Oracle® Database

2 Day + Security Guide

12c Release 2 (12.1)

E17609-21

May 2015

Oracle Database 2 Day + Security Guide, 12c Release 2 (12.1)

E17609-21

Copyright © 2006, 2015, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Primary Author: Patricia Huey

Contributors: Todd Bottger, Naveen Gopal, Peter Knaggs, Rahil Mir, Gopal Mulagund, Paul Needham, Deborah Owens, Sachin Sonawane, Kamal Tbeileh, Mark Townsend, Peter Wahl

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Contents

Preface

- Audience

- Documentation Accessibility

- Related Documents

- Conventions

Changes in This Release for Oracle Database 2 Day + Security Guide

- Changes in Oracle Database 12c Release 1 (12.1)

- New Features

- Deprecated Feature

- Desupported Features

- Other Changes

1 Introduction to Oracle Database Security

- About This Guide

- Before Using This Guide

- What This Guide Is and Is Not

- Common Database Security Tasks

- Tools for Securing Your Database

- Securing Your Database: A Roadmap

2 Securing the Database Installation and Configuration

- About Securing the Database Installation and Configuration

- Securing Access to the Oracle Database Installation

- Default Security Settings

- Security for the Oracle Data Dictionary

- Initialization Parameters Used for Installation and Configuration Security

- Modifying the Value of an Initialization Parameter

- Security for the Network

- About Securing the Network

- Protecting Data on the Network by Using Network Encryption

- Initialization Parameters Used for Network Security

- Securing User Accounts

- About Securing Oracle Database User Accounts

- Predefined User Accounts Provided by Oracle Database

- Expiring and Locking Database Accounts

- Requirements for Creating Passwords

- Finding and Changing Default Passwords

- Parameters Used to Secure User Accounts

3 Managing User Privileges

- About Privilege Management

- When to Grant Privileges to Users

- When to Grant Roles to Users

- Controlling Access to Applications with Secure Application Roles

- About Secure Application Roles

- Tutorial: Creating a Secure Application Role

- Initialization Parameters Used for Privilege Security

4 Encrypting Data with Oracle Transparent Data Encryption

- About Encrypting Sensitive Data

- When Should You Encrypt Data?

- How Transparent Data Encryption Works

- Configuring Data to Use Transparent Data Encryption

- Step 1: Configure the Keystore Location

- Step 2: Check the COMPATIBLE Initialization Parameter Setting

- Step 3: Create the Software Password-Based Keystore

- Step 4: Open (or Close) the Keystore

- Step 5: Create the Master Encryption Key

- Step 6: Encrypt Data

- Checking Existing Encrypted Data

- Finding the Type of Keystore That Was Created

- Finding the Keystore Location

- Checking Whether a Keystore Is Open or Closed

- Checking Encrypted Columns of an Individual Table

- Checking All Encrypted Table Columns in the Current Database Instance

- Data Dictionary Views for Checking Encrypted Tablespaces in the Current Database Instance

5 Controlling Access with Oracle Database Vault

- About Oracle Database Vault

- Tutorial: Controlling Administrator Access to a User Schema

- Step 1: Enable Oracle Database Vault

- Step 2: Grant the SELECT Privilege on the OE.CUSTOMERS Table to User SCOTT

- Step 3: Select from the OE.CUSTOMERS Table as Users SYS and SCOTT

- Step 4: Create a Realm to Protect the OE.CUSTOMERS Table

- Step 5: Test the OE Protections Realm

- Step 6: Optionally, Remove the Components for This Tutorial

6 Restricting Access with Oracle Virtual Private Database

- About Oracle Virtual Private Database

- Tutorial: Limiting Access to Data Based on the Querying User

- About Limiting Access to Data Based on the Querying User

- Step 1: Create User Accounts for This Tutorial

- Step 2: If Necessary, Create the Security Administrator Account

- Step 3: Update the Security Administrator Account

- Step 4: Create the F_POLICY_ORDERS Policy Function

- Step 5: Create the ACCESSCONTROL_ORDERS Virtual Private Database Policy

- Step 6: Test the ACCESSCONTROL_ORDERS Virtual Private Database Policy

- Step 7: Optionally, Remove the Components for This Tutorial

7 Limiting Access to Sensitive Data Using Oracle Data Redaction

- About Oracle Data Redaction

- Tutorial: Redacting Data for a Select Group of Users

- About Redacting Data for a Select Group of Users

- Step 1: Create User Accounts and Grant Them the Necessary Privileges

- Step 2: Create and Populate the SALES_OPPS Sales Opportunities Table

- Step 3: Create the SALES_OPPS_POL Oracle Data Redaction Policy

- Step 5: Test the SALES_OPPS_POL Oracle Data Redaction Policy

- Step 6: Optionally, Remove the Components for This Tutorial

8 Enforcing Row-Level Security with Oracle Label Security

- About Oracle Label Security

- Differences Between Virtual Private Database, Oracle Label Security, and Data Redaction

- Guidelines for Planning an Oracle Label Security Policy

- Tutorial: Creating Levels of Access to Table Data Based on the User

- About Creating Levels of Access to Table Data Based on the User

- Step 1: Enable Oracle Label Security

- Step 2: Enable the LBACSYS Account

- Step 3: Create a Role and Three Users for the Oracle Label Security Tutorial

- Step 4: Create the ACCESS_LOCATIONS Oracle Label Security Policy

- Step 5: Define the ACCESS_LOCATIONS Policy-Level Components

- Step 6: Create the ACCESS_LOCATIONS Policy Data Labels

- Step 7: Create the ACCESS_LOCATIONS Policy User Authorizations

- Step 8: Apply the ACCESS_LOCATIONS Policy to the HR.LOCATIONS Table

- Step 9: Add the ACCESS_LOCATIONS Labels to the HR.LOCATIONS Data

- Step 10: Test the ACCESS_LOCATIONS Policy

- Step 11: Optionally, Remove the Components for This Tutorial

9 Auditing Database Activity

- About Auditing

- Why Is Auditing Used?

- Tutorial: Creating a Unified Audit Policy

- Step 1: If Necessary, Enable Unified Auditing

- Step 2: Grant the SEC_ADMIN User the AUDIT_ADMIN Role

- Step 3: Create and Enable a Unified Audit Policy

- Step 4: Test the Unified Audit Policy

- Step 5: Optionally, Remove the Components for This Tutorial

- Step 6: Optionally, Remove the SEC_ADMIN Security Administrator Account

Index

Preface

Welcome to Oracle Database 2 Day + Security Guide. This guide is for anyone who wants to perform common day-to-day security tasks with Oracle Database.

Topics:

- Audience

- Documentation Accessibility

- Related Documents

- Conventions

Audience

Oracle Database 2 Day + Security Guide provides an introduction to configuring security in a default database.

Oracle Database 2 Day + Security Guide expands on the security knowledge that you learned in Oracle Database 2 Day DBA to manage security in Oracle Database. The information in this guide applies to all platforms. For platform-specific information, see the installation guide, configuration guide, and platform guide for your platform.

This guide is intended for the following users:

- Oracle database administrators who want to acquire database security administrative skills

- Database administrators who have some security administrative knowledge but are new to Oracle Database

This guide is not an exhaustive discussion about security. For detailed information about security, see the Oracle Database Security documentation set. This guide does not provide information about security for Oracle E-Business Suite applications. For information about security in the Oracle E-Business Suite applications, see the documentation for those products.

Documentation Accessibility

For information about Oracle's commitment to accessibility, visit the Oracle Accessibility Program website at http://www.oracle.com/pls/topic/lookup?ctx=acc&id=docacc.

Access to Oracle Support

Oracle customers have access to electronic support through My Oracle Support. For information, visit http://www.oracle.com/pls/topic/lookup?ctx=acc&id=info or visit http://www.oracle.com/pls/topic/lookup?ctx=acc&id=trs if you are hearing impaired.

Related Documents

For more information, you can refer to other security-related documentation in this library, Oracle Technology Network (OTN), and My Oracle Support.

Oracle Database Documentation

For more security-related information, see the following documents in the Oracle Database documentation set:

- Oracle Database 2 Day DBA

- Oracle Database Administrator's Guide

- Oracle Database Security Guide

- Oracle Database Concepts

- Oracle Database Reference

- Oracle Database Vault Administrator's Guide

Many of the examples in this guide use the sample schemas of the seed database, which is installed by default when you install Oracle. See Oracle Database Sample Schemas for information about how these schemas were created and how you can use them.

Oracle Technology Network (OTN)

You can download free release notes, installation documentation, updated versions of this guide, white papers, or other collateral from the Oracle Technology Network (OTN).

Visit:

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/index.html

For security-specific information on OTN, visit

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/topics/security/whatsnew/index.html

For the latest version of the Oracle documentation, including this guide, visit

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/documentation/index.html

My Oracle Support (formerly OracleMetaLink)

You can find information about security patches, certifications, and the support knowledge base by visiting My Oracle Support at

https://support.oracle.com

Conventions

This document uses the standard Oracle Database documentation style conventions.

Convention

Meaning

boldface

Boldface type indicates graphical user interface elements associated with an action, or terms defined in text or the glossary.

italic

Italic type indicates book titles, emphasis, or placeholder variables for which you supply particular values.

monospace

Monospace type indicates commands within a paragraph, URLs, code in examples, text that appears on the screen, or text that you enter.

Changes in This Release for Oracle Database 2 Day + Security Guide

Oracle Database 2 Day + Security Guide has updates that affect Transparent Data Encryption, Oracle Database Vault, Oracle Data Redaction, Oracle Label Security, and auditing.

- Changes in Oracle Database 12c Release 1 (12.1)

Changes in Oracle Database 12c Release 1 (12.1)

The following are changes in Oracle Database 2 Day + Security Guide for Oracle Database 12c Release 1 (12.1):

- New Features

- Deprecated Feature

- Desupported Features

- Other Changes

New Features

Several new features are covered in this guide.

Topics:

- Key Management for Transparent Data Encryption and Other Database Components

- Oracle Database Vault Enhancements

- Oracle Data Redaction for Limiting Access to Sensitive Data

- Easier and Quicker Way to Enable and Disable Oracle Label Security

- Auditing Enhancements

Key Management for Transparent Data Encryption and Other Database Components

Oracle Database 12c Release 1 (12.1) introduces a unified key management infrastructure for Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) and other database components.

This eases key administration tasks, provides for better compliance and tracking, and also leads to better separation of duty between the database administrator and security administrator. For better security and separation of duty, users who are responsible for configuring TDE must have the SYSKM system privilege.

See Encrypting Data with Oracle Transparent Data Encryption.

Oracle Database Vault Enhancements

In this release, Oracle Database Vault provides two new enhancements that affect this guide.

- Easier and quicker way to enable Database Vault.

- Full inclusion of Database Vault functionality in the Enterprise Manager Cloud Control pages. This feature replaces the Database Vault Administrator utility that was used in previous releases.

See Controlling Access with Oracle Database Vault.

Oracle Data Redaction for Limiting Access to Sensitive Data

Oracle Data Redaction disguises (redacts) data from low-privileged users or applications.

For example, you can redact the credit card number 5105 1051 0510 5100 to appear as 5105 **** **** ****. The redaction occurs in real time, when the user accesses the data and it preserves the back-end referential integrity and constraints for the data. In addition to a partial redaction (as shown with the credit card example here), you can replace the entire data set with a fixed value or with randomized values. You also can easily apply Oracle Data Redaction policies throughout the databases in your enterprise.

See Limiting Access to Sensitive Data Using Oracle Data Redaction.

Easier and Quicker Way to Enable and Disable Oracle Label Security

See Enforcing Row-Level Security with Oracle Label Security.

Auditing Enhancements

This release provides a number of auditing enhancements, four of which affect this guide.

- Unified audit trail, which encompasses audit events from the default database installation, Oracle Database Vault, Oracle Label Security, Oracle Database Real Application Security, Oracle Recovery Manager, Oracle Data Pump, and Oracle SQL*Loader Direct Load Path. These events are available in a uniform format in a set of data dictionary views.

- Faster audit performance

- Ability to create named unified audit policies. The audit configuration is simplified by grouping a set of actions to be audited on specific conditions as named policies that you can enable and disable as needed. These policies define set of events to be captured.

- New roles, AUDIT_ADMIN and AUDIT_VIEWER, for better security and separation of duty. (This guide only discusses the AUDIT_ADMIN role.)

See Auditing Database Activity.

Deprecated Feature

Database Vault Administrator (DVA) has been deprecated. Its functionality is now part of the of Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control interface.

Desupported Features

Oracle Enterprise Manager Database Control is no longer supported by Oracle. See Oracle Database Upgrade Guide for a complete list of desupported features in this release.

Other Changes

Other changes for this release include Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control (Cloud Control).

Topics:

- Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control (Cloud Control) Graphical User Interface

Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control (Cloud Control) Graphical User Interface

In previous releases of Oracle Database, you used Oracle Enterprise Manager Database Control (Database Control) to administer database security from a graphical user interface.

In this release, you can use the Cloud Control graphical user interface. Cloud Control provides more functionality than Database Control.

You must install Cloud Control separately from Oracle Database.

See Also:

Oracle Enterprise Manager Cloud Control Basic Installation Guide for information about installing Cloud Control

1 Introduction to Oracle Database Security

In a default Oracle Database installation, you can manage security in a variety of ways. In addition to controlling user authentication, you can use built-in tools such as encryption, Oracle Database Vault, Oracle Virtual Private Database, Oracle Data Redaction, Oracle Label Security, and auditing to manage security.

Topics:

- About This Guide

- Common Database Security Tasks

- Tools for Securing Your Database

- Securing Your Database: A Roadmap

About This Guide

Oracle Database 2 Day + Security Guide teaches you how to perform day-to-day database security tasks.

The goal of this guide is to help you understand the concepts behind Oracle Database security. You will learn how to perform common security tasks needed to secure your database. The knowledge you gain from completing the tasks in Oracle Database 2 Day + Security Guide helps you to better secure your data and to meet common regulatory compliance requirements, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

The primary administrative interface used in this guide is Oracle Enterprise Manager, featuring all the self-management capabilities introduced in Oracle Database.

Topics:

- Before Using This Guide

- What This Guide Is and Is Not

Before Using This Guide

Before using this guide, you should understand the basics of administering an Oracle database.

Complete Oracle Database 2 Day DBA, which provides a good foundation for Oracle Database administration.

You should also obtain the necessary products and tools described in "Tools for Securing Your Database".

What This Guide Is and Is Not

Oracle Database 2 Day + Security Guide is task oriented. The objective of this guide is to describe why and when you must perform security tasks.

Where appropriate, this guide describes the concepts and steps necessary to understand and complete a task. This guide is not an exhaustive discussion of all Oracle Database concepts. For this type of information, see Oracle Database Concepts.

Where appropriate, this guide describes the necessary Oracle Database administrative steps to complete security tasks. This guide does not describe basic Oracle Database administrative tasks. For this type of information, see Oracle Database 2 Day DBA. Additionally, for a complete discussion of administrative tasks, see Oracle Database Administrator's Guide.

In addition, this guide is not an exhaustive discussion of all Oracle Database security features and does not describe available APIs that provide equivalent command line functionality to the tools used in this guide. For this type of information, see Oracle Database Security Guide.

Common Database Security Tasks

Database administrators for Oracle Database are responsible for common security-related tasks.

These tasks are as follows:

- Ensuring that the database installation and configuration is secure

- Managing the security aspects of user accounts: developing secure password policies, creating and assigning roles, restricting data access to only the appropriate users, and so on

- Ensuring that network connections are secure

- Encrypting sensitive data

- Ensuring the database has no security vulnerabilities and is protected against intruders

- Deciding what database components to audit and how granular you want this auditing to be

- Downloading and installing security patches

In a small to midsize database environment, you might perform these tasks as well and all database administrator-related tasks, such as installing Oracle software, creating databases, monitoring performance, and so on. In large, enterprise environments, the job is often divided among several database administrators—each with their own specialty—such as database security or database tuning.

Tools for Securing Your Database

To achieve the goals of securing your Oracle database, you must use a specific set of products, tools, and utilities.

