Database Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Database Security - Essay Example These security controls may be technical, administrative, logical or physical. The vulnerability to the database security include unauthorized access by hackers or outside attacks or misuse by authorized personnel which are database users, administrators or system managers. A malware infection may cause unauthorized access to the database and may compromise its integrity and confidentiality via leakage of details deletion or permanent damage. This may also include denial of access to authorized users or a denial of service attack. Overloads or inefficient performance constraint may compromise database integrity and the data might be susceptible to damage physically (earthquakes, fire, flood) and should be provided with adequate physical protection or have proper backup. Design flaws and invalid data entry can also compromise the integrity and reliability of the database servers. Database Reliability Reliability of a database means that the database provides services for a significant ly long period of time without any fail. It is because database may include data from different sources and a reliable access should be prudent for the database users. Key business data and process information is usually stored in databases and it is very important of DBMS users to have the data protected so that the data accessed is reliable. For this several security measures can be made in order to prevent databases from losing important data through damage or loss (Basta & Zgola. 2011). Database Integrity Database integrity refers to the consistency and the accuracy of data within the database and data warehouse systems. Data integrity is often times dubbed as data quality and data with integrity and a whole structure. There are various types of data integrity that is associated with databases. Physical integrity of a database refers to the immunity of a database system to physical damages such as power failures, earthquakes, floods etc. and that the database can easily be recon structed in case of such catastrophe. Logical integrity of a database is equally vital as its physical counterpart and it entails that a database structure must be preserved and it is evident by the logical integrity of the structure when changes to one field do not put a cascading effect on other fields of the database. For example, the data in each element must be accurate, the data is auditable, there is access control for unauthorized personnel, users are correctly identified and the database must be available for the authorized personnel. Auditability of a databases addresses with the monitoring of who or what accesses the data base or has modified the database itself. Other data base integrity constraints include referential integrity and domain integrity. To ensure data integrity, data values are first standardized using specific data models or types. For this it is important that the data is complete in its business relations, functions, rules and dates and it is protected. Data integrity can also be implemented through other ways than database security where different error checking and validations must be checked in order to provide accuracy of data. For example, a numerical value in the in a date of hiring cannot be one that is ahead of the system date. In its realization, data