database security is not only to protect the data against its misuse or corruption but also to look after the database management system, the servers, and the applications that can access the database.
Why is Database Security Important?
If database security is not implemented properly, it can produce catastrophic results, such as a data breach or damage to the database servers. Below are the consequences that result from a lack of database security:
- Unauthorized access to data: Lack of database security can lead to a data breach, and a vulnerable database is a gold mine for hackers and thieves. In an instant, all the confidential data or financial records can go into the wrong hands, and this kind of violation can result in financial losses and end the reputation of the business.
- Financial loss: Due to a data breach, a business could face a lot of financial losses. For failing to protect sensitive information, businesses could face fines and legal penalties amounting to up to several million dollars in the worst cases. Moreover, there could be additional costs for the breach investigation and repair of the affected systems.
- Disruption in operations: Some databases could experience discontinuities in their operations due to system failure, downtime, and data damage. This results in a loss of revenue.
- Loss of trust toward the business: Most likely, the customer could lose all trust toward the organization after such incidents. They could hesitate to buy any products or services from the affected organization, or worse, end the business. This could have long-term consequences for the business in any department.
Top 10 Database Security Best Practices
Ensuring robust database security is crucial for safeguarding sensitive information and maintaining the integrity of your backend systems. Let’s delve into 10 best practices to enhance database security:
1. Physical Security
If the database server is on-premise, businesses should ensure that it is located in a secure and climate-controlled environment. The area should have good security measures, such as protection with cameras, locks, and the availability of security staff at all times. Extra protection should be given to storage facilities and physical assets. If the server is hosted by a cloud provider, businesses should examine if the provider has expertise in database security and ensure that they have a good reputation.
2. Access Control
Access control deals with authentication and authorization systems, meaning who can access the database and which actions they can perform. Role-based security is a highly effective method to limit data access for a user.
Only a minimum number of users should have access to the database, and the level of access granted should be at the minimum level. This means access should be restricted to the level that is necessary to do the job. This practice is crucial for organizations that make their database available to other applications via API services.
3. Robust Authentication
Authentication is a crucial aspect of any database as it prevents unauthorized access, but choosing the relevant and strong type of authentication is an important decision to make.
There are multiple types of authentication that are implemented by the backend developers, such as:
- Single-factor authentication (SFA), the most basic type, is regarded as unsafe because it does not provide any additional layer of security.
- Two-factor authentication (2FA) is a better alternative to SFA, as it provides an additional security layer and is used on many social media platforms.
- Another alternative is multi-factor authentication (MFA), which could also be used by developers.
Database access should be allowed only through validated IP addresses, as this will reduce the risk of data breaches and it is relatively tougher to copy an IP address.
4. Encryption
Whether it is moving data or storing sensitive user information, encryption is essential. It defends against any ransomware attacks as well as helping to stay compliant with GDPR guidelines. All data should be encrypted with the best methods, so even if cybercriminals get hold of the data, that information would still be safe.
All database connections should be encrypted using Transport Layer Security (TLS), which will protect the data in transit. The column-level encryption could also be used to protect the most sensitive data fields. Lastly, backend developers should also encrypt disks that contain data stores.
5. Regular Backups
Just like how website data is backed up, the developers should also create backups of the database. This is essential, as regular backups could mitigate the risk of losing sensitive information due to any circumstances, such as data corruption or a system failure.
The backups should also be tested periodically to ensure they perform as expected. The data should be able to be restored from the backup without any issues. This way, the developers would be able to confirm that the backup works.
6. Regular Database Audit
Database monitoring should be enabled and performed regularly. All the logins to the database server should be recorded and sent to a secure place. Any operation performed on the sensitive data should also be logged. Activities could include user logins, data modifications, and query executions.
Auditing requires proper documentation of all the above activities. Moreover, on any unauthorized access attempt or suspicious act, immediate alerts should be sent to the database administrators.
7. Update Applications
A verified database management software should be used and updated to the latest version. The latest patches should be installed too. It is a safe choice to not use any plugins, and third-party applications that do not receive regular updates.
Outdated applications or plugins pose a major security threat as they have low security, which the attackers could easily overcome and affect the database. Interesting data, according to Synopsys, shows that in 2023, 89% of codebases did not contain any updated components for more than 4 years. This makes it clear that updated applications are a must.
8. Use Firewalls
Firewalls seem like a good choice to add a layer of security to the database. A firewall does not allow access to any traffic, but it also needs to prevent the database from initiating any outbound connections unless absolutely necessary.
Along with a database firewall, a web application firewall should also be deployed. This is done to prevent attacks such as SQL injection directed at the web application. Not to mention that, just like the application updates, the firewall should be updated to the latest version.
9. Separate Database Servers
Storing data on the same server as the website could expose the data to attackers if they manage to hack the admin account on the web server. To prevent this, the web server and the database server should be separated. This way, the attackers could not access the database even if the admin account was compromised.
When the web server and the database server need to communicate, developers should ensure that there is a limit to the operations that are necessary to be successful. Using the practice of access control would help here. By using security information and event monitoring (SIEM), organizations could take immediate action on an attempted breach in real-time. SIEM is dedicated to database security.
10. Separate Tests from Production
Test environments should be separated from production environments because attackers could get hold of any sensitive data in the testing environment, which might be less secure than the production environment. Ensuring that there is a testing environment with no real production data and separate roles and permissions from a production environment helps in protecting the production database.
Even the developers should not get access to the production database if it is not necessary. Moreover, a standard procedure should be followed to move the database from testing to production. Regardless, any bugs or security issues have to be managed.
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Conclusion
Protecting the data and the database management system is a necessity, and using the best practices to secure the database is crucial to keeping it isolated from malicious attacks. In this article, we discussed what database security is, why it is important, and the 10 best practices of database security needed in backend development.