These tools are as follows:

- Oracle Database 12c Enterprise Edition
Oracle Database 12c Enterprise Edition provides enterprise-class performance, scalability, and reliability on clustered and single-server configurations. It includes many security features that are used in this guide.

- Oracle Enterprise Manager
Oracle Enterprise Manager is a Web application that you can use to perform database administrative tasks for a single database instance or a clustered database. It enables you to manage multiple Oracle databases from one location. This guide explains how to use Enterprise Manager to perform database administrative tasks.

- SQL*Plus
SQL*Plus is a development environment that you can use to create and run SQL and PL/SQL code. It is part of the Oracle Database 12c Release 1 (12.1) installation.

- Database Configuration Assistant (DBCA)
Database Configuration Assistant enables you to perform general database tasks, such as creating, configuring, or deleting databases. In this guide, you use DBCA to enable default auditing.

- Oracle Net Manager
Oracle Net Manager enables you to perform network-related tasks for Oracle Database. In this guide, you use Oracle Net Manager to configure network encryption.

Securing Your Database: A Roadmap

To learn the fundamentals of securing an Oracle database, you should follow a roadmap of specific tasks.

To use this guide:

1. Secure your Oracle Database installation and configuration.
Complete the tasks in Securing the Database Installation and Configuration to secure access to an Oracle Database installation.

2. Understand how privileges work.
Complete the tasks in Managing User Privileges. You learn about the following:

- How privileges work

- Why you must be careful about granting privileges

- How database roles work

- How to create secure application roles

3. Encrypt data as it travels across the network.
Complete the tasks in Encrypting Data with Oracle Transparent Data Encryption to learn how to secure client connections and to configure network encryption.

4. Control system administrative access to sensitive data with Oracle Database Vault.
Complete the tasks in Controlling Access with Oracle Database Vault..

5. Restrict the display of data with Oracle Virtual Private Database.
Complete the tasks in Restricting Access with Oracle Virtual Private Database.

6. Control the display of data in real time by using data redaction.
Complete the tasks in Limiting Access to Sensitive Data Using Oracle Data Redaction..

7. Enforce row-level security with Oracle Label Security.
Enforcing Row-Level Security with Oracle Label Security.

8. Configure auditing so that you can monitor the database activities.
Complete the tasks in Auditing Database Activity to learn about standard auditing.

2 Securing the Database Installation and Configuration

You should secure the Oracle Database installation, the network it users, and database user accounts.

Topics:

- About Securing the Database Installation and Configuration

- Securing Access to the Oracle Database Installation

- Security for the Network

- Securing User Accounts

See Also:

- Oracle Database Security Guide for detailed information about security

- Oracle Database Security Guide for important security guidelines

About Securing the Database Installation and Configuration

After you install Oracle Database, you should secure the database installation and configuration.

Oracle provides commonly used ways to do secure the database installation and configuration, all of which involve restricting permissions to specific areas of the database files.

Oracle Database is available on several operating systems. Consult the following guides for detailed platform-specific information about Oracle Database:

- Oracle Database Platform Guide for Microsoft Windows

- Oracle Database Administrator's Reference for Linux and UNIX-Based Operating Systems

- Oracle Database Installation Guide for your platform

Securing Access to the Oracle Database Installation

Oracle Database provides a set a default security settings and initialization parameters that help you secure your installation. In addition, you should secure the data dictionary.

Topics:

- Default Security Settings

- Security for the Oracle Data Dictionary

- Initialization Parameters Used for Installation and Configuration Security

- Modifying the Value of an Initialization Parameter

Default Security Settings

When you create a new database, Oracle Database provides a set of default security settings.

These default security settings are as follows:

- Enables default auditing settings. See Oracle Database Security Guide for detailed information.

- Creates stronger enforcements for new or changed passwords. "Requirements for Creating Passwords" describes the new password requirements.

- Removes the CREATE EXTERNAL JOB privilege from the PUBLIC role. For greater security, grant the CREATE EXTERNAL JOB privilege only to SYS, database administrators, and those trusted users who need it.

- Sets security-related initialization and profile parameter settings. Table 2-1 lists the default parameter settings.

Table 2-1 Default Security Settings for Initialization and Profile Parameters

Setting

Default

O7_DICTIONARY_ACCESSIBILITY

FALSE

PASSWORD_GRACE_TIME

7

PASSWORD_LOCK_TIME

1

FAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS

10

PASSWORD_LIFE_TIME

180

PASSWORD_REUSE_MAX

UNLIMITED

PASSWORD_REUSE_TIME

UNLIMITED

REMOTE_OS_ROLES

FALSE

Security for the Oracle Data Dictionary

You should secure the data dictionary. The data dictionary is a set of database tables that provide information about the database, such as schema definitions or default values.

Topics:

- About the Oracle Data Dictionary

- Enabling Data Dictionary Protection

About the Oracle Data Dictionary

The Oracle data dictionary is a set of database tables that provides information about the database.

The data dictionary has the following contents:

- The names of Oracle Database users

- Privileges and roles granted to each user

- The definitions of all schema objects in the database (tables, views, indexes, clusters, synonyms, sequences, procedures, functions, packages, triggers, and so on)

- The amount of space allocated for, and is currently used by, the schema objects

- Default values for columns

- Integrity constraint information

- Auditing information, such as who has accessed or updated various schema objects

- Other general database information

The data dictionary tables and views for a given database are stored in the SYSTEM tablespace for that database. All the data dictionary tables and views for a given database are owned by the user SYS. Connecting to the database with the SYSDBA administrative privilege gives full access to the data dictionary. Oracle strongly recommends limiting access to the SYSDBA administrative privilege to only those operations necessary such as patching and other administrative operations. The data dictionary is central to every Oracle database.

You can view the contents of the data dictionary by querying data dictionary views, which are described in Oracle Database Reference. Be aware that not all objects in the data dictionary are exposed to users. A subset of data dictionary objects, such as those beginning with USER_ are exposed as read only to all database users.

Example 2-1 shows how you can find a list of database views specific to the data dictionary by querying the DICTIONARY view.

Example 2-1 Finding Views That Pertain to the Data Dictionary

sqlplus system
Enter password: password

SQL> SELECT TABLE_NAME FROM DICTIONARY;

Enabling Data Dictionary Protection

You can protect the data dictionary by setting the O7_DICTIONARY_ACCESSIBILITY initialization parameter to FALSE.

The O7_DICTIONARY_ACCESSIBILITY parameter prevents users who have the ANY system privilege from using those privileges on the data dictionary, that is, on objects in the SYS schema.

Oracle Database provides highly granular privileges. One such privilege, commonly referred to as the ANY privilege, should typically be granted to only application owners and individual database administrators. For example, you could grant the DROP ANY TABLE privilege to an application owner. You can protect the Oracle data dictionary from accidental or malicious use of the ANY privilege by turning on or off the O7_DICTIONARY_ACCESSIBILITY initialization parameter.

To enable data dictionary protection:

1. Access the Database home page.
See Oracle Database 2 Day DBA for more information.

2. From the Administration menu, select Initialization Parameters.
If the Database Login page appears, then log in as SYS with the SYSDBA role selected.

3. In the Initialization Parameters page, from the list, search for O7_DICTIONARY_ACCESSIBILITY.
In the Name field, enter O7_ (the letter O), and then click Go. You can enter the first few characters of a parameter name. In this case, O7_ displays the O7_DICTIONARY_ACCESSIBILTY parameter.

4. Set the value for O7_DICTIONARY_ACCESSIBILTY to FALSE.

5. Click Apply.

6. Restart the Oracle Database instance.

sqlplus sys as sysdba
Enter password: password

SQL> SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE
SQL> STARTUP

Note:

- In a default installation, the O7_DICTIONARY_ACCESSIBILITY parameter is set to FALSE.

- The SELECT ANY DICTIONARY privilege is not included in the GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES statement, but you can grant it through a role. Roles are described in "When to Grant Roles to Users" and Oracle Database Security Guide.

Initialization Parameters Used for Installation and Configuration Security

Oracle Database provides a set of initialization parameters for setting installation and configuration security.

Table 2-2 lists initialization parameters that you can set to better secure your Oracle Database installation and configuration.

Table 2-2 Initialization Parameters Used for Installation and Configuration Security

Initialization Parameter

Default Setting

Description

SEC_RETURN_SERVER_RELEASE_BANNER

FALSE

Controls the display of the product version information, such as the release number, in a client connection. An intruder could use the database release number to find information about security vulnerabilities that may be present in the database software. You can enable or disable the detailed product version display by setting this parameter.

See Oracle Database Security Guide for more information about this and similar parameters. Oracle Database Reference describes this parameter in detail.

O7_DICTIONARY_ACCESSIBILITY

FALSE

Controls restrictions on SYSTEM privileges. See "Enabling Data Dictionary Protection" for more information about this parameter. Oracle Database Reference describes this parameter in detail.

See Also:

Oracle Database Reference for more information about initialization parameters

Modifying the Value of an Initialization Parameter

You can use Enterprise Manager to modify the value of an initialization parameter.

To find detailed information about the initialization parameters available, see Oracle Database Reference.

To modify the value of an initialization parameter:

1. Access the Database home page.
See Oracle Database 2 Day DBA for more information.

2. From the Administration menu, select Initialization Parameters.
If the Database Login page appears, then log in as SYS with the SYSDBA role selected.

3. In the Initialization Parameters page, in the Name field, enter the name of the parameter to change, and then click Go.
You can enter the first few letters of the parameter, for example, SEC_RETURN if you are searching for the SEC_RETURN_SERVER_RELEASE_NUMBER parameter. Alternatively, you can scroll down the list of parameters to find the parameter you want to change. The text is not case sensitive.

4. In the Value field, either enter the new value or if a list is presented, select from the list.

5. Click Apply.

6. If the parameter is static, then restart the Oracle Database instance.

sqlplus sys as sysdba
Enter password: password

SQL> SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE
SQL> STARTUP

To find out if an initialization parameter is static, check its description in Oracle Database Reference. If the Modifiable setting in its summary table shows No, then you must restart the database instance.

Security for the Network

Not only must you secure data within a database, but you must secure how the data is accessed from and sent to the database. Oracle provides ways that enable you to protect client connections and encrypt (disguise) data that travels through the network between the client and the server.

Topics:

- About Securing the Network

- Protecting Data on the Network by Using Network Encryption

About Securing the Network

When you encrypt data as it travels through the network, you should follow guidelines to secure the network connections for Oracle Database.

You can configure the client connection to your Oracle Database installation by following the procedures in "Configuring the Network Environment" in Oracle Database 2 Day DBA and the Oracle Database Installation Guide for your platform.

Protecting Data on the Network by Using Network Encryption

In addition to protecting information by encrypting it at the database level, you must protect it as it travels across the network.

Topics:

- About Network Encryption

- Configuring Network Encryption

About Network Encryption

Network encryption refers to encrypting data as it travels across the network between the client and server.

The reason that you should encrypt data at the network level, and not just the database level, is because data can be exposed on the network level. For example, an intruder can use a network packet sniffer to capture information as it travels on the network, and then spool it to a file for malicious use. Encrypting data on the network prevents this sort of activity.

To encrypt data on the network, you must have the following components:

- An encryption seed. The encryption seed is a random string of up to 256 characters. It generates the cryptographic keys that encrypts data as it travels across the network.

- An encryption algorithm. You can specify any of the supported algorithm types: AES, RC4, DES, or 3DES.

- Whether the settings apply to a client or server. You must configure the server and each client to which it connects.

- How the client or server should processes the encrypted data. The settings you select (you have four options) must complement both server and client.

- A mechanism for configuring the encryption. You can use Oracle Net Manager to configure the encryption. Alternatively, you can edit the sqlnet.ora configuration file. Both Oracle Net Manager and the sqlnet.ora file are available in a default Oracle Database installation.

Configuring Network Encryption

You can configure network encryption by using either Oracle Net Manager or by editing the sqlnet.ora file.

To configure network encryption:

1. On the server computer, start Oracle Net Manager.

- UNIX: From $ORACLE_HOME/bin, enter the following at the command line:

netmgr

- Windows: From the Start menu, click All Programs. Then, click Oracle - HOME_NAME, Configuration and Migration Tools, and then Net Manager

2. From the Oracle Net Configuration navigation tree, expand Local, and then select Profile.

3. From the list, select Network Security.

4. Under Network Security, select the Encryption tab.
The Encryption settings pane appears.

5. Enter the following settings:

- Encryption: From the list, select SERVER to configure the network encryption for the server. (For the client computer, you select CLIENT.)

- Encryption Type: Select from the following values to specify the actions of the server (or client) when negotiating encryption and integrity:

- accepted: Service will be active if the other side of the connection specifies either required or requested, and there is a compatible algorithm available on the receiving database; it will otherwise be inactive.

- rejected: Service must not be active, and the connection will fail if the other side requires any of the methods in this list.

- requested: Service will be active if the other side of the connection specifies either accepted, required, or requested, and there is a compatible algorithm available on the other side. Otherwise, the service is inactive.

- required: Service must be active, and the connection will fail if the other side specifies rejected, or if there is no compatible algorithm on the other side.

- Encryption Seed: Enter a random string of up to 256 characters. Oracle Database uses the encryption seed to generate cryptographic keys. This is required when either encryption or integrity is enabled.
If you choose to use special characters such as a comma [,] or a right parenthesis [)] as a part of the Encryption Seed parameter, enclose the value within single quotation marks.

- Available Methods: Select one or more of the following algorithms, and use the move button (>) to move them to the Selected Methods list. The order in which they appear in the Selected Methods list determines the preferred order for negotiation. That is, the first algorithm listed is selected first, and so on.

- AES256: Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). AES was approved by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to replace Data Encryption Standard (DES). AES256 enables you to encrypt a block size of 256 bits.

- RC4_256: Rivest Cipher 4 (RC4), which is the most commonly used stream cipher that protects protocols such as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). RC4_256 enables you to encrypt up to 256 bits of data.

- AES192: Enables you to use AES to encrypt a block size of 192 bits.

- 3DES168: Triple Data Encryption Standard (TDES) with a three-key option. 3DES168 enables you to encrypt up to 168 bits of data.

- AES128: Enables you to use AES to encrypt a block size of 128 bits.

- RC4_128: Enables you to use RC4 to encrypt up to 128 bits of data.

- 3DES112: Enables you to use Triple DES with a two-key (112 bit) option.

- DES: Data Encryption Standard (DES) 56-bit key. Note that National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) no longer recommends DES.

- RC4_40: Enables you to use RC4 to encrypt up to 40 bits of data. (Not recommended.)

- DES40: Enables you to use DES to encrypt up to 40 bits of data. (Not recommended.)

6. From the File menu, select Save Network Configuration, and then select Exit to exit Oracle Net Manager.

7. Repeat these steps for each client computer that connects to the server.

See Also:

- Oracle Database Net Services Reference for information about editing the sqlnet.ora file parameters to configure network encryption

Initialization Parameters Used for Network Security

Oracle Database provides a set of initialization parameters for configuring network security.

Table 2-3 lists initialization parameters that you can set to better secure user accounts.

Table 2-3 Initialization Parameters Used for Network Security

Initialization Parameter

Default Setting

Description

OS_AUTHENT_PREFIX

OPS$

Specifies a prefix that Oracle Database uses to identify users attempting to connect to the database. Oracle Database concatenates the value of this parameter to the beginning of the user operating system account name and password. When a user attempts a connection request, Oracle Database compares the prefixed username with user names in the database.

REMOTE_LISTENER

No default setting

Specifies a network name that resolves to an address or address list of Oracle Net remote listeners (that is, listeners that are not running on the same computer as this instance). The address or address list is specified in the tnsnames.ora file or other address repository as configured for your system.

REMOTE_OS_AUTHENT

FALSE

Specifies whether remote clients will be authenticated with the value of the OS_AUTHENT_PREFIX parameter.

REMOTE_OS_ROLES

FALSE

Specifies whether operating system roles are allowed for remote clients. The default value, FALSE, causes Oracle Database to identify and manage roles for remote clients.

