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In the world of database administration, security is paramount. One way SQL Server ensures data security is via Transparent Data Encryption (TDE), a built-in feature designed to protect data files at rest.
TDE performs real-time I/O encryption and decryption of the data and log files. The beauty of this feature is its ‘transparent’ nature; it requires no changes in existing applications to implement, hence the term ‘Transparent’ in the name.
Implementing TDE
In order to activate TDE on a SQL Server, we would need to follow a series of steps:
1. Creation of a Master Key
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--Creating the Master Key CREATE MASTER KEY ENCRYPTION BY PASSWORD = 'a_strong_password'; |
The Master Key is a symmetric key used to protect the private keys of certificates and asymmetric keys present in the database. When you create a Master Key, SQL Server will encrypt it by using the AES 256 algorithm and a user-provided password.
2. Creation of a Certificate
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--Creating the Certificate CREATE CERTIFICATE MyServerCert WITH SUBJECT = 'TDE Certificate'; |
The certificate is used to produce a database encryption key, which will consequently generate and protect TDE’s symmetric key.
3. Creation of a Database Encryption Key
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--Creating a Database Encryption Key USE MyDatabase; CREATE DATABASE ENCRYPTION KEY WITH ALGORITHM = AES_256 ENCRYPTION BY SERVER CERTIFICATE MyServerCert; |
This will set the database to use AES 256-bit encryption and use the previously created certificate.
4. Enable Database Encryption
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--Setting the encryption ON ALTER DATABASE MyDatabase SET ENCRYPTION ON; |
This command will enable TDE on the database, starting the encryption process. Understand that this might take a while depending on the size of the database.
And voila! You have successfully implemented TDE on your SQL Server. However, remember to take regular backups of the server certificate (‘MyServerCert’ in this case). Without it, you will not be able to access your data once the database is encrypted!
Now you’re ready to protect your data files with TDE! Practice your SQL skills and ensure data security at the same time!