Product Reviews
DbEncrypt for Microsoft SQL Server
DbEncrypt is designed to offer protection for critical data while it's
stored in a Microsoft SQL Server 2000 database. This is not protection
for data in transit, but for the data on the hard drive. The reason you
need this protection is to prevent hackers who break into the database
or DBAs who turn bad from actually reading critical data.
DbEncrypt offers row-level or column-level encryption using a variety
of industry-standard algorithms, including DES, 3DES, AES, and Blowfish.
It also uses PKI to protect keys as they're transmitted between users.
When you choose to encrypt data, that data is encrypted directly in the
original table. DbEncrypt then builds a view on top of the table to show
the data - but only for authorized users. Triggers make sure that new
data stored in the table is already encrypted.
As far as I can tell, it works. If you're not granted access to the encrypted
data, you're not going to read it. While this does not protect your server
against a variety of attacks, it will protect something even more crucial:
the data stored on that server. In these days of increasing concern for
privacy, that can be quite important.
A 15-day trial version is available for download from the company's website.
[This review originally appeared in
About the Author
Mike Gunderloy, MCSE, MCSD, MCDBA, is a former MCP columnist and the author of numerous development books.