To modify an initialization parameter, see "Modifying the Value of an Initialization Parameter". For detailed information about initialization parameters, see Oracle Database Reference andOracle Database Administrator's Guide.

Securing User Accounts

Oracle Database provides a set of predefined user accounts. You should create passwords in a secure fashion. If you have default passwords, you should change these. Oracle Database also provides a set of parameters that you can use to secure user accounts.

Topics:

- About Securing Oracle Database User Accounts

- Predefined User Accounts Provided by Oracle Database

- Requirements for Creating Passwords

- Finding and Changing Default Passwords

- Parameters Used to Secure User Accounts

See Also:

- Oracle Database Security Guide for detailed information about securing user accounts

- Oracle Database Security Guide for important guidelines on securing user accounts

About Securing Oracle Database User Accounts

You can use many methods to secure both common and local database user accounts.

For example, Oracle Database has a set of built-in protections for passwords. You can safeguard default database accounts and passwords, and use various ways to manage database accounts.

Oracle Database 2 Day DBA describes the fundamentals of creating and administering user accounts, including how to manage user roles, what the administrative accounts are, and how to use profiles to establish a password policy.

After you create user accounts, you can use the procedures in this section to further secure these accounts by following these methods:

- Safeguarding predefined database accounts. When you install Oracle Database, it creates a set of predefined accounts. You should secure these accounts as soon as possible by changing their passwords. You can use the same method to change all passwords, whether they are with regular user accounts, administrative accounts, or predefined accounts. This guide also provides guidelines on how to create the most secure passwords.

- Managing database accounts. You can expire and lock database accounts.

- Managing passwords. You can manage and protect passwords by setting initialization parameters. Oracle Database Reference describes the initialization parameters in detail.

Predefined User Accounts Provided by Oracle Database

When you install Oracle Database, the installation process creates a set of predefined administrative, non-administrative, and sample schema user accounts in the database.

Topics:

- Predefined Administrative Accounts

- Predefined Non-Administrative User Accounts

- Predefined Sample Schema User Accounts

Predefined Administrative Accounts

A default Oracle Database installation provides a set of predefined administrative accounts.

These are accounts that have special privileges required to administer areas of the database, such as the CREATE ANY TABLE or ALTER SESSION privilege, or EXECUTE privileges on packages owned by the SYS schema. The default tablespace for administrative accounts is either SYSTEM or SYSAUX. In a multitenant environment, the predefined administrative accounts reside in the root database.

To protect these accounts from unauthorized access, the installation process expires and locks most of these accounts, except where noted in Table 2-4. As the database administrator, you are responsible for unlocking and resetting these accounts, as described in "Expiring and Locking Database Accounts".

Table 2-4 lists the administrative user accounts provided by Oracle Database.

Table 2-4 Predefined Oracle Database Administrative User Accounts

User Account

Description

Status After Installation

ANONYMOUS

An account that allows HTTP access to Oracle XML DB. It is used in place of the APEX_PUBLIC_USER account when the Embedded PL/SQL Gateway (EPG) is installed in the database.

EPG is a Web server that can be used with Oracle Database. It provides the necessary infrastructure to create dynamic applications.

Expired and locked

AUDSYS

The internal account used by the unified audit feature to store unified audit trail records.

See Oracle Database Security Guide.

Expired and locked

CTXSYS

The account used to administer Oracle Text. Oracle Text enables you to build text query applications and document classification applications. It provides indexing, word and theme searching, and viewing capabilities for text.

See Oracle Text Application Developer's Guide.

Expired and locked

DBSNMP

The account used by the Management Agent component of Oracle Enterprise Manager to monitor and manage the database.

See Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control Installation and Basic Configuration.

Open

Password is created at installation or database creation time.

LBACSYS

The account used to administer Oracle Label Security (OLS). It is created only when you install the Label Security custom option.

See Enforcing Row-Level Security with Oracle Label Security, and Oracle Label Security Administrator's Guide.

Expired and locked

MDSYS

The Oracle Spatial and Oracle Multimedia Locator administrator account.

See Oracle Spatial and Graph Developer's Guide.

Expired and locked

OLAPSYS

The account that owns the OLAP Catalog (CWMLite). This account has been deprecated, but is retained for backward compatibility.

Expired and locked

ORDDATA

This account contains the Oracle Multimedia DICOM data model. See Oracle Multimedia DICOM Developer's Guide for more information.

Expired and locked

ORDPLUGINS

The Oracle Multimedia user. Plug-ins supplied by Oracle and third-party, format plug-ins are installed in this schema.

Oracle Multimedia enables Oracle Database to store, manage, and retrieve images, audio, video, DICOM format medical images and other objects, or other heterogeneous media data integrated with other enterprise information.

See Oracle Multimedia User's Guide and Oracle Multimedia Reference.

Expired and locked

ORDSYS

The Oracle Multimedia administrator account.

See Oracle Multimedia User's Guide, Oracle Multimedia Reference, and Oracle Multimedia DICOM Developer's Guide.

Expired and locked

SI_INFORMTN_SCHEMA

The account that stores the information views for the SQL/MM Still Image Standard.

See Oracle Multimedia User's Guide and Oracle Multimedia Reference.

Expired and locked

SYS

An account used to perform database administration tasks.

See Oracle Database 2 Day DBA.

Open

Password is created at installation or database creation time.

SYSBACKUP

The account used to perform Oracle Recovery Manager recovery and backup operations.

See Oracle Database Backup and Recovery User's Guide.

Expired and locked

SYSDG

The account used to perform Oracle Data Guard operations.

See Oracle Data Guard Concepts and Administration.

Expired and locked

SYSKM

The account used to manage Transparent Data Encryption.

See Oracle Database Advanced Security Guide.

Expired and locked

SYSTEM

A default generic database administrator account for Oracle databases.

For production systems, Oracle recommends creating individual database administrator accounts and not using the generic SYSTEM account for database administration operations.

See Oracle Database 2 Day DBA.

Open

Password is created at installation or database creation time.

WMSYS

The account used to store the metadata information for Oracle Workspace Manager.

See Oracle Database Workspace Manager Developer's Guide.

Expired and locked

XDB

The account used for storing Oracle XML DB data and metadata. For better security, never unlock the XDB user account.

Oracle XML DB provides high-performance XML storage and retrieval for Oracle Database data.

See Oracle XML DB Developer's Guide.

Expired and locked

Note:

If you create an Oracle Automatic Storage Management (Oracle ASM) instance, then the ASMSNMP account is created. Oracle Enterprise Manager uses this account to monitor ASM instances to retrieve data from ASM-related data dictionary views. The ASMSNMP account status is set to OPEN upon creation, and it is granted the SYSDBA administrative privilege. For more information, see Oracle Automatic Storage Management Administrator's Guide.

Predefined Non-Administrative User Accounts

A default Oracle Database installation provides a set of non-administrative user accounts.

Table 2-5 lists default non-administrative user accounts that are created when you install Oracle Database. .

Non-administrative user accounts only have the minimum privileges needed to perform their jobs. Their default tablespace is USERS. In a multitenant environment, the predefined non-administrative accounts reside in the root database

To protect these accounts from unauthorized access, the installation process locks and expires these accounts immediately after installation, except where noted in Table 2-5. As the database administrator, you are responsible for unlocking and resetting these accounts, as described in "Expiring and Locking Database Accounts".

Table 2-5 Predefined Oracle Database Non-Administrative User Accounts

User Account

Description

Status After Installation

DIP

The Oracle Directory Integration and Provisioning (DIP) account that is installed with Oracle Label Security. This profile is created automatically as part of the installation process for Oracle Internet Directory-enabled Oracle Label Security.

See Oracle Label Security Administrator's Guide.

Expired and locked

MDDATA

The schema used by Oracle Spatial for storing Geocoder and router data.

Oracle Spatial provides a SQL schema and functions that enable you to store, retrieve, update, and query collections of spatial features in an Oracle database.

See Oracle Spatial and Graph Developer's Guide.

Expired and locked

ORACLE_OCM

The account used with Oracle Configuration Manager. This feature enables you to associate the configuration information for the current Oracle Database instance with My Oracle Support. Then when you log a service request, it is associated with the database instance configuration information.

See Oracle Database Installation Guide for your platform.

Expired and locked

SPATIAL_CSW_ADMIN_USR

The Catalog Services for the Web (CSW) account. It is used by Oracle Spatial CSW Cache Manager to load all record-type metadata and record instances from the database into the main memory for the record types that are cached.

See Oracle Spatial and Graph Developer's Guide.

Expired and locked

SPATIAL_WFS_ADMIN_USR

The Web Feature Service (WFS) account. It is used by Oracle Spatial WFS Cache Manager to load all feature type metadata and feature instances from the database into main memory for the feature types that are cached.

See Oracle Spatial and Graph Developer's Guide.

Expired and locked

XS$NULL

An internal account that represents the absence of database user in a session and the actual session user is an application user supported by Oracle Real Application Security. XS$NULL has no privileges and does not own any database object. No one can authenticate as XS$NULL, nor can authentication credentials ever be assigned to XS$NULL.

Expired and locked

Predefined Sample Schema User Accounts

If you install the sample schemas, then Oracle Database creates a set of sample user accounts. The sample schema user accounts are all non-administrative accounts, and their tablespace is USERS.

To protect these accounts from unauthorized access, the installation process locks and expires these accounts immediately after installation. As the database administrator, you are responsible for unlocking and resetting these accounts, as described in "Expiring and Locking Database Accounts". For more information about the sample schema accounts, see Oracle Database Sample Schemas.

Table 2-6 lists the sample schema user accounts, which represent different divisions of a fictional company that manufactures various products.

Table 2-6 Default Sample Schema User Accounts

User Account

Description

Status After Installation

HR

The account used to manage the HR (Human Resources) schema. This schema stores information about the employees and the facilities of the company.

Expired and locked

OE

The account used to manage the OE (Order Entry) schema. This schema stores product inventories and sales of the company's products through various channels.

Expired and locked

PM

The account used to manage the PM (Product Media) schema. This schema contains descriptions and detailed information about each product sold by the company.

Expired and locked

IX

The account used to manage the IX (Information Exchange) schema. This schema manages shipping through business-to-business (B2B) applications.

Expired and locked

SH

The account used to manage the SH (Sales) schema. This schema stores business statistics to facilitate business decisions.

Expired and locked

In addition to the sample schema accounts, Oracle Database provides another sample schema account, SCOTT. The SCOTT schema contains the tables EMP, DEPT, SALGRADE, and BONUS. The SCOTT account is used in examples throughout the Oracle Database documentation set. When you install Oracle Database, the SCOTT account is locked and expired.

Expiring and Locking Database Accounts

When you expire the password of a user, that password no longer exists. If you want to unexpire the password, you change the password of that account.

Locking an account preserves the user password and other account information, but makes the account unavailable to anyone who tries to log in to the database using that account. Unlocking it makes the account available again.

Oracle Database 2 Day DBA explains how you can use Enterprise Manager to unlock database accounts. You also can use Enterprise Manager to expire or lock database accounts.

To expire and lock a database account:

1. Access the Database home page.
See Oracle Database 2 Day DBA for more information.

2. From the Administration menu, select Security, then Users.
If the Database Login page appears, then log in as an administrative user, such as SYSTEM.

The Users page lists the user accounts created for the current database instance. The Account Status column indicates whether an account is expired, locked, or open.

3. In the Select column, select the account you want to expire, and then click Edit.

4. In the Edit User page, do one of the following:

- To expire a password, click Expire Password now.
To unexpire the password, enter a new password in the Enter Password and Confirm Password fields. See "Requirements for Creating Passwords" for password requirements.

- To lock the account, select Locked.

5. Click Apply.

Requirements for Creating Passwords

For greater security, Oracle provides a set of requirements for creating passwords.

When you create a user account, Oracle Database assigns a default password policy for that user. The password policy defines rules for how the password should be created, such as a minimum number of characters, when it expires, and so on. You can strengthen passwords by using password policies.

For greater security, follow these guidelines when you create passwords:

- Make the password between 12 and 30 characters and numbers.

- Use mixed case letters and special characters in the password. (See Oracle Database Security Guide for more information.)

- Use the database character set for the password characters, which can include the underscore (_), dollar ($), and number sign (#) characters.

- Do not use an actual word for the entire password.

Oracle Database Security Guide describes more ways that you can further secure passwords.

Finding and Changing Default Passwords

You can find and change default passwords that may have come from earlier releases of Oracle Database.

Topics:

- About Finding and Changing Default Passwords

- Finding and Changing Default Passwords from SQL*Plus

- Finding and Changing Default Passwords from Enterprise Manager

About Finding and Changing Default Passwords

When you install Oracle Database, the default database user accounts, including administrative accounts, are created without default passwords.

Except for the administrative accounts whose passwords you create during installation (such as user SYS), the default user accounts arrive locked with their passwords expired. If you have upgraded from a previous release of Oracle Database, you may have database accounts that still have default passwords. These are default accounts that are created when you create a database, such as the HR, OE, and SCOTT accounts.

Security is most easily compromised when a default database user account still has a default password after installation. This is particularly true for the user account SCOTT, which is a well known account that may be vulnerable to intruders. Find accounts that use default passwords and then change their passwords.

See Also:

- Oracle Database Security Guide for additional methods of configuring password protection

- "Predefined User Accounts Provided by Oracle Database"

Finding and Changing Default Passwords from SQL*Plus

You can use SQL*Plus to find and change default passwords.

To find and change default passwords:

1. Log into the database instance with administrative privileges.

sqlplus system
Enter password: password

2. Select from the DBA_USERS_WITH_DEFPWD data dictionary view.

SELECT * FROM DBA_USERS_WITH_DEFPWD;

The DBA_USERS_WITH_DEFPWD lists the accounts that still have user default passwords. For example:

USERNAME
------------
SCOTT

3. Change the password for the accounts the DBA_USERS_WITH_DEFPWD data dictionary view lists.
For example, to change the password for user SCOTT, enter the following:

PASSWORD SCOTT
Changing password for SCOTT
New password: password
Retype new password: password
Password changed

Replace password with a password that is secure, according to the guidelines listed in "Requirements for Creating Passwords". For greater security, do not reuse the same password that was used in previous releases of Oracle Database.

Alternatively, you can use the ALTER USER SQL statement to change the password:

ALTER USER SCOTT IDENTIFIED BY password;

Finding and Changing Default Passwords from Enterprise Manager

You can use Enterprise Manager to change a user account passwords (not just the default user account passwords) if you have administrative privileges. Individual users can also use Enterprise Manager to change their own passwords.

To use Enterprise Manager to change the password of a database account:

1. Access the Database home page.
See Oracle Database 2 Day DBA for more information.

2. From the Administration menu, select Security, then Users.
If the Database Login page appears, then log in as an administrative user, such as SYS. User SYS must log in with the SYSDBA role selected.

The Users page lists the user accounts created for the current database instance. The Account Status column indicates whether an account is expired, locked, or open.

3. In the Select column, select the account you want to change, and then click Edit.

4. In the Edit User page, enter a new password in the Enter Password and Confirm Password fields.

5. Click Apply.

Parameters Used to Secure User Accounts

Oracle Database provides a set of parameters for securing user accounts.

Table 2-7 lists initialization and profile parameters that you can set to better secure user accounts.

Table 2-7 Initialization and Profile Parameters Used for User Account Security

Parameter

Default Setting

Description

SEC_CASE_SENSITIVE_LOGON

TRUE

Controls case sensitivity in passwords. TRUE enables case sensitivity; FALSE disables it.

SEC_MAX_FAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS

10

Sets the maximum number of times a user is allowed to fail when connecting to an Oracle Call Interface (OCI) application.

FAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS

10

Sets the maximum times a user login is allowed to fail before locking the account.

Note: You also can set limits on the number of times an unauthorized user (possibly an intruder) attempts to log in to Oracle Call Interface applications by using the SEC_MAX_FAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS initialization parameter.

PASSWORD_GRACE_TIME

No default setting

Sets the number of days that a user has to change his or her password before it expires.

PASSWORD_LIFE_TIME

No default setting

Sets the number of days the user can use his or her current password.

