Episode 171
| May 22, 2019
| 33 minutes
SQL Server Encryption
You’ve got first name, last name, full name, birth date, address, email, phone, tax ID or Social Security Number, driver’s license number, medical evaluation notes, MAC address, and IP address columns in a table. So, what would you encrypt in this table? In this episode, our guest, Tom Norman discusses various encryption options and how he goes about choosing what to encrypt. As there are more and more security breaches, the ability to encrypt data is as important as ever.
Episode Quotes
“Our data is out there and as data professionals, it’s our job to protect that data.”
“One thing to note when you use transparent data encryption is you can go turn it on tomorrow or today in your environment. Transparent data encryption does not affect your code at all.”
“When you start encrypting, Microsoft’s going to make you open up your pocketbook. If you’re going to be serious about your encryption and auditing and stuff, you’re going to have to run Enterprise if you’re on-prem. If you’re in the cloud, it’s all there, you’re paying the same costs.”
Listen to Learn
00:38 Intro to the guest and team
01:21 Compañero Shout-Outs
02:24 How to win a SQL Data Partners Podcast t-shirt
03:28 SQL Server in the News
06:32 Intro to the topic
08:08 There are three different types of data encryption in SQL Server
10:23 You might want to think about turning on transparent encryption as a first step
13:27 Differences between column- or cell-level encryption and Always Encrypted
15:36 There are two flavors of Always Encrypted
18:04 When and where you might want to use encryption
22:46 Encryption is not the only layer you can and should use to secure your data
23:58 Thoughts on certificate management
26:17 Encryption when changing certificates and cell-level encryption
28:37 Other considerations to consider if you’re going to implement encryption
30:00 SQL Family Questions
32:00 Closing Thoughts
Credits
Music for SQL Server in the News by Mansardian
Our Guest
Tom Norman
In 1998, Tom changed his career focus to begin working with SQL Server. He has worked in all aspects of SQL Server including Administration, Database Development, BI and Reporting Services. He has worked in the Finance and Compliance industry. His experience has included International deployments. Tom is the Leader of the PASS Virtualization chapter and the past President of the Denver SQL Server User Group.
Meet the Hosts
Carlos Chacon
With more than 10 years of working with SQL Server, Carlos helps businesses ensure their SQL Server environments meet their users’ expectations. He can provide insights on performance, migrations, and disaster recovery. He is also active in the SQL Server community and regularly speaks at user group meetings and conferences. He helps support the free database monitoring tool found at databasehealth.com and provides training through SQL Trail events.
Eugene Meidinger
Eugene works as an independent BI consultant and Pluralsight author, specializing in Power BI and the Azure Data Platform. He has been working with data for over 8 years and speaks regularly at user groups and conferences. He also helps run the GroupBy online conference.
Kevin Feasel
Kevin is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and proprietor of Catallaxy Services, LLC, where he specializes in T-SQL development, machine learning, and pulling rabbits out of hats on demand. He is the lead contributor to Curated SQL, president of the Triangle Area SQL Server Users Group, and author of the books PolyBase Revealed (Apress, 2020) and Finding Ghosts in Your Data: Anomaly Detection Techniques with Examples in Python (Apress, 2022). A resident of Durham, North Carolina, he can be found cycling the trails along the triangle whenever the weather's nice enough.
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