Database Authorization:

• Database authorization refers to the process of granting or denying permissions to users or accounts to access specific resources within a database.
• It involves defining and managing access rights, privileges, and restrictions to ensure that only authorized users can perform certain actions or access certain data in the database.
• Database authorization is essential for maintaining data security, privacy, and integrity.

Access Control:

• Access control refers to the mechanisms and techniques employed to regulate and manage access to resources within a database system.
• It involves authentication (verifying the identity of users), authorization (granting or denying permissions), and enforcement of security policies to ensure that only authorized individuals or processes can access the database or its components.
• Access control mechanisms can include user accounts, roles, permissions, and other security measures to protect data from unauthorized access or modifications.

Data Encryption:

• Data encryption is the process of converting plaintext data into a ciphered format using cryptographic algorithms.

• It ensures that sensitive or confidential data stored in a database remains protected from unauthorized access or interception.

• Encrypted data can only be decrypted and accessed by authorized parties with the appropriate encryption keys or credentials.

• Data encryption provides an additional layer of security and safeguards data confidentiality, especially when data is stored or transmitted over untrusted networks.

Privileged (System) Account:

• A privileged or system account is a user account with elevated privileges and permissions within a database system.

• These accounts often have administrative or superuser access and are used to perform tasks that require extensive control over the database, such as managing user accounts, configuring system settings, creating or modifying database structures, and performing backup and recovery operations.

• Privileged accounts need to be carefully managed and secured to prevent unauthorized access and protect the integrity of the database system.

Database Audit:

• A database audit refers to the process of monitoring and recording activities within a database system to track and review system events, user actions, and changes made to the database.

• Auditing helps ensure compliance, identify security breaches, detect unauthorized activities, and investigate potential misuse or data integrity issues. Database audits provide an audit trail, which is a chronological record of events and actions that occurred within the database, aiding in forensic analysis, compliance reporting, and identifying potential security risks or vulnerabilities.

Audit Trail:

• An audit trail is a chronological record or log that captures and documents events, actions, or transactions within a system or database.

• It provides a detailed history of user activities, system operations, and data modifications, allowing for accountability, traceability, and forensic analysis.

• An audit trail can include information such as the timestamp of an event, the user or account involved, the action performed, and any relevant data or metadata. It plays a vital role in security, compliance, and forensic investigations by providing a trail of evidence for analysis, monitoring, and auditing purposes.