PASSWORD_LOCK_TIME

No default setting

Sets the number of days an account will be locked after the specified number of consecutive failed login attempts.

PASSWORD_REUSE_MAX

No default setting

Specifies the number of password changes required before the current password can be reused.

PASSWORD_REUSE_TIME

No default setting

Specifies the number of days before which a password cannot be reused.

Note:

You can use most of these parameters to create a user profile. See Oracle Database Security Guide for more information about user profile settings.

To modify an initialization parameter, see "Modifying the Value of an Initialization Parameter". For detailed information about initialization parameters, see Oracle Database Reference andOracle Database Administrator's Guide.

3 Managing User Privileges

A user privilege enables users to perform certain actions, such as creating other user accounts or modifying database tables.

Topics:

- About Privilege Management

- When to Grant Privileges to Users

- When to Grant Roles to Users

- Controlling Access to Applications with Secure Application Roles

- Initialization Parameters Used for Privilege Security

See Also:

- Oracle Database Security Guide

- Oracle Label Security Administrator's Guide

About Privilege Management

You can control user privileges in a variety of ways.

- Granting and revoking individual privileges. You can grant individual privileges, for example, the privilege to perform the UPDATE SQL statement, to individual users or to groups of users.

- Creating a role and assigning privileges to it. A role is a named group of related privileges that you grant, as a group, to users or other roles.

- Creating a secure application role. A secure application role enables you to define conditions that control when a database role can be enabled. For example, a secure application role can check the IP address associated with a user session before allowing the session to enable a database role.

When to Grant Privileges to Users

Because privileges are the rights to perform a specific action, such as updating or deleting a table, do not provide database users more privileges than are necessary.

For an introduction to managing privileges, see "About User Privileges and Roles" in Oracle Database 2 Day DBA. Oracle Database 2 Day DBA also provides an example of how to grant a privilege.

In other words, the principle of least privilege is that users be given only those privileges that are actually required to efficiently perform their jobs. To implement this principle, restrict the following as much as possible:

- The number of system and object privileges granted to database users

- The number of people who are allowed to make SYS-privileged connections to the database

For example, generally the CREATE ANY TABLE privilege is not granted to a user who does not have database administrator privileges.

You can find excessive system and object privilege grants, even with large numbers of user accounts in complex Oracle Database installations, by creating a privilege analysis policy. A privilege analysis policy finds privilege usage according to a specified condition and then stores the results in data dictionary views. Oracle Database Vault Administrator's Guide describes how to create a privilege analysis policy.

When to Grant Roles to Users

A role is a named group of related privileges that you grant, as a group, to users or other roles.

To learn the fundamentals of managing roles, see "Administering Roles" in Oracle Database 2 Day DBA. In addition, see "Example: Creating a Role" in Oracle Database 2 Day DBA.

Roles are useful for quickly and easily granting permissions to users. Although you can use Oracle Database-defined roles, you have more control and continuity if you create your own roles that contain only the privileges pertaining to your requirements. Oracle may change or remove the privileges in an Oracle Database-defined role, as it has with the CONNECT role, which now has only the CREATE SESSION privilege. Formerly, this role had eight other privileges.

Ensure that the roles you define contain only the privileges required for the responsibility of a particular job. If your application users do not need all the privileges encompassed by an existing role, then apply a different set of roles that supply just the correct privileges. Alternatively, create and assign a more restrictive role.

Do not grant powerful privileges, such as the CREATE DATABASE LINK privilege, to regular users such as user SCOTT. (Particularly do not grant any powerful privileges to SCOTT, because this is a well known default user account that may be vulnerable to intruders.) Instead, grant the privilege to a database role, and then grant this role to the users who must use the privilege. And remember to only grant the minimum privileges the user needs.

Controlling Access to Applications with Secure Application Roles

A secure application role is a role that can be enabled only by an authorized PL/SQL package. The PL/SQL package itself reflects the security policies necessary to control access to the application.

Topics:

- About Secure Application Roles

- Tutorial: Creating a Secure Application Role

About Secure Application Roles

A secure application role is a role that can be enabled only by an authorized PL/SQL package.

This package defines one or more security policies that control access to the application. Both the role and the package are typically created in the schema of the person who creates them, which is typically a security administrator. A security administrator is a database administrator who is responsible for maintaining the security of the database.

The advantage of using a secure application role is you can create additional layers of security for application access, in addition to the privileges that were granted to the role itself. Secure application roles strengthen security because passwords are not embedded in application source code or stored in a table. This way, the decisions the database makes are based on the implementation of your security policies. Because these definitions are stored in one place, the database, rather than in your applications, you modify this policy once instead of modifying the policy in each application. No matter how many users connect to the database, the result is always the same, because the policy is bound to the role.

A secure application role has the following components:

- The secure application role itself. You create the role using the CREATE ROLE statement with the IDENTIFIED USING clause to associate it with the PL/SQL package. Then, you grant the role the privileges you typically grant a role.

- A PL/SQL package, procedure, or function associated with the secure application role. The PL/SQL package sets a condition that either grants the role or denies the role to the person trying to log in to the database. You must create the PL/SQL package, procedure, or function using invoker's rights, not definer's rights. An invoker's right procedure executes with the privileges of the current user, that is, the user who invokes the procedure. This user must be granted the EXECUTE privilege for the underlying objects that the PL/SQL package accesses. Invoker's rights procedures are not bound to a particular schema. They can be run by a variety of users and enable multiple users to manage their own data by using centralized application logic. To create the invoker's rights package, use the AUTHID CURRENT_USER clause in the declaration section of the procedure code.
The PL/SQL package also must contain a SET ROLE statement or DBMS_SESSION.SET_ROLE call to enable (or disable) the role for the user.

After you create the PL/SQL package, you must grant the appropriate users the EXECUTE privilege on the package.

- A way to execute the PL/SQL package when the user logs on. To execute the PL/SQL package, you must call it directly from the application before the user tries to use the privileges the role grants. You cannot use a logon trigger to execute the PL/SQL package automatically when the user logs on.

When a user logs in to the application, the policies in the package perform the checks as needed. If the user passes the checks, then the role is granted, which enables access to the application. If the user fails the checks, then the user is prevented from accessing the application.

Tutorial: Creating a Secure Application Role

This tutorial shows how two employees, Matthew Weiss and Winston Taylor, try to gain information from the OE.ORDERS table. Access rights to this table are defined in the emp_role secure application role. Matthew is Winston's manager, so Matthew, as opposed to Winston, will be able to access the information in OE.ORDERS.

Topics:

- Step 1: Create User Accounts for This Tutorial

- Step 2: Create a Security Administrator Account

- Step 3: Create a Lookup View

- Step 4: Create the PL/SQL Procedure to Set the Secure Application Role

- Step 5: Create the Secure Application Role

- Step 6: Grant SELECT for the EMP_ROLE Role to the OE.ORDERS Table

- Step 7: Grant the EXECUTE Privilege for the Procedure to Matthew and Winston

- Step 8: Test the EMP_ROLE Secure Application Role

- Step 9: Optionally_ Remove the Components for This Tutorial

Step 1: Create User Accounts for This Tutorial

Matthew and Winston both are sample employees in the HR.EMPLOYEES table. This table provides columns for the manager ID and email address of the employees, among other information. You must create user accounts for these two employees so that they can later test the secure application role.

To create the user accounts:

1. In Enterprise Manager, access the Database home page.
See Oracle Database 2 Day DBA for more information.

2. Access your target database and then log in as user SYSTEM.

3. From the Administration menu, select Security, then Users.

4. In the Users page, click Create.

5. In the Create User page, enter the following information:

- Name: mweiss (to create the user account for Matthew Weiss)

- Profile: DEFAULT

- Authentication: Password

- Enter Password and Confirm Password: Enter a password that meets the requirements in "Requirements for Creating Passwords".

- Default Tablespace: EXAMPLE

- Temporary Tablespace: TEMP

- Status: Unlocked

6. Click System Privileges.

7. Click Edit List.

8. In the Modify System Privileges, from the Available System Privileges lists, select the CREATE SESSION privilege, and then click Move to move it to the Selected System Privileges list.

9. Click OK.
The Create User page appears, with CREATE SESSION listed as the system privilege for user mweiss.

10. Ensure that the Admin Option for CREATE SESSION is not selected, and then click OK.

11. In the Users page, select the selection button for user MWEISS from the list of users, and then from the Actions list, select Create Like. Then, click Go.

12. In the Create User page, enter the following information to create the user account for Winston, which will be almost identical to the user account for Matthew:

- Name: wtaylor

- Enter Password and Confirm Password: Enter a password that meets the requirements in "Requirements for Creating Passwords".

You do not need to specify the default and temporary tablespaces, or the CREATE SESSION system privilege, for user wtaylor because they are already specified.

13. Click OK.

Now both Matthew Weiss and Winston Taylor have user accounts that have identical privileges.

Step 2: Create a Security Administrator Account

For greater security, you should apply separation of duty concepts when you assign responsibilities to the system administrators on your staff. For the tutorials used in this guide, you will create and use a security administrator account called sec_admin.

To create the sec_admin security administrator account:

1. From the Administration menu, select Security, then Users.
If the Database Login page appears, then log in as an administrative user, such as SYS. User SYS must log in with the SYSDBA role selected.

2. In the Users page, click Create.

3. In the Create User page, enter the following information:

- Name: sec_admin

- Profile: Default

- Authentication: Password

- Enter Password and Confirm Password: Enter a password that meets the requirements in "Requirements for Creating Passwords".

- Default Tablespace: EXAMPLE

- Temporary Tablespace: TEMP

- Status: UNLOCKED

4. Click System Privileges.

5. Click Edit List.
The Modify System Privileges page appears.

6. In the Available System Privileges list, select the following privileges and then click Move to move each one to the Selected System Privileges list. (Hold down the Control key to select multiple privileges.)

- CREATE PROCEDURE

- CREATE ROLE

- CREATE SESSION

- INHERIT ANY PRIVILEGES

- SELECT ANY DICTIONARY

7. Click OK.
The Create User page appears. Under Admin Option, do not select the boxes.

8. Click OK.
The Users page appears. User sec_admin is listed in the User Name list.

Step 3: Create a Lookup View

A lookup view is contains a view of information from a larger table. The lookup view only contains the information that you need.

The grant_emp_role procedure, which you will create later in this tutorial, grants the emp_role only to managers who report to Steven King, whose employee ID is 100. This information is located in the HR.EMPLOYEES table. However, you should not use that table in this procedure, because it contains sensitive data such as salary information, and for it to be used, everyone will need access to it. In most real world cases, you create a lookup view that contains only the information that you need. (You could create a lookup table, but a view will reflect the most recent data.) For this tutorial, you create your own lookup view that only contains the employee names, employee IDs, and their manager IDs.

To create the HR.HR_VERIFY lookup view:

1. In SQL*Plus, connect as user HR.

CONNECT HR
Enter password: password

If you receive an error message saying that HR is locked, then you can unlock the account and reset its password by entering the following statements. For greater security, do not reuse the same password that was used in previous releases of Oracle Database. Enter any password that is secure, according to the password guidelines described in "Requirements for Creating Passwords".

CONNECT SYSTEM
Enter password: password

PASSWORD HR
Changing password for HR
New password: password
Retype new password: password
Password changed.

ALTER USER HR ACCOUNT UNLOCK;

CONNECT HR
Enter password: password

2. Enter the following CREATE VIEW SQL statement to create the lookup view:

CREATE VIEW hr_verify AS
SELECT EMPLOYEE_ID, FIRST_NAME, LAST_NAME, EMAIL, MANAGER_ID
FROM EMPLOYEES;

3. Grant the EXECUTE privilege for this view to mweiss, wtaylor, and sec_admin by entering the following SQL statements:

GRANT SELECT ON hr_verify TO mweiss;
GRANT SELECT ON hr_verify TO wtaylor;
GRANT SELECT ON hr_verify TO sec_admin;

Step 4: Create the PL/SQL Procedure to Set the Secure Application Role

After you create the administrative account and the lookup view, you can create the secure application role procedure.

In most cases, you create a package to hold the procedure, but because this is a simple tutorial that requires only one secure application role test (as defined in the procedure), you will create a procedure by itself. If you want to have a series of procedures to test for the role, then you would create them in a package. At this stage, the role does not exist, but it does not need to. You will create it in the next step.

A PL/SQL package defines a simple, clear interface to a set of related procedures and types that can be accessed by SQL statements. Packages also make code more reusable and easier to maintain. The advantage here for secure application roles is that you can create a group of security policies that used together present a solid security strategy designed to protect your applications. For users (or potential intruders) who fail the security policies, you can add auditing checks to the package to record the failure.

To create the secure application role procedure:

1. In Enterprise Manager, click Log Out to log out of the database.

2. In the Confirmation dialog box, select Logout of (Database Instance) and then select the Display login page after logout check box. Then click Logout.

3. Log in as user sec_admin using the NORMAL role.

4. From the Schema menu, select Programs, then Procedures.

5. In the Procedures page, click Create.

6. In the Create Procedure page, enter the following information:

- Name: GRANT_EMP_ROLE

- Schema: SEC_ADMIN

- Source: Delete the empty procedure code that has been provided and then enter following text to create the secure application role procedure.

AUTHID CURRENT_USER
AS
v_user varchar2(50);
v_manager_id number :=1;
BEGIN
v_user := lower((sys_context ('userenv','session_user')));
SELECT manager_id
INTO v_manager_id FROM hr.hr_verify WHERE lower(email)=v_user;
IF v_manager_id = 100
THEN
EXECUTE IMMEDIATE 'SET ROLE emp_role';
ELSE NULL;
END IF;
EXCEPTION
WHEN NO_DATA_FOUND THEN v_manager_id:=0;
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE(v_manager_id);
END;

In this specification:

- AUTHID CURRENT USER: Appends the AUTHID CURRENT_USER clause to the CREATE PROCEDURE statement. The AUTHID CURRENT_USER clause enables the invoking user to run the procedure using his or her privileges.
You must create the procedure to use invoker's rights for the procedure to work. Invoker's rights allow the user to have EXECUTE privileges on all objects that the procedure accesses.

Roles that are enabled inside an invoker's right procedure remain in effect even after the procedure exits, but after the user exits the session, he or she no longer has the privileges associated with the secure application role. In this case, you can have a dedicated procedure that enables the role for the rest of the session.

Because users cannot change the security domain inside definer's rights procedures, secure application roles can only be enabled inside invoker's rights procedures.

See "About Secure Application Roles" for information about the importance of creating the procedure using invoker's rights.

- v_user varchar2(50): Declares the v_user variable, which will store the user session information.

- v_manager_id number :=1: Declares the v_manager_id variable, which will store the manager's ID of the v_user user.

- v_user := lower...: Retrieves the user session information for the user logging on, in this case, Matthew or Winston. To retrieve user session information, use the SYS_CONTEXT SQL function with the USERENV namespace attributes ('userenv', session_attribute), and writes this information to the v_user variable.
The information returned by this function indicates the way in which the user was authenticated, the IP address of the client, and whether the user connected through a proxy. See Oracle Database SQL Language Reference for more information about SYS_CONTEXT.

- SELECT manager_id ... INTO...: Get the manager's ID of the current user. The SELECT statement copies the manager ID into the v_manager_id variable, and then checking the HR.HR_VERIFY view for the manager ID of the current user. This example uses the employees' email addresses because they are the same as their user names.

- IF ... THEN ... END IF: Use an IF condition to test whether the user should be granted the grant_emp_role role. In this case, the test condition is whether the user reports to Matthew's manager, Steven King, whose employee number is 100. If the user reports to King, as Matthew does, then the secure application role is granted to the user. Otherwise, the role is not granted.
The result is that the secure application role will grant Matthew Weiss the role because he is a direct report of Steven King, but will deny the role to Winston, because he is not a direct report of Steven King.

- THEN ... ELSE NULL: Within the IF condition, the THEN condition grants the role by executing immediately the SET ROLE statement. Otherwise, the ELSE condition denies the grant.

- EXCEPTION: Use an EXCEPTION statement to set v_manager_id to 0 if no data is found.

- DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE: Copies the manager's ID, which is now 0, into a buffer so that it is readily available.

7. Click OK.

Tip:

If you have problems creating or running PL/SQL code, check the Oracle Database trace files. The USER_DUMP_DEST initialization parameter specifies the current location of the trace files. You can find the value of this parameter by issuing SHOW PARAMETER USER_DUMP_DEST in SQL*Plus. See Oracle Database Administrator's Guide for more information about trace files.

Step 5: Create the Secure Application Role

After you create the PL/SQL procedure to set the secure application role, you can create the emp_role secure application role.

To create the secure application role:

1. Ensure that you are still logged in as user sec_admin.

2. From the Administration menu, select Security, then Roles.

3. In the Roles page, click Create.

4. In the Create Role page, enter the following information:

- Name: emp_role

- Authentication: Select Application.
The page expands to show the additional prompts necessary to create the secure application role.

5. Select the Procedure option.

6. In the Procedure Name field, enter SEC_ADMIN.GRANT_EMP_ROLE.

7. Click OK.

Step 6: Grant SELECT for the EMP_ROLE Role to the OE.ORDERS Table

User OE, who owns the OE.ORDERS table, must grant the SELECT privilege for the ORDERS table to the emp_role role.

This gives anyone who has been authorized to use the emp_role role the ability to select from the OE.ORDERS table.

To grant the SELECT privilege for the EMP_ROLE role to the OE.ORDERS table:

1. Connect as user OE.

CONNECT OE
Enter password: password

If you receive an error message saying that OE is locked, then you can unlock the OE account and reset its password by entering the following statements. For greater security, do not reuse the same password that was used in previous releases of Oracle Database. Enter any password that is secure, according to the password guidelines described in "Requirements for Creating Passwords".

CONNECT SYSTEM
Enter password: sys_password

PASSWORD OE  -- First, change the OE account password.
Changing password for OE
New password: password
Retype new password: password
Password changed.

ALTER USER OE ACCOUNT UNLOCK; -- Next, unlock the OE account.

Another way to unlock a user account and create a new password is to use the following syntax:

ALTER USER account_name ACCOUNT UNLOCK IDENTIFIED BY new_password:

Now you can connect as user OE.

CONNECT OE
Enter password: password

2. Enter the following statement to grant the emp_role role SELECT privileges on the OE.ORDERS table.

GRANT SELECT ON ORDERS TO emp_role;

Do not grant the role directly to the users. The PL/SQL package will do that for you, assuming the users pass its security policies.

Step 7: Grant the EXECUTE Privilege for the Procedure to Matthew and Winston

At this stage, Matthew and Winston can try to access the OE.ORDERS table, but they are denied access.

The next step is to grant them the EXECUTE privilege on the grant_emp_role procedure, so that the grant_emp_role procedure can execute, and then grant or deny access, when they try to select from the OE.ORDERS table.

To grant EXECUTE privileges for the grant_emp_role procedure:

1. In SQL*Plus, log in as user sec_admin.

connect sec_admin
Enter password: password

2. Run the following GRANT SQL statements for users mweiss and wtaylor:

GRANT EXECUTE ON grant_emp_role TO mweiss;
GRANT EXECUTE ON grant_emp_role TO wtaylor;

Step 8: Test the EMP_ROLE Secure Application Role

You are ready to test the emp_role secure application role by logging on as Matthew and Winston and trying to access the OE.ORDERS table. When Matthew and Winston log on, and before they issue a SELECT statement on the OE.ORDERS table, the grant_emp_role procedure must be executed for the role verification to take place.

Topics:

- Testing the emp_role Secure Application Role as User MWEISS

- Testing the emp_role Secure Application Role as User WTAYLOR

Testing the emp_role Secure Application Role as User MWEISS

You can connect to the database as user mweiss using SQL*Plus.

To test the emp_role secure application role as user MWEISS:

1. In SQL*Plus, connect as user mweiss.

CONNECT mweiss
Enter password: password

2. Enter the following SQL statement to run the grant_emp_role procedure:

EXEC sec_admin.grant_emp_role;

This statement executes the grant_emp_role procedure for the current session. (In a real world scenario, this statement would be automatically run when the user logs in to the application.)

3. Perform the following SELECT statement on the OE.ORDERS table:

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM OE.ORDERS;

Matthew has access to the OE.ORDERS table:

COUNT(*)
----------
105

Testing the emp_role Secure Application Role as User WTAYLOR

Next, Winston tries to access the secure application.

To test the emp_role secure application role as user WTAYLOR:

1. In SQL*Plus, connect as user wtaylor.

CONNECT wtaylor
Enter password: password

2. Enter the following SQL statement to run the grant_emp_role procedure:

EXEC sec_admin.grant_emp_role;

This statement executes the grant_emp_role procedure for the current session.

3. Perform the following SELECT statement on the OE.ORDERS table:

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM OE.ORDERS;

ERROR at line 1:
ORA-00942: table or view does not exist

Because Winston does not report directly to Steven King, he does not have access to the OE.ORDERS table. He will never learn the true number of orders in the ORDERS table, at least not by performing a SELECT statement on it.

Step 9: Optionally, Remove the Components for This Tutorial

You can remove the components that you created for this tutorial if you no longer need them.

To remove the components:

1. In SQL*Plus, connect as user SYSTEM.

CONNECT SYSTEM
Enter password: password

2. Enter the following DROP statements:

DROP USER mweiss;
DROP USER wtaylor;

Do not drop user sec_admin. You will need this user account for other tutorials in this guide.

3. In SQL*Plus, connect as user sec_admin.

CONNECT sec_admin
Enter password: password

4. Enter the following DROP SQL statements:

DROP ROLE emp_role;
DROP PROCEDURE grant_emp_role;

5. Connect as user HR, and then drop the HR_VERIFY view.

CONNECT HR
Enter password: password
DROP VIEW hr_verify;

6. Exit SQL*Plus.

EXIT

Initialization Parameters Used for Privilege Security

Oracle Database provides a set of initialization parameters for configuring privilege security.

Table 3-1 lists initialization parameters that you can use to secure user privileges.

Table 3-1 Initialization Parameters Used for Privilege Security

Initialization Parameter

Default Setting

Description

O7_DICTIONARY_ACCESSIBILITY

FALSE

Controls restrictions on SYSTEM privileges. See "Enabling Data Dictionary Protection" for more information about this parameter.

OS_ROLES

FALSE

Determines whether the operating system identifies and manages the roles of each user.

MAX_ENABLED_ROLES

30

Specifies the maximum number of database roles that users can enable, including roles contained within other roles.

REMOTE_OS_ROLES

FALSE

Specifies whether operating system roles are allowed for remote clients. The default value, FALSE, causes Oracle to identify and manage roles for remote clients.

SQL92_SECURITY

FALSE

Specifies whether users must be granted the SELECT object privilege to execute UPDATE or DELETE statements.

To modify an initialization parameter, see "Modifying the Value of an Initialization Parameter". For detailed information about initialization parameters, see Oracle Database Reference and Oracle Database Administrator's Guide.

4 Encrypting Data with Oracle Transparent Data Encryption

Transparent Data Encryption enables you to disguise data in table columns and in an entire tablespace.

Topics:

- About Encrypting Sensitive Data

- When Should You Encrypt Data?

- How Transparent Data Encryption Works

- Configuring Data to Use Transparent Data Encryption

- Checking Existing Encrypted Data

See Also:

Oracle Database Advanced Security Guide for detailed information about using tablespace encryption

About Encrypting Sensitive Data

Encrypted data is data that has been disguised so that only an authorized recipient can read it.

You use encryption to protect data in a potentially unprotected environment, such as data you have placed on backup media that is sent to an offsite storage location.

Encrypting data includes the following components:

- An algorithm to encrypt the data. Oracle Databases use the encryption algorithm to encrypt and decrypt data. Oracle Database supports several industry-standard encryption and hashing algorithms, including the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption algorithm, which has been approved by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

- A key to encrypt and decrypt data. When you encrypt data, Oracle Database uses the key and plain text data as input into the encryption algorithm. Conversely, when you decrypt data, the key is used as input into the algorithm to reverse the process and retrieve the clear text data. Oracle Database uses a symmetric encryption key to perform this task, in which the same key is used to both encrypt and decrypt the data. The encryption key is stored in the data dictionary, but encrypted with another master key.

You can encrypt individual table columns or an entire tablespace. Be careful that you do not mix the two. For example, suppose you encrypt a table column and then encrypt its surrounding tablespace. This double encryption can cause performance problems. In addition, column encryption has limitations in data type support, and only supports B-tree indexes for equality searches. To check the current encrypted settings, you can query the V$ENCRYPTED_TABLESPACES data dictionary view for tablespaces and the DBA_ENCRYPTED_COLUMNS view for encrypted columns.

When Should You Encrypt Data?

In most cases, you must encrypt sensitive data on your site to meet a regulatory compliance. For example, sensitive data such as credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, or patient health information must be encrypted.

Historically, users have wanted to encrypt data to restrict data access from their database administrators. However, this problem is more of an access control problem, not an encryption problem. You can address this problem by using Oracle Database Vault to control the access to your application data from database administrators.

In most cases, you encrypt sensitive data, such as credit cards and Social Security numbers, to prevent access when backup tapes or disk drives are lost or stolen. In recent years, industry regulations such as the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard and the Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) have become a driving factor behind increased usage of encryption for protecting credit card and health care information, respectively.

How Transparent Data Encryption Works

Transparent Data Encryption enables you to encrypt individual table columns or an entire tablespace.

When a user inserts data into an encrypted column, Transparent Data Encryption automatically encrypts the data. When authorized users select the column, then the data is automatically decrypted.

To encrypt data by using Transparent Data Encryption, you create the following components:

- A keystore to store the master encryption key. The keystore is an operating system file that is located outside the database. The database uses the keystore to store the master encryption key. To create the keystore, you can use the ADMINISTER KEY MANAGEMENT SQL statement. The keystore is encrypted using a password as the encryption key. You create the password when you create the keystore. Access to the contents (or master key) of the keystore is then restricted to only those who know the password. After the keystore is created, you must open the keystore using the password so that the database can access the master encryption key.
You can use either software keystores or hardware keystores. A software keystore is defined in a file that you create in a directory location. The software keystore can be one of the following types:

- Password-based keystores: Password-based keystores are protected by using a password that you create. You must open the keystore before the keys can be retrieved or used.

- Auto-login keystores: Auto-login keystores are protected by a system-generated password, and do not need to be explicitly opened by a security administrator. Auto-login keystores are automatically opened when accessed. Auto-login keystores can be used across different systems. If your environment does not require the extra security provided by a keystore that must be explicitly opened for use, then you can use an auto-login keystore.

- Auto-login local keystores: Auto-login local keystores are auto-login keystores that are local to the system on which they are created. Auto-login local keystores cannot be opened on any computer other than the one on which they are created.

A hardware keystore is used with a hardware security module, which is a physical device that is designed to provide secure storage for encryption keys. This guide explains how to configure software keystores only. For detailed information about hardware keystores, see Oracle Database Advanced Security Guide.

- A location for the keystore. You must specify the keystore location in the sqlnet.ora file.

Afterward, when a user enters data, Oracle Database performs the following steps:

1. Retrieves the master key from the keystore.

2. Decrypts the encryption key using the master key.

3. Uses the encryption key to encrypt the data the user entered.

4. Stores the data in encrypted format in the database.

If the user is selecting data, the process is similar: Oracle Database decrypts the data and then displays it in plain text format.

Transparent Data Encryption has the following benefits:

- As a security administrator, you can be sure that sensitive data is safe if the storage media or data file is stolen or lost.

- Implementing Transparent Data Encryption helps you address security-related regulatory compliance issues.

- Data from tables is transparently decrypted for the database user. You do not need to create triggers or views to decrypt data.

- Database users do not need to be aware that the data they are accessing is stored in encrypted form. Data is transparently decrypted for the database users and does not require any action on their part.

- Applications need not be modified to handle encrypted data. Data encryption and decryption is managed by the database.

Transparent Data Encryption has a minimal impact on performance. Transparent Data Encryption column encryption affects performance only when data is retrieved from or inserted into an encrypted column. There is no impact on performance for operations involving unencrypted columns, even if these columns are in a table containing encrypted columns. However, be aware that encrypted data must have more storage space than plain text data. On average, encrypting a single column requires between 32 and 48 bytes of additional storage for each row. Transparent tablespace encryption provides even better performance because Oracle Database performs the encryption and decryption at the I/O block layer. Once blocks are decrypted, they are cached in Oracle Database memory for optimal performance.

See Also:

Oracle Database Advanced Security Guide for detailed information about using Transparent Data Encryption

Configuring Data to Use Transparent Data Encryption

To start using Transparent Data Encryption, you must create a keystore and set a master key.

The keystore should be a separate keystore specifically used by Transparent Data Encryption. This keystore will be used for all data that is being encrypted through Transparent Data Encryption. .

Topics:

- Step 1: Configure the Keystore Location

- Step 2: Check the COMPATIBLE Initialization Parameter Setting

- Step 3: Create the Software Password-Based Keystore

- Step 4: Open (or Close) the Keystore

- Step 5: Create the Master Encryption Key

- Step 6: Encrypt Data

See Also:

Oracle Database Advanced Security Guide for detailed information about using tablespace encryption

Step 1: Configure the Keystore Location

When you create a software password-based keystore, you must designate the directory location for the keystore in the sqlnet.ora file. You perform this step once.

To configure the keystore location:

1. Create a directory in the $ORACLE_HOME directory to store the keystore.
For example, on Microsoft Windows, you could create a directory called ORA_KEYSTORES in the C:\oracle\product\12.1.0\db_1 directory.

2. Create a backup copy of the sqlnet.ora file, which by default is located in the $ORACLE_HOME/network/admin directory.

3. At the end of the sqlnet.ora file, add code similar to the following, where ORA_KEYSTORES is the name of the directory where you plan to store the keystore:

ENCRYPTION_WALLET_LOCATION=
(SOURCE=
(METHOD=file)
(METHOD_DATA=
(DIRECTORY=C:\oracle\product\12.1.0\db_1\ORA_KEYSTORES)))

4. Save and close the sqlnet.ora file.

Step 2: Check the COMPATIBLE Initialization Parameter Setting

If you want to configure the full set of tablespace encryption features, then you must set the COMPATIBLE initialization parameter for the database to 11.2.0.0 or later.

Otherwise, ensure that it is at least 11.0.0.0. Be aware that once you set this parameter, you cannot change it.

To set the COMPATIBLE initialization parameter:

1. Log into the database instance.
For example:

sqlplus sec_admin
Enter password: password
Connected.

2. Check the current setting of the COMPATIBLE parameter.
For example:

SHOW PARAMETER COMPATIBLE

NAME                                 TYPE        VALUE
------------------------------------ ----------- -------------
compatible                           string      11.0.0.0

3. If you must change the COMPATIBLE parameter, then complete the remaining steps in this procedure.
The value should be 11.2.0.0 or higher.

4. Locate the initialization parameter file for the database instance.

- UNIX systems: This file is in the ORACLE_HOME/dbs directory and is named initORACLE_SID.ora (for example, initmydb.ora).

- Windows systems: This file is in the ORACLE_HOME\database directory and is named initORACLE_SID.ora (for example, initmydb.ora).

5. Edit the initialization parameter file to use the correct COMPATIBLE setting.
For example:

COMPATIBLE = 12.0.0.0

6. In SQL*Plus, log in as a user who has the SYSDBA administrative privilege.

sqlplus sys as sysdba
Enter password: password

7. Restart the Oracle Database instance.
For example:

SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE
STARTUP

8. Do not log out of SQL*Plus.

Step 3: Create the Software Password-Based Keystore

To create the keystore, use the ADMINISTER KEY MANAGEMENT SQL statement.

By default, the Oracle keystore stores a history of retired master keys, which enables you to change them and still be able to decrypt data that was encrypted under an old master key. A case-sensitive keystore password unknown to the database administrator provides separation of duty: a database administrator can restart the database, but the keystore is closed and must be manually opened by a security administrator before the database can encrypt or decrypt the data.

