Database Security Threats & Countermeasures

Five security risks in database systems

In today’s rapid, fast-paced digital era, data has become a valuable asset for companies. However, with a massive amount of data collected every minute, database security breaches and cyberattacks have become an everyday concern for many organizations (Malik & Patel, 2016). Therefore, security teams and database administrators must constantly improve database security to outcompete the ingenious cyber criminals. Here are five risks in the database system.

• SQL injections attack occurs when attackers insert malicious code into a query via fields of web applications, which are executed by the server. Once the injection attack is successful, cybercriminals have unauthorized access to all data of the company, which they can view, delete, create new data or leak sensitive data (Malik & Patel, 2016). As a result, the company can lose data integrity and risk lawsuits, reputational damage, system lockdown, and loss of money.
• Insider threats and human errors occur when employees abuse their privileges or are given excessive privileges to access data. Also, careless behaviors like sharing, weak passwords, and clicking on malicious links are openings that cybercriminals exploit. According to statistics, about 80% of company database attacks are executed by current or former employees (Irwin, 2022). Internal risks of database security hugely damage the organization through investigations, remediation costs, operation stagnation, and loss of productivity.
• A Denials of Service (DoS) attack happens when a database server is flooded with traffic, queries or requests than it can process, automatically making the system overwhelmed thus, crashing (Malik & Patel, 2016). This deprives legitimate users of access to the system. While DoS attacks one server, the DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack overwhelms multiple servers with fake requests, causing them to significantly slow down or entirely crash (Malik & Patel, 2016).
• Malware is software developed to damage data or cause harm to the database. Malware exploits any vulnerabilities that can substantially harm the database. Once malware penetrates the system, it collects sensitive information without the user’s consent by acting as spyware (Díaz et al., 2020). Malware can get through any endpoint devices connected to the database’s network.
• Data leakages occur when sensitive data is unintentionally exposed to unauthorized parties. This can lead to identity theft or fraud, which is a massive blow to any organization. In most instances, unprotected databases are the most vulnerable points for cybercriminals to exploit.

Information security tools in protecting databases against the above risks

• Security teams can prevent SQL Injection vulnerabilities in web applications by using parameterized quarries or prepared statements user input and implementing least privileged access control policies to limit the permissions of database users (Malik & Patel, 2016).
• Organizations should enforce policies for strong passwords, including multi-factor authentication, and regularly update and patch database systems to address any vulnerabilities (Malik & Patel, 2016). Also, companies should educate and train employees on cybersecurity threats and what they should do when they come across them. Implementing role-based user access controls can also help restrict unauthorized access to sensitive databases (Rajguru & Sharma, 2014).

• Implementation of raised intrusion detection systems (HIDs) can filter out malicious traffic and configure database systems. Also, regularly updating and testing security measures like firewalls, security sockets layer (SSL) certificates, and VPNs can help prevent excessive requests into the server (Malik & Patel, 2016).
• Employing anti-malware software can help detect and prevent any malware from accessing the systems. Also, implementing strict required controls and database permissions can identify and reduce the attack surface of the network (Díaz et al., 2020).

• Companies should encrypt sensitive data at rest and in transit and constantly audit access logs to detect authorized access attempts to the system (Rajguru & Sharma, 2014). Also, offering employee training on security practices can mitigate insider threats.

In conclusion, the five are major security threats to databases that can pose enormous risks to the companies’ data. Therefore, addressing these security risks and implementing appropriate measures can enable organizations to protect their database systems and sensitive information from unauthorized access, compromise, and manipulation by cyberattacks.

References

Díaz de León Guillén, M. Á., Morales-Rocha, V., & Fernández Martínez, L. F. (2020). A systematic review of security threats and countermeasures in SaaS. Journal of Computer Security, 28(6), 635-653.

Irwin, L. (2022, July 1). Human error is responsible for 82% of data breaches. GRC eLearning. Retrieved from https://www.grcelearning.com/blog/human-error-is-responsible-for-85-of-data-breaches

Malik, M., & Patel, T. (2016). Database security attacks and control methods. International Journal of Information, 6(1/2), 175–183.

Rajguru, S., & Sharma, D. (2014). Countermeasures to database security: A survey. International Journal of Computer Applications, 87(7).