New Training: Configure Security for Databases

In this 7-video skill, CBT Nuggets trainer Daniel Sasse discusses securing Azure databases with auditing, encryption, and Advanced Threat Protection. Watch this new Azure training.

Watch the full course: Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate

This training includes:

• 7 videos

• 46 minutes of training

You’ll learn these topics in this skill:

• Enable Database Authentication

• Enable Database Auditing

• Configure Azure SQL Database Advanced Threat Protection

• Implement Database Encryption

• Implement Azure SQL Database Always Encrypted

• Enable Firewall for SQL

• Configure Azure Defender for SQL

The Deceptively Simple Practice of Auditing Databases

Auditing and monitoring your database’s activity is easily one of the more useful tools in your toolbelt for securing your database and operating system. At first, auditing database logins might seem unnecessary, or a step in security you could overlook, but there’s a real-world analogy that might explain why it’s so valuable. Auditing your database doesn’t take much from a security team, but when done regularly and diligently, you can detect out-of-the-ordinary activity and head off hostile actors before they can pull off anything malicious.

Imagine your network like a real building. One day on your way into work, you see someone you’ve never seen before looking at everyone going in the front door to see if they use a key or a keycard to unlock the door. The next day, you see someone walking around the building, tugging on each door to see which ones are locked. The day after that, you see someone carrying a crowbar and looking carefully at all the ground floor windows. If you didn’t make a note of that and let security know, you’d be inviting a break-in. Similarly, when you audit and monitor database activity, you can identify sources of multiple login attempts as well as their methods. With that information, you can secure your OS and your databases more effectively.