To create the keystore:

1. In SQL*Plus, connect as a user who has been granted the SYSKM administrative privilege.
For example:

CONNECT psmith / AS SYSKM
Enter password: password

2. Run the following ADMINISTER KEY MANAGEMENT SQL statement:

ADMINISTER KEY MANAGEMENT CREATE KEYSTORE 'keystore_location' IDENTIFIED BY software_keystore_password;

In this specification:

- keystore_location is the path to the keystore location that you defined in the sqlnet.ora file (for example, oracle\product\12.1.0\db_1\ORA_KEYSTORES). Enclose the keystore_location setting in single quotation marks. To find this location, query the WRL_PARAMETER column of the V$ENCRYPTION_WALLET view.

- software_keystore_password is a new password that you, the security administrator, creates.

For example, to create the keystore in the c:\oracle\product\12.1.0\db_1\ORA_KEYSTORES directory:

ADMINISTER KEY MANAGEMENT CREATE KEYSTORE 'c:\oracle\product\12.1.0\db_1\ORA_KEYSTORES' IDENTIFIED BY password;

keystore altered.

After you run this statement, the ewallet.p12 file, which contains the keystore, appears in the keystore location.

Step 4: Open (or Close) the Keystore

You can manually open and close keystores. Auto-login keystores open automatically when they are accessed.

Topics:

- Opening a Keystore

- Closing a Keystore

Opening a Keystore

Immediately after you create a software password-based keystore, you must manually open it before you can use Transparent Data Encryption.

You do not need to open the auto-login or hardware keystores because they open automatically. You can check the status of whether a keystore is open or closed by querying the STATUS column of the V$ENCRYPTION_WALLET view.

To open a keystore:

1. Ensure that you are logged into SQL*Plus as a user who has been granted the SYSKM system privilege.

2. Enter the following ADMINISTER KEY MANAGEMENT SQL statement:

ADMINISTER KEY MANAGEMENT SET KEYSTORE OPEN IDENTIFIED BY software_keystore_password;

keystore altered.

Replace software_keystore_password with the password that you created in "Step 3: Create the Software Password-Based Keystore".

Closing a Keystore

You can close a keystore to disable access to the master key and prevent access to the encrypted columns.

In most cases, leave the keystore open unless you have a reason for closing it. The keystore must be open for Transparent Data Encryption to work. To reopen the keystore, use the ADMINISTER KEY MANAGEMENT statement.

To close a keystore:

1. Ensure that you are logged into SQL*Plus as a user who has been granted the SYSKM system privilege.

2. Enter the following SQL statement:

ADMINISTER KEY MANAGEMENT SET KEYSTORE CLOSE IDENTIFIED BY software_keystore_password;

Step 5: Create the Master Encryption Key

The master encryption key is stored in a keystore. It protects the table keys and tablespace encryption keys.

By default, the master encryption key is a random key generated by Transparent Data Encryption (TDE).

To create the master encryption key:

1. Ensure that you are logged into SQL*Plus as a user who has been granted the SYSKM system privilege.

2. Run the following ADMINISTER KEY MANAGEMENT SQL statement:

ADMINISTER KEY MANAGEMENT SET KEY IDENTIFIED BY software_keystore_password [WITH BACKUP [USING 'backup_identifier']];

keystore altered.

In this specification:

- software_keystore_password is the password that you created in "Step 3: Create the Software Password-Based Keystore".

- WITH BACKUP creates a backup of the keystore. You must use this option for password-based keystores. You do not need to use it for auto-login or auto-login local keystores. Optionally, you can use the USING clause to add a brief description of the backup. Enclose this description in double quotation marks. This identifier is appended to the named keystore file (for example, ewallet_timestamp_emp_key_backup.p12).

For example:

ADMINISTER KEY MANAGEMENT SET ENCRYPTION KEY IDENTIFIED BY software_keystore_password WITH BACKUP USING 'password key backup';

Step 6: Encrypt Data

After you have created a directory location for the keystore in the sqlnet.ora file and created the keystore and master encryption key, you are ready to encrypt either individual table columns or an entire tablespace.

Topics:

- Encrypting Individual Table Columns

- Encrypting a Tablespace

Encrypting Individual Table Columns

Oracle provides a set of guidelines that you should follow before you select columns to encrypt.

The decisions that you make when you identify columns to encrypt are determined by governmental security regulations, such as California Senate Bill 1386, or by industry standards such as the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard. Credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, and other personally identifiable information (PII) fall under this category. Your own internal security policies — trade secrets, research results, or employee salaries and bonuses — determine your needs for encryption. See "When Should You Encrypt Data? " for guidelines about when and when not to encrypt data.

Follow these guidelines when you select columns to encrypt:

- Check the data types of the columns you plan to encrypt. Transparent Data Encryption supports the following data types:

BINARY_FLOAT

NUMBER

BINARY_DOUBLE

NVARCHAR2

CHAR

RAW

DATE

TIMESTAMP

NCHAR

VARCHAR2

Large object types (LOBs) such as BLOB and CLOB[1]

- Ensure that the columns you select are not part of a foreign key. With Transparent Data Encryption, each table has its own encryption key, which is stored in the database data dictionary and encrypted with the external master key. Encrypted columns cannot be used as foreign keys.

To encrypt a column in a table:

1. Ensure that you have created and opened the keystore and created a master encryption key.
See the following sections, if necessary:

- "Step 3: Create the Software Password-Based Keystore" to learn how to create a keystore key

- "Step 4: Open (or Close) the Keystore" to learn how to open or a keystore

- "Step 5: Create the Master Encryption Key" to create the master encryption key

2. In Enterprise Manager, access the Database home page.
See Oracle Database 2 Day DBA for more information.

3. From the Schema menu, select Database Objects, then Tables.
If the Database Login page appears, then log in as SYS with the SYSDBA administrative privilege.

4. In the Tables page, do one of the following:

- To create a new table, click Create, and then answer the questions in the subsequent page to start creating the table.

- To modify an existing table, search for the table name by entering its schema name into the Schema field and the table name in the Object Name field. (You can use the percent sign (%) wildcard character to search for a group of tables, for example O% to find all tables beginning with the letter O.) When the table is listed in the Tables page, select the table, and then click Edit.

In the Create Table or Edit Table page, you can set the encryption options.

For example, to encrypt columns in the OE.ORDERS table, the Edit Table page appears as follows:

5. In the Create Table (or Edit Table) page, do the following:

a. Select the column that you want to encrypt.
Do not select columns that are part of a foreign key constraint (primary or unique key columns). You cannot encrypt these columns. These columns are indicated with a key or check mark icon to the left of their names.

b. Click Encryption Options to display the Encryption Options for the Table page.

c. From the Encryption Algorithm list, select from the following options:

- AES192: Sets the key length to 192 bits. AES is the abbreviation for Advanced Encryption Standard.

- 3DES168: Sets the key length to 168 bits. 3DES is the abbreviation for Triple Data Encryption Standard.

- AES128: Sets the key length to 128 bits. This option is the default.

- AES256: Sets the key length to 256 bits.

d. Under Key Generation, select either Generate Key Randomly or Specify Key. If you select Specify Key, enter characters for the seed values in the Enter Key and Confirm Key fields.
The Generate Key Randomly setting enables salt. Salt is a way to strengthen the security of encrypted data. It is a random string added to the data before it is encrypted, causing the same text to appear different when encrypted. Salt removes one method attackers use to steal data, namely, matching patterns of encrypted text.

e. Click Continue to return to the Create Table (or Edit Table) page.

f. Enable encryption for the column by selecting its box under Encrypted.

6. Click Apply, and then click Return.
The Tables page appears.

While a table is being updated, read access is still possible. Afterward, existing and future data in the column is encrypted when it is written to the database file, and it is decrypted when an authorized user selects it. If data manipulation language (DML) statements are needed, you can use online redefinition statements.

Encrypting a Tablespace

You can encrypt a new tablespace while you are creating it, but you cannot encrypt an existing tablespace.

As a workaround, you can use the CREATE TABLE AS SELECT, ALTER TABLE MOVE, or use Oracle Data Pump import to get data from an existing tablespace into an encrypted tablespace. For details about creating a tablespace, see Oracle Database 2 Day DBA.

To encrypt a tablespace:

1. Ensure that you have created and opened the keystore, as described in the preceding steps of this section.

2. In Enterprise Manager, access the Database home page.
See Oracle Database 2 Day DBA for more information.

3. From the Administration menu, select Storage, then Tablespaces.
If the Database Login page appears, then log in as an administrative user, such as SYS. User SYS must log in with the SYSDBA role selected.

The Tablespaces page appears.

4. Click Create, and then answer the questions in the subsequent page to start creating the tablespace and its required data file.

5. In the Create Tablespace page, do the following:

a. Under Type, in the Permanent list, select the Encryption box.

b. Under Datafiles, select Add to add a data file. (Linux and Windows systems only)

c. Select Encryption options to display the Encryption Options page.

d. From the Encryption Algorithm list, select from the following options:

- AES192: Sets the key length to 192 bits. AES is the abbreviation for Advanced Encryption Standard.

- 3DES168: Sets the key length to 168 bits. 3DES is the abbreviation for Triple Data Encryption Standard.

- AES128: Sets the key length to 128 bits. This option is the default.

- AES256: Sets the key length to 256 bits.

See "Available Methods" under Step 5 in "Configuring Network Encryption" for more information about these encryption algorithms.

e. Click Continue.

6. In the Create Tablespace page, click OK.
The new tablespace appears in the list of existing tablespaces. Remember that you cannot encrypt an existing tablespace.

See Also:

- "Data Dictionary Views for Checking Encrypted Tablespaces in the Current Database Instance" to query the database for existing encrypted tablespaces

- Oracle Database Advanced Security Guide for detailed information about tablespace encryption

- Oracle Database SQL Language Reference for more information about the CREATE TABLESPACE statement

Checking Existing Encrypted Data

You can query the database for the data that you have encrypted. You can check for individually encrypted columns, all tables in the current database instance that have encrypted columns, or all tablespaces that are encrypted.

Topics:

- Finding the Type of Keystore That Was Created

- Finding the Keystore Location

- Checking Whether a Keystore Is Open or Closed

- Checking Encrypted Columns of an Individual Table

- Checking All Encrypted Table Columns in the Current Database Instance

- Data Dictionary Views for Checking Encrypted Tablespaces in the Current Database Instance

Finding the Type of Keystore That Was Created

To find the type of keystore that was created, query the V$ENCRYPTION_KEYS view.

To find the type of keystore that was created:

- In SQL*Plus, query the V$ENCRYPTION_KEYS view as follows:

SELECT KEYSTORE_TYPE FROM V$ENCRYPTION_KEYS;

The keystore location appears, similar to the following:

KEYSTORE_TYPE
-----------------------------
SOFTWARE KEYSTORE

Finding the Keystore Location

You can find the location of a keystore by querying the V$ENCRYPTION_WALLET view.

To find the keystore location:

- In SQL*Plus, query the V$ENCRYPTION_WALLET view as follows:

SELECT WRL_PARAMETER FROM V$ENCRYPTION_WALLET;

The keystore location appears, similar to the following:

WRL_PARAMETER
-----------------------------
C:\oracle\product\12.1.0\db_1

Checking Whether a Keystore Is Open or Closed

You can find out if a keystore is open or closed by querying the V$ENCRYPTION_WALLET view.

To check whether a keystore is open or closed:

- In SQL*Plus, query the V$ENCRYPTION_WALLET view as follows:

SELECT STATUS FROM V$ENCRYPTION_WALLET;

The keystore status appears, similar to the following:

STATUS
-------
OPEN

Checking Encrypted Columns of an Individual Table

You can use the DESC (for DESCRIBE) statement in SQL*Plus to check the encrypted columns in a database table.

To check the encrypted columns of an individual table:

- In SQL*Plus, run the DESC statement using the following syntax.

DESC tablename;

For example:

DESC OE.ORDER_ITEMS;

A description of the table schema appears. The following output shows that the QUANTITY column is encrypted:

Name                                      Null?     Type
----------------------------------------  --------  --------------------------
ORDER_ID                                  NOT NULL  NUMBER(12)
LINE_ITEM_ID                              NOT NULL  NUMBER(3)
PRODUCT_ID                                NOT NULL  NUMBER(6)
UNIT_PRICE                                          NUMBER(8,2)
QUANTITY                                            NUMBER(8) ENCRYPT

Checking All Encrypted Table Columns in the Current Database Instance

To check all encrypted table columns, you can query the DBA_ENCRYPTED_COLUMNS view.

To check all encrypted table columns in the current database instance:

- In SQL*Plus, select from the DBA_ENCRYPTED_COLUMNS view:
For example:

SELECT * FROM DBA_ENCRYPTED_COLUMNS;

This SELECT statement lists all tables and column in the database that contain columns encrypted using Oracle Transparent Data Encryption. For example:

OWNER    TABLE_NAME    COLUMN_NAME    ENCRYPTION_ALG     SALT   INTEGRITY_ALG
-------  ----------    -----------    ----------------   ----   -------------
OE       CUSTOMERS     INCOME_LEVEL   AES 128 bits key   YES    SHA-1
OE       UNIT_PRICE    ORADER_ITEMS   AES 128 bits key   YES    SHA-1
HR       EMPLOYEES     SALARY         AES 192 bits key   YES    SHA-1

See Also:

Oracle Database Reference for more information about the DBA_ENCRYPTED_COLUMNS view

Data Dictionary Views for Checking Encrypted Tablespaces in the Current Database Instance

Oracle Database provides a set of data dictionary views that you can query to check encrypted tablespaces.

Table 4-1 lists data dictionary views that you can use to check encrypted tablespaces.

Table 4-1 Data Dictionary Views for Encrypted Tablespaces

Data Dictionary View

Description

DBA_TABLESPACES

Describes all tablespaces in the database. For example, to determine if the tablespace has been encrypted, enter the following:

SELECT TABLESPACE_NAME, ENCRYPTED FROM DBA_TABLESPACES;

TABLESPACE_NAME              ENC
---------------------------- ----
SYSTEM                       NO
SYSAUX                       NO
UNCOTBS1                     NO
TEMP                         NO
USERS                        NO
EXAMPLE                      NO
SECURESPACE                  YES

USER_TABLESPACES

Describes the tablespaces accessible to the current user. It has the same columns as DBA_TABLESPACES, except for the PLUGGED_IN column.

V$ENCRYPTED_TABLESPACES

Displays information about the tablespaces that are encrypted. For example:

SELECT * FROM V$ENCRYPTED_TABLESPACES;

TS#  ENCRYPTIONALG  ENCRYPTEDTS
-----------  -------------  -----------
6   AES128         YES

The list includes the tablespace number, its encryption algorithm, and whether its encryption is enabled or disabled.

If you want to find the name of the tablespace, use the following join operation:

SELECT NAME, ENCRYPTIONALG ENCRYPTEDTS
FROM V$ENCRYPTED_TABLESPACES, V$TABLESPACE
WHERE V$ENCRYPTED_TABLESPACES.TS# = V$TABLESPACE.TS#;

See Also:

Oracle Database Reference for more information about data dictionary views

[1]
You cannot encrypt external LOBs (BFILE).

5 Controlling Access with Oracle Database Vault

Oracle Database Vault enables you to restrict administrative access to an Oracle database.

Topics:

- About Oracle Database Vault

- Tutorial: Controlling Administrator Access to a User Schema

See Also:

Oracle Database Vault Administrator's Guide

About Oracle Database Vault

You can use Oracle Database Vault to restrict administrative access to an Oracle database using a fine-grained approach.

This helps you address the most difficult security problems remaining today: protecting against insider threats, meeting regulatory compliance requirements, and enforcing separation of duty. In addition to restricting administrator access to your databases, Database Vault enables you to enforce separation of duty, and control who, when, where and how applications, databases, and data are accessed.

Typically, the main job of an Oracle database administrator is to perform tasks such database tuning, installing upgrades, monitoring the state of the database, and then remedying any problems that he or she finds. In a default Oracle Database installation, database administrators also have the ability to create users and access user data. For greater security, you should restrict these activities only to those users who must perform them. This is called separation of duty, and it frees the database administrator to focus on tasks ideally suited to his or her expertise, such as performance tuning.

