The Value of Database Auditing

Databases are required for the storage and management of massive volumes of data. Businesses, government agencies, and other organisations use them to store everything from customer records to financial data. As a result, databases are a popular target for cybercriminals.

Database auditing is the process of tracking and monitoring every database activities. Tracking who accesses the database, what data they access, and what modifications they make is part of this. Database auditing can assist organisations in the following ways:

Detect unauthorised database access

Detect and avoid data breaches

Comply with the rules.

Enhance database security

Look for any unusual activities.

What Is the Process of Database Auditing?

Audit logs are often collected for database auditing. Audit logs keep track of every database activity, such as who accessed the database, what data they accessed, and what modifications they made. Depending on the database software and the organization’s security requirements, these logs can be gathered and stored in a variety of ways.

After collecting audit logs, they may be analysed to detect suspect activities. This can involve unauthorised database access, attempting to modify sensitive data, or engaging in other strange behaviour. The analysis’s findings can subsequently be utilised to take remedial action, such as deactivating a user account or resetting a password.

Why Is Database Auditing Necessary?

Database auditing is essential for a variety of reasons. For starters, it can aid in the detection of unauthorised database access. This is an important step in preventing data breaches, which may have serious financial and reputational consequences for organisations.

Second, database auditing can aid in the detection and prevention of data breaches. By monitoring all database activity, organisations may detect suspicious behaviour early on and take remedial action before it’s too late.

Third, database auditing can assist organisations in meeting regulatory requirements. Many rules, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), require businesses to put in place security measures to protect personal data. Database audits may assist organisations in demonstrating that they are in compliance.

Fourth, database audits can aid in database security. Organisations may make their databases more secure and decrease the risk of data breaches by detecting and fixing security flaws.

Fifth, database auditing can assist in the investigation of suspicious behaviour. If a data breach is detected, the audit logs may be utilised to investigate the event and determine the source of the intrusion.

How to Carry Out Database Auditing

Database auditing implementation is dependent on a variety of criteria, including the size and complexity of the database, the organization’s security requirements, and the budget. However, organisations can take the following broad steps to implement database auditing:

Determine which data must be secured. This involves identifying the sensitive data contained in the database as well as the persons that have access to it.

Choose the relevant audit logs. Depending on the demands of the organisation, several audit logs might be collected.

Set up the audit logs. The audit logs must be setup to capture the required data.

Keep an eye on the audit records. To detect suspect behaviour, audit logs must be reviewed on a frequent basis.

Take appropriate action. If suspicious behaviour is discovered, corrective action must be done to resolve the problem.

Conclusion

Database auditing is a critical security tool that may assist organisations in protecting their data from unauthorised access and breaches. Organisations may strengthen their security posture and minimise the risk of data breaches by using database audits.

In addition to the benefits listed above, database auditing may assist organisations in the following areas:

Enhance data quality

Determine performance issues

Keep track of database updates.

Comply with all legal and regulatory requirements

Overall, database auditing is a useful technique that may assist organisations in safeguarding their data and improving their security posture.