Encryption

Hi,
i was wondering if the whole table can be encrypted using MS SQL Server 2005. This at present can be done using third party softwares.
Performance won't be an issue.

Thanks and regards,
Chandrachurh

There is no built-in feature for this, to my knowledge. Most organizations accomplish data protection through good security measures.

-Ryan / Kardax

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First, it would be very unusual to encrypt the entire table. That would make it impossible to create relationships, enforce constraints, and have meaningful indexes.

Most likely, you want to encrypt 'some' of the data in a table.

A great place to start is Laurentiu's blog:

http://blogs.msdn.com/lcris/archive/2005/12/16/504692.aspx

And then, a Google? search for [ "sql server 2005" AND table AND encrypt ] on the first page will turn up many good resources.

|||Friends,
in my case performance is not an issue.
Let me clarify the situation.
Well, we have column encryption with asymmetric keys and certificates into place. But, for efficient hackers it wont be a big problem in decrypt them with the hidden security flaws. I know that encryption is very powerful in MS SQL Server 2005 using randomness in keys. Still, every good things have a period.
Take the case of a telephone directory on a cd. Whoever gets the possession of the cd has enough time to go on with R&D activities to decrypt the data. If the table itself is encrypted, they won't be able to view the contents, the hash properties and others repititiveness. I understand that this has been taken care of in SQL Server 2005 by using randomness,i.e., similar contents cannot be deciphered. But, if you can see the contents, and also know this feature you might decrypt it with a bit of extra labour.
Am I talking sense? Please advice.

Chandrachurh wrote:

Hi,
i was wondering if the whole table can be encrypted using MS SQL Server 2005. This at present can be done using third party softwares.
Performance won't be an issue.

Thanks and regards,
Chandrachurh

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Chandrachurh wrote:

Hi,
i was wondering if the whole table can be encrypted using MS SQL Server 2005. This at present can be done using third party softwares.
Performance won't be an issue.

Thanks and regards,
Chandrachurh

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Encryption will protect you against someone stealing your database. If you use AES encryption, it cannot be deciphered using today's technology without having the encryption key.

But if you're selling an application and you are trying to protect the proprietary data in your application from the users of the application, then encryption will not help you achieve that goal. It's not that attackers will break the AES encryption algorithm, but you're going to give them the encryption key yourself, embedded in your application.

Thanks

Laurentiu