By restricting administrator access to your Oracle databases, Oracle Database Vault helps you to follow common regulatory compliance requirements, such as the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard (DSS) requirements, Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act, European Union (EU) Privacy Directive, and Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). These regulations require strong internal controls on access, disclosure or modification of sensitive information that could lead to fraud, identity theft, financial irregularities and financial penalties.

Oracle Database Vault provides the following ways for you to restrict administrator access to an Oracle database:

- Group database schemas, objects, and roles that you want to secure. This grouping is called a realm, and all the components of the realm are protected. After you, the Database Vault administrator, create a realm, you designate a user to manage access to the realm. For example, you can create a realm around one table within a schema, or around the entire schema itself.

- Create PL/SQL expressions to customize your database restrictions. You create an expression in a rule, and for multiple rules within one category, you can group the rules into a rule set. To enforce the rules within the rule set, you then associate the rule set with a realm or command rule. For example, if you wanted to prevent access to a database during a maintenance period (for example, from 10 to 12 p.m.), you can create a rule to restrict access only during those hours.

- Designate specific PL/SQL statements that are accessible or not accessible to users. These are called command rules. A command rule contains a command to be protected and a rule set that determines whether the execution of the command is permitted. You can create a command rule to protect SELECT, ALTER SYSTEM, database definition language (DDL), and data manipulation language (DML) statements that affect one or more database objects. You can associate a rule set to further customize the command rule.

- Define attributes to record data such as session users or IP addresses that Oracle Database Vault can recognize and secure. These attributes are called factors. You can use factors for activities such as authorizing database accounts to connect to the database or creating filtering logic to restrict the visibility and manageability of data. To further customize the factor, you can associate a rule set with it.

- Design secure application roles that are enabled only by Oracle Database Vault rules. After you create the secure application role in Oracle Database Vault, you associate a rule set with it. The rule set defines when and how the secure application role is enabled or disabled.

You can create policies using these components by using either Oracle Database Vault Administrator, or by using its PL/SQL packages. In a multitenant environment, each policy applies only to the current pluggable database (PDB). Step 1: Enable Oracle Database Vault

Tutorial: Controlling Administrator Access to a User Schema

In this tutorial, you create a realm around the OE schema, which will protect it from administrator access. However, user SCOTT needs access to the OE.CUSTOMERS table, so you must ensure that he can continue to access this data.

The OE schema has several tables that contain confidential data, such as the credit limits allowed for customers and other information. Order Entry tables typically contain sensitive information, such as credit card or Social Security numbers. This type of information must be restricted only to individuals whose job requires access to this information, according to Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standards (DSS).

Topics:

- Step 1: Enable Oracle Database Vault

- Step 2: Grant the SELECT Privilege on the OE.CUSTOMERS Table to User SCOTT

- Step 3: Select from the OE.CUSTOMERS Table as Users SYS and SCOTT

- Step 4: Create a Realm to Protect the OE.CUSTOMERS Table

- Step 5: Test the OE Protections Realm

- Step 6: Optionally, Remove the Components for This Tutorial

Step 1: Enable Oracle Database Vault

Oracle Database Vault is installed when you perform a default installation of Oracle Database. After you install it, you must register Oracle Database Vault with Oracle Database and then enable the Oracle Database Vault Account Manager user account.

If Oracle Label Security is not enabled, then the registration process enables it as well as Database Vault.

To register Oracle Database Vault:

1. Log into the database instance as user SYS with the SYSDBA administrative privilege.
For example:

sqlplus sys as sysdba
Enter password: password

2. Check if Oracle Database Vault has already been enabled. The PARAMETER column is case sensitive, so use the case shown here.

SELECT VALUE FROM V$OPTION WHERE PARAMETER = 'Oracle Database Vault';

If it returns TRUE, then Oracle Database Vault is registered. Go to "Step 2: Grant the SELECT Privilege on the OE.CUSTOMERS Table to User SCOTT". If it returns FALSE, then register Database Vault with your database, as described in Oracle Database Vault Administrator's Guide.

Step 2: Grant the SELECT Privilege on the OE.CUSTOMERS Table to User SCOTT

To test the tutorial later on, user SCOTT must select from the OE.CUSTOMERS table. First, you should ensure that he SCOTT account is active.

Topics:

- Enabling User SCOTT

- Granting User SCOTT the SELCT Privilege on the OE.CUSTOMERS Table

Enabling User SCOTT for Oracle Database Vault

You can use Enterprise Manager to enable user SCOTT.

To enable user SCOTT:

1. In Enterprise Manager, ensure that you are logged in as the Database Vault Account Manager (a user who has been granted the role DV_ACCTMGR) with the NORMAL role selected.
After you enable Oracle Database Vault, you no longer can use the administrative accounts (such as SYS and SYSTEM) to create or enable user accounts. This is because right out of the box, Oracle Database Vault provides separation-of-duty principles to administrative accounts. From now on, to manage user accounts, you must use the Oracle Database Vault Account Manager account.

Administrative users still have the privileges they do need. For example, user SYS, who owns system privileges and many PL/SQL packages, can still grant privileges on these to other users. However, user SYS can no longer create, modify, or drop user accounts. Instead, you must log in as the Database Vault Account Manager.

2. From the Administration menu, select Security, then Users.

3. In the Users page, select the user SCOTT, and in the View User page, click Edit.
The Edit User page appears.

4. Enter the following settings:

- Enter Password and Confirm Password: If the SCOTT account password status is expired, then enter a new password. Enter any password that is secure, according to the password guidelines described in "Requirements for Creating Passwords".

- Status: Click Unlocked.

5. Click Apply.

6. Do not exit Enterprise Manager.

Granting User SCOTT the SELCT Privilege on the OE.CUSTOMERS Table

After you enable user SCOTT, you can grant him the appropriate privileges.

To grant user SCOTT the SELECT privilege on the OE.CUSTOMERS table:

1. Log in to SQL*Plus as user OE.

sqlplus oe
Enter password: password
Connected.

2. Grant user SCOTT the SELECT privilege on the OE.CUSTOMERS table.

GRANT SELECT ON CUSTOMERS TO SCOTT;

Step 3: Select from the OE.CUSTOMERS Table as Users SYS and SCOTT

At this stage, both users SYS and SCOTT can select from the OE.CUSTOMERS table, because SYS has administrative privileges and because SCOTT has an explicit SELECT privilege granted by user OE.

To select from OE.CUSTOMERS as users SYS and SCOTT:

1. In SQL*Plus, connect as user SYS using the SYSDBA administrative privilege

sqlplus sys as sysdba
Enter password: password

2. Select from the OE.CUSTOMERS table as follows:

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM OE.CUSTOMERS;

The following output should appear

COUNT(*)
--------
319

3. Connect as user SCOTT, and then perform the same SELECT statement.

CONNECT SCOTT
Enter password: password
Connected.

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM OE.CUSTOMERS;

The following output should appear:

COUNT(*)
--------
319

Step 4: Create a Realm to Protect the OE.CUSTOMERS Table

To restrict the OE.CUSTOMER table from administrative access, you must create a realm around the OE schema.

To create a realm around the OE schema:

1. In Enterprise Manager, click Log Out to log out of the database.

2. In the Confirmation dialog box, select Logout of (Database Instance) and then select the Display login page after logout check box. Then click Logout.

3. Log in as a user who has been granted the DV_OWNER or DV_ADMIN account (for example, dbv_owner). Connect using the Normal Role role.

4. From the Administration menu, select Security, then Database Vault.

5. In the Database Vault page, select the Administration tab.

6. Under Database Vault Components, select Realms. (It should be selected by default.)
The Realms page appears. (It should be selected by default.)

7. Click Create.

8. In the Create Realm page, enter the following information:

- Name: OE Protections

- Description: Realm to protect the OE schema

- Status: Click Enabled.

- Audit Options: Select Audit on Failure.

9. Click Next.
The Realm Secured Objects page appears.

10. Click Add.

11. In the Add Secured Objects window, add the following information:

- Owner: OE

- Object Type: TABLE

- Object Name: %

12. Click OK.
The OE table is now listed as a realm-secured object.

13. Click Next.

14. In the Realm Authorizations page, click Add.
The Add Authorizations window appears.

15. Enter the following information:

- Realm Authorization Grantee: Enter OE.

- Realm Authorization Type: Select Owner.

- Realm Authorization Ruleset: Enter Disabled.

16. Click OK, and then click Next.
The Review page appears, so that you can check your settings.

17. Click Finish.
The Realms page now shows the OE Protections realm.

18. Do not exit Enterprise Manager.

Step 5: Test the OE Protections Realm

Now that you have created a realm to protect the OE schema, you are ready to test it.

You do not need to restart the database session, because any protections you define in Oracle Database Vault take effect right away.

To test the OE Protections realm:

1. Connect to SQL*Plus as user SYS using the SYSDBA administrative privilege.

CONNECT SYS AS SYSDBA
Enter password: password
Connected.

If you were connected as SYS before, then you do not need to reconnect. The changes that you just made take effect immediately.

2. Try selecting from the OE.CUSTOMERS table.

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM OE.CUSTOMERS;

The following output should appear:

ERROR at line 1:
ORA-01031: insufficient privileges

The OE Protections realm prevents the administrative user from accessing the OE.CUSTOMERS table. Because you defined the OE Protections realm to protect the entire schema, the administrative user does not have access to any of the other tables in OE, either.

3. Connect as user SCOTT.

CONNECT SCOTT
Enter password: password
Connected.

4. Try selecting from the OE.CUSTOMERS table.

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM OE.CUSTOMERS;

The following output should appear:

COUNT(*)
----------
319

The OE Protections realm does not apply to user SCOTT because user OE has explicitly granted this user the SELECT privilege on the OE.CUSTOMERS table. Oracle Database Vault sets up the protections that you need, but does not override the explicit privileges you have defined. SCOTT still can query this table.

Step 6: Optionally, Remove the Components for This Tutorial

You can remove the components that you created for this tutorial if you no longer need them.

Topics:

- Dropping the OE Protections Realm

- Revoking the SELECT Privilege on OE.CUSTOMERS from User SCOTT

- Disabling Oracle Database Vault and Oracle Label Security

Dropping the OE Protections Realm

You can use Enterprise Manager to drop the OE protections realm.

To drop the OE Protections realm:

1. In Enterprise Manager, if you have logged out of the Database Vault Administrator pages, then log back in as the Database Vault Owner account that you created when you installed Oracle Database Vault (for example, dbv_owner).

2. In the Administration page, under Database Vault Feature Administration, click Realms.
The Realms page appears.

3. Select OE Protections from the list of realms, and then click Delete. Then click Yes in the Confirmation page.

4. Log out of Oracle Database Vault Administrator.

Revoking the SELECT Privilege on OE.CUSTOMERS from User SCOTT

To revoke the SELECT privilege on OE.CUSTOMERS from user SCOTT, you can use SQL*Plus.

To revoke the SELECT privilege on OE.CUSTOMERS from user SCOTT:

1. In SQL*Plus, connect as user OE.

CONNECT OE
Enter password: password
Connected.

2. Revoke the SELECT privilege from user SCOTT.

REVOKE SELECT ON CUSTOMERS FROM SCOTT;

Disabling Oracle Database Vault and Oracle Label Security

You can use SQL*Plus to disable Oracle Database Vault and Oracle Label Security.

To disable Oracle Database Vault and if necessary, Oracle Label Security:

1. Connect as a user who has been granted the DV_OWNER role.
For example:

CONNECT dbv_owner
Enter password: password

2. Run the following procedure to disable Oracle Database Vault:

EXEC DVSYS.DBMS_MACADM.DISABLE_DV;

3. Connect as user SYS with the SYSDBA administrative privilege

CONNECT SYS AS SYSDBA
Enter password: password

4. Run the following procedure to disable Oracle Label Security:

EXEC LBACSYS.OLS_ENFORCEMENT.DISABLE_OLS;

When you register and enable Oracle Database Vault, Oracle Label Security is also enabled. If you choose to not disable Oracle Database Vault, then do not disable Oracle Label Security, because Database Vault uses Oracle Label Security. (This guide assumes that you are disabling Database Vault.) However, you can have Oracle Label Security enabled and Database Vault disabled.

5. Restart the database.

SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE
STARTUP

6 Restricting Access with Oracle Virtual Private Database

You can use Oracle Virtual Private Database to restrict access to data based on a dynamic WHERE clause that is added to the SQL statements that users enter.

Topics:

- About Oracle Virtual Private Database

- Tutorial: Limiting Access to Data Based on the Querying User

See Also:

Oracle Database Security Guide for detailed information about how Oracle Virtual Private Database works

About Oracle Virtual Private Database

Oracle Virtual Private Database (VPD) enables you to dynamically add a WHERE clause in any SQL statement that a user executes. The WHERE clause filters the data the user is allowed to access, based on the identity of a user.

This feature restricts row and column level data access by creating a policy that enforces a WHERE clause for all SQL statements that query the database. The WHERE clause allows only users whose identity passes the security policy, and hence, have access to the data that you want to protect. You create and manage the VPD policy at the database table or view level, which means that you do not modify the applications that access the database.

In a multitenant environment, each Virtual Private Database policy applies only to the current pluggable database (PDB).

An Oracle Virtual Private Database policy has the following components, which are typically created in the schema of the security administrator:

- A PL/SQL function to append the dynamic WHERE clause to SQL statements that affect the Virtual Private Database tables. For example, a PL/SQL function translates the following SELECT statement:

SELECT * FROM ORDERS;

to the following:

SELECT * FROM ORDERS
WHERE SALES_REP_ID = 159;

In this example, the user can only view orders by Sales Representative 159. The PL/SQL function used to generate this WHERE clause is as follows:

CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION auth_orders(
schema_var IN VARCHAR2,
table_var  IN VARCHAR2
)
RETURN VARCHAR2
IS
return_val VARCHAR2 (400);
BEGIN
return_val := 'SALES_REP_ID = 159';
RETURN return_val;
END auth_orders;
/

In this example:

- schema_var and table_var: Create parameters to store the schema name, OE, and table name, ORDERS. (The second parameter, table_var, for the table, can also be used for views and synonyms.) Always create these two parameters in this order: create the parameter for the schema first, followed by the parameter for the table, view, or synonym object. Note that the function itself does not specify the OE schema or its ORDERS table. The Virtual Private Database policy you create uses these parameters to specify the OE.ORDERS table.

- RETURN VARCHAR2: Returns the string that will be used for the WHERE predicate clause.

- IS ... RETURN return_val: Encompasses the creation of the WHERE SALES_REP_ID = 159 predicate.

You can design the WHERE clause to filter the user information based on the session information of that user, such as the user ID. To do so, you create an application context. Application contexts can be used to authenticate both database and nondatabase users. An application context is a name-value pair. For example:

SELECT * FROM oe.orders
WHERE sales_rep_id = SYS_CONTEXT('userenv','session_user');

In this example, the WHERE clause uses the SYS_CONTEXT PL/SQL function to retrieve the user session ID (session_user) designated by the userenv context. See Oracle Database Security Guide for detailed information about application contexts.

- A way to attach the policy the package. Use the DBMS_RLS.ADD_POLICY function to attach the policy to the package. Before you can use the DBMS_RLS PL/SQL package, you must be granted EXECUTE privileges on it. User SYS owns the DBMS_RLS package.

The advantages of enforcing row-level security at the database level rather than at the application program level are enormous. Because the security policy is implemented in the database itself, where the data to be protected is, this data is less likely to be vulnerable to attacks by different data access methods. This layer of security is present and enforced no matter how users (or intruders) try to access the data it protects. The maintenance overhead is low because you maintain the policy in one place, the database, rather than having to maintain it in the applications that connect to this database. The policies that you create provide a great deal of flexibility because you can write them for specific DML operations.

See Also:

- Oracle Database Security Guide for detailed information about how Oracle Virtual Private Database works

Tutorial: Limiting Access to Data Based on the Querying User

In this tutorial, you create a sales representative user account and an account for a finance manager. Then, you create an Oracle Virtual Private Database policy that will limit the data access to these users based on their roles.

