Data Security Mechanisms in Database Management

Abstract- Database security has gained wide notoriety among many individuals worldwide due to the increase in publicized incidents of the loss of or unauthorized exposure to sensitive or confidential data from major corporations, government agencies, and academic institutions. The amount of data collected, retained, and shared electronically by many institutions is steadily increasing. Consequently, the need for individuals to understand the issues, challenges, and available solutions of database security is being realized. At its core, database security strives to ensure that only authenticated users perform authorized activities at authorized times. A useful summary of the essence of database security is provided in the paper by. More formally, database security encompasses the constructs of confidentiality, integrity, and availability, designated as the CIA triad. In computing discipline curricula, database security is often a topic covered in either an introductory database or an introductory computer security course. This paper proposed an outline of a database security component to be included in computer science or computer engineering undergraduate or early graduate curricula by mapping a number of sub-topics to the three constructs of data security. The sub-topics include mechanisms for the individual access control, application access, vulnerability, inference, and auditing sub-topics.