Introduction
Data security is critical when protecting your customer's privacy and your organization's reputation. Businesses have closed due to financial damage or ruined reputations. Customers have had their data accessed unlawfully because of security breaches exposing their personal details, and again, possibly causing financial harm.
Suppose that you work at an online retailer. To support the online marketplace your company provides, you store an assortment of data from your customers, such as phone numbers, addresses, and credit cards. You also store data that is critical to the health of your business, such as financial account balances and intellectual property. If exposed or maliciously accessed, this data could jeopardize the health of your business, and the trust your customers place in you. It's your responsibility to make sure that the data stored in your databases is as secure as possible, to protect both your customer data and your business data.
Put yourself in the shoes of an attacker. If you're trying to maliciously attack a system, would a single layer of protection or multiple layers of protection make it more difficult to gain access to the data? Defense in depth is a strategy that employs a layered approach to slow the advance of an attack aimed at acquiring unauthorized access to information. Each layer provides protection so that if one layer is breached, a subsequent layer is already in place to prevent further exposure.
Azure SQL Database is a great service for the storage of relational data. There are many built-in capabilities you can use to ensure that your data is secure and practice defense in depth. This module looks at ways to secure your SQL database by configuring the database firewall, securing access, encrypting communication, and other techniques for database security. With this layered approach, you can help ensure your data is secure.
Learning objectives
In this module, you will:
- Control network access to your Azure SQL Database using firewall rules
- Control user access to your Azure SQL Database using authentication and authorization
- Protect your data in transit and at rest
- Audit and monitor your Azure SQL Database for access violations