October 16, 2014

With the growth of IT and digitalization, cyber-attacks and digital combat on corporate networks are continuously on the rise. Hackers are specifically targeting databases due to the sensitive and valuable information that they contain. Whether the information contains corporate secrets or financial records, worldwide cyber-criminals are always looking to penetrate the servers of businesses and breach their databases.

The most common database security vulnerabilities include:

  • Deployment failure: This is the most common cause of database vulnerability. Even though every database, at the point of creation, is tested for functionality and proper working; it is often not analyzed or checked for deployment failure.
  • SQL injections: When the database fails to filter the inputs, hackers can execute SQL injections that allow them to raise privileges and get hold of a wide range of information.
  • Blank, weak and default password: It can be a tough task to keep records of all the passwords in an organization that manages many hundreds of databases. However by removing blank, weak and default passwords organizations can take the first step in securing their database system.
  • Data leaks: Database is considered as a backbone of an organization and should be protected from the threats that arise from the internet. This makes it important to use TLS or SSL encrypted platforms for communication.
  • Stolen backups: External hackers are always a threat but there might be some individuals inside the organization too that can be a threat to information and data stored in servers. Therefore, businesses should think about encoding archives to reduce the risk of an insider attack on the database.
  • Misuse of database features: Businesses should uninstall or disable the packages that are not used. Apart from reducing the risk of attacks by hackers, it will also simplify patch management.
  • Buffer overflows: This is most commonly exploited by the attackers. It includes flooding of inputs with a lot more characters than required, for instance- adding 100 more characters for an input that expects SSN. Instances of buffer overflows should be addressed with appropriate measures.
  • Increased privileges: Database vulnerabilities also allow the hackers to get hold of important privileges and get permission to access administrator rights. It is important for administrators that they install patches and updates on time.
  • Hopscotch: In addition to buffer overflow, hackers try to find out a weakness in the system and use it as a leverage to attack and get into the database. This risk can be reduced by separating the systems and creating discrete accounts for each administrator.

By keeping these important tips in mind you can definitely protect your database system to a considerable extent.

We at Centex Technologies assist companies to identify vulnerabilities in their database systems and provide security solutions for the same. For more information, call us at – (855) 375-9654.