You can use Oracle Database limit access to data based on who the querying user is. For example, a sales representative should only see the orders that he or she have created, but other employees should not.

Topics:

- About Limiting Access to Data Based on the Querying User

- Step 1: Create User Accounts for This Tutorial

- Step 2: If Necessary_ Create the Security Administrator Account

- Step 3: Update the Security Administrator Account

- Step 4: Create the F_POLICY_ORDERS Policy Function

- Step 5: Create the ACCESSCONTROL_ORDERS Virtual Private Database Policy

- Step 6: Test the ACCESSCONTROL_ORDERS Virtual Private Database Policy

- Step 7: Optionally, Remove the Components for This Tutorial

About Limiting Access to Data Based on the Querying User

In this tutorial, you will use the ORDERS table in the Order Entry database, OE.

This table contains the following information:

Name             Null?    Type
---------------- -------- ---------------------------------
ORDER_ID         NOTNULL  NUMBER(12)
ORDER_DATE       NOTNULL  TIMESTAMP(6) WITH LOCAL TIME ZONE
ORDER_MODE                VARCHAR2(8)
CUSTOMER_ID      NOTNULL  NUMBER(6)
ORDER_STATUS              NUMBER(2)
ORDER_TOTAL               NUMBER(8,2)
SALES_REP_ID              NUMBER(6)
PROMOTION_ID              NUMBER(6)

The Virtual Private Database policy that you will create is associated with a PL/SQL function. Because VPD policies are controlled by PL/SQL functions or procedures, you can design the policy to restrict access in many different ways. For this tutorial, the function you create will restrict access by the employees based on to whom they report. The function will restrict the customer access based on the customer's ID.

You may want to store VPD policies in a database account separate from the database administrator and from application accounts. In this tutorial, you will use the sec_admin account, which was created in "Tutorial: Creating a Secure Application Role", to create the VPD policy. This provides better security by separating the VPD policy from the applications tables.

To restrict access based on the sensitivity of row data, you can use Oracle Label Security (OLS). OLS lets you categorize data into different levels of security, with each level determining who can access the data in that row. This way, the data access restriction is focused on the data itself, rather than on user privileges. See Enforcing Row-Level Security with Oracle Label Security for more information.

Step 1: Create User Accounts for This Tutorial

You are ready to create accounts for the employees who must access the OE.ORDERS table.

To create the employee user accounts:

1. In Enterprise Manager, access the Database home page for your target database as user SYS with the SYSDBA administrative privilege.
See Oracle Database 2 Day DBA for more information.

2. From the Administration menu, select Security, then Users.

3. In the Users Page, click Create.

4. In the Create User page, enter the following information:

- Name: LDORAN (to create the user account Louise Doran)

- Profile: DEFAULT

- Authentication: Password

- Enter Password and Confirm Password: Enter a password that meets the requirements in "Requirements for Creating Passwords".

- Default Tablespace: EXAMPLE

- Temporary Tablespace: TEMP

- Status: Unlocked

5. Select the Object Privileges tab.

6. From the Select Object Type list, select Table, and then click Add.

7. In the Add Table Object Privileges page, in the Select Table Objects field, enter the following text:

OE.ORDERS

Do not include spaces in this text.

8. In the Available Privileges list, select SELECT, and then click Move to move it to the Selected Privileges list. Click OK.
The Create User page appears, with SELECT privileges for OE.ORDERS listed.

9. Click OK.
The Users page appears, with user ldoran is listed in the User Name column.

10. Select the selection button for user LDORAN, and from the Actions list, select Create Like. Then, click Go.

11. In the Create User page, enter the following information:

- Name: LPOPP (to create the user account for Finance Manager Luis Popp.)

- Enter Password and Confirm Password: Enter a password that meets the requirements in "Requirements for Creating Passwords".

12. Click OK.

Both employee accounts have been created, and they have identical privileges. If you check the privileges for user LPOPP, you will see that they are identical to those of user LDORAN's. At this stage, if either of these users performs a SELECT statement on the OE.ORDERS table, he or she will be able to see all of its data.

Step 2: If Necessary, Create the Security Administrator Account

The sec_admin security administrator account enables you to perform the tasks a security administrator can perform.

In "Tutorial: Creating a Secure Application Role", you created the sec_admin for that tutorial. You can use that account for this tutorial.

If you have not yet created this account, then follow the steps in "Step 2: Create a Security Administrator Account" to create sec_admin.

Step 3: Update the Security Administrator Account

The sec_admin account user must have privileges to use the DBMS_RLS packages.

User SYS owns this package, so you must log on as SYS to grant these package privileges to sec_admin. The user sec_admin also must have SELECT privileges on the CUSTOMERS table in the OE schema and the EMPLOYEES table in the HR schema.

To grant sec_admin privileges to use the DBMS_RLS package:

1. In Enterprise Manager, access the Database home page and ensure that you are logged in as user SYS with the SYSDBA role selected.
See Oracle Database 2 Day DBA for more information.

2. From the Administration menu, select Security, then Users.

3. In the Users Page, select the SEC_ADMIN user, and in the View User page, click Edit.

4. In the Edit User page, click Object Privileges.

5. From the Select Object Type list, select Package, and then click Add.

6. In the Add Package Object Privileges page, under Select Package Objects, enter SYS.DBMS_RLS so that sec_admin will have access to the DBMS_RLS package.

7. Under Available Privileges, select EXECUTE, and then click Move to move it to the Selected Privileges list.

8. Click OK.

9. In the Edit User page, from the Select Object Type list, select Table, and then click Add.

10. In the Add Table Object Privileges page, in the Select Table Objects field, enter HR.EMPLOYEES so that sec_admin will have access to the HR.EMPLOYEES table.

11. Under Available Privileges, select SELECT, and then click Move to move it to the Selected Privileges list.

12. Click OK.
The Edit User page appears. It shows that user sec_admin has object privileges for the HR.EMPLOYEES table and DBMS_RLS PL/SQL package. Ensure that you do not select the grant option for either of these objects.

13. Click Apply.
All the changes you have made, in this case, the addition of the two object privileges, are applied to the sec_admin user account.

Step 4: Create the F_POLICY_ORDERS Policy Function

The f_policy_orders policy is a PL/SQL function that defines the policy used to filter users who query the ORDERS table.

To filter the users, the policy function uses the SYS_CONTEXT PL/SQL function to retrieve session information about users who are logging in to the database.

To create the application context and its package:

1. Select Logout to log out of the database instance.

2. In the Confirmation dialog box, select Logout of (Database Instance) and then select the Display login page after logout check box. Then click Logout.

3. Log in as user sec_admin using the NORMAL role.

4. From the Schema menu, select Programs, then Functions.

5. In the Database Login page, log in as user sec_admin with the NORMAL role selected.

6. From the Schema menu, select Programs, and then Functions.

7. In the Functions page, ensure that the Object Type menu is set to Function, and then click Create.

8. In the Create Function page, enter the following information:

- Name: F_POLICY_ORDERS

- Schema: SEC_ADMIN

- Source: Delete the empty function code that has been provided, and then enter the following code (but not the line numbers on the left side of the code) to create a function that checks whether the user who has logged on is a sales representative.
The f_policy_orders function uses the SYS_CONTEXT PL/SQL function to get the session information of the user. It then compares this information with the job ID of that user in the HR.EMPLOYEES table, for which sec_admin has SELECT privileges.

(schema in varchar2,
tab in varchar2)
return varchar2
as
v_job_id   varchar2(20);
v_user     varchar2(100);
predicate  varchar2(400);

begin
v_job_id  := null;
v_user    := null;
predicate := '1=2';

v_user := lower(sys_context('userenv','session_user'));

select lower(job_id) into v_job_id from hr.employees
where lower(email) = v_user;

if  v_job_id='sa_rep' then
predicate := '1=1';
else
null;
end if;

return predicate;

exception
when no_data_found then
null;
end;

In this specification:

- (schema in varchar2, tab in varchar2): Defines parameters for the schema (schema) and table (tab) that must be protected. Notice that the function does not mention the OE.ORDERS table. The ACCESSCONTROL_ORDERS policy that you create in Step 5: Create the ACCESSCONTROL_ORDERS Virtual Private Database Policy uses these parameters to specify the OE schema and ORDERS table. Ensure that you create the schema parameter first, followed by the tab parameter.

- return varchar2: Returns the string that will be used for the WHERE predicate clause. Always use VARCHAR2 as the data type for this return value.

- as ... predicate: Defines variables to store the job ID, user name of the user who has logged on, and predicate values.

- begin ... return predicate: Encompasses the creation of the WHERE predicate, starting the with the BEGIN clause for the v_job_id and v_user settings.

- v_job_id varchar2(20) and v_user varchar2(100): Sets the v_job_id and v_user variables to null, and the predicate variable to 1=2, that is, to a false value. At this stage, no WHERE predicate can be generated until these variables pass the tests starting with select lower(job_id) into v_job_id.

- v_user := lower(sys_context...: Uses the SYS_CONTEXT function to retrieve the session information of the user and write it to the v_user variable.

- select lower(job_id) into v_job_id...end if: Checks if the user is a sales representative by comparing the job ID with the user who has logged on. If the job ID of the user who has logged on is sa_rep (sales representative), then the predicate variable is set to 1=1. In other words, the user, by being a sales representative, has passed the test.

- return predicate: Returns the WHERE predicate, which translates to WHERE role_of_user_logging_on IS "sa_rep". Oracle Database appends this WHERE predicate onto any SELECT statement that users LDORAN and LPOPP issue on the OE.ORDERS table.

- exception ... null: Provide an EXCEPTION clause for cases where a user without the correct privileges has logged on.

9. Click OK.

Step 5: Create the ACCESSCONTROL_ORDERS Virtual Private Database Policy

Now that you have created the Virtual Private Database policy function, you can create the Virtual Private Database policy, accesscontrol_orders, and then attach it to the ORDERS table.

To increase performance, add the CONTEXT_SENSITIVE parameter to the policy, so that Oracle Database only executes the f_policy_orders function when the content of the application context changes, in this case, when a new user logs on. Oracle Database only activates the policy when a user performs a SQL SELECT statement on the ORDERS table. Hence, the user cannot run the INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE statements, because the policy does not allow him or her to do so.

To create the ACCESSCONTROL_ORDERS Virtual Private Database policy:

1. From the Administration menu, select Security, then Virtual Private Database Policies.

2. In the Virtual Private Database Policies page, click Create.

3. In the Create Policy page, under General, enter the following:

- Policy Name: ACCESSCONTROL_ORDERS

- Object Name: OE.ORDERS

- Policy Type: Select CONTEXT_SENSITIVE.
This type reevaluates the policy function at statement run-time if it detects context changes since the last use of the cursor. For session pooling, where multiple clients share a database session, the middle tier must reset the context during client switches. Note that Oracle Database does not cache the value that the function returns for this policy type; it always runs the policy function during statement parsing. The CONTEXT_SENSITIVE policy type applies to only one object.

To enable the Policy Type, select the Enabled box.

4. Under Policy Function, enter the following:

- Policy Function: Enter the name of the function that generates a predicate for the policy, in this case, SEC_ADMIN.F_POLICY_ORDERS.

- Long Predicate: Do not select this box.
Typically, you select this box to return a predicate with a length of up to 32K bytes. By not selecting this box, Oracle Database limits the predicate to 4000 bytes.

5. Under Enforcement, select the SELECT option and deselect the remaining options that already may be selected.

6. Do not select any options under Security Relevant Columns.

7. Click OK.
The Virtual Private Database Policies page appears, with the ACCESSCONTROL_ORDERS policy listed in the list of policies.

8. Do not log out of Enterprise Manager.

Step 6: Test the ACCESSCONTROL_ORDERS Virtual Private Database Policy

After you create the accesscontrol_orders policy, you can test it by logging on as each user and attempting to select data from the ORDERS table.

To test the ACCESSCONTROL_ORDERS policy:

1. Start SQL*Plus.
From a command prompt, enter the following command to start SQL*Plus, and log in as Sales Representative Louise Doran, whose user name is ldoran:

sqlplus ldoran
Enter password: password

SQL*Plus starts, connects to the default database, and then displays a prompt.

For detailed information about starting SQL*Plus, see Oracle Database 2 Day DBA.

2. Enter the following SELECT statement:

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM OE.ORDERS;

The following results should appear for Louise. As you can see, Louise is able to access all the orders in the OE.ORDERS table.

COUNT(*)
--------
105

3. Connect as Finance Manager Luis Popp.

CONNECT lpopp
Enter password: password

4. Enter the following SELECT statement:

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM OE.ORDERS;

The following result should appear, because Mr. Popp, who is not a sales representative, does not have access to the data in the OE.ORDERS table. Because Mr. Popp does not have access, Oracle Database only allows him access to 0 rows.

COUNT(*)
--------
0

5. Exit SQL*Plus:

EXIT

Step 7: Optionally, Remove the Components for This Tutorial

You can remove the components that you created for this tutorial if you no longer need them.

Topics:

- Removing the Data Structures Created by sec_admin

- Removing the User Accounts

- Revoking Privileges on DBMS_RLS from User sec_admin

Removing the Data Structures Created by sec_admin

You can use Enterprise Manager to remove the data structures that user sec_admin created.

To remove the data structures created by sec_admin:

1. In Enterprise Manager, ensure that you are logged in as user sec_admin.

2. From the Administration menu, select Security, then Virtual Private Database Policies.

3. In the Virtual Private Database Policies page, under Search, enter the following information, and then click Go:

- Schema Name: OE

- Object Name: ORDERS

- Policy Name: %

The policy you created, ACCESSCONTROL_ORDERS, is listed.

4. Select ACCESSCONTROL_ORDERS, and then click Delete.

5. In the Confirmation page, click Yes.

6. From the Schema menu, select Programs, then Functions.

7. If the F_POLICY_ORDERS function is not listed, then use the Search field to search for it.

8. Select the selection button for the F_POLICY_ORDERS function and then click Delete.

9. In the Confirmation window, click OK.

Removing the User Accounts

You can use Enterprise Manager to remove the user accounts.

To remove the user accounts:

1. From Enterprise Manager, select Logout to log out of the database instance.

2. Log in as user SYSTEM with the NORMAL role selected.

3. In the Database home page, from the Administration menu, select Security, then Users.

4. In the Users page, select each of the following users, and then click Delete to remove them:

- LDORAN

- LPOPP

Do not remove sec_admin because you will need this account for later tutorials in this guide.

Revoking Privileges on DBMS_RLS from User sec_admin

You can use Enterprise Manager to revoke the EXECUTE privilege on the DBMS_RLS package from user sec_admin.

To revoke the EXECUTE privilege on the DBMS_RLS package from user sec_admin:

1. From Enterprise Manager, select Logout to log out of the database instance.

2. Log in as the SYS administrative user with the SYSDBA role selected.

3. In the Users page, select user SEC_ADMIN and then click Edit.

4. Select the Object Privileges tab.

5. From the list of object privileges, select the listing for the SELECT privilege for the HR.EMPLOYEES table.

6. Click Delete.

7. From the list of object privileges, select the listing for the EXECUTE privilege for the DBMS_RLS package.

8. Click Delete.

9. Click Apply.

10. Exit Enterprise Manager.

7 Limiting Access to Sensitive Data Using Oracle Data Redaction

Oracle Data Redaction limits access to sensitive data by redacting this data in real time.

Topics:

- About Oracle Data Redaction

- Tutorial: Redacting Data for a Select Group of Users

About Oracle Data Redaction

Oracle Data Redaction enables you to redact (mask) column data.

You can redact data using one of the following methods:

- Full redaction. You redact all the contents of the column data. The redacted value returned to the querying user depends on the data type of the column. For example, columns of the NUMBER data type are redacted with a zero (0) and character data types are redacted with a blank space.

- Partial redaction. You redact a portion of the column data. For example, you can redact most of a credit card number with asterisks (*), except for the last four digits.

- Regular expressions. You can use regular expressions in both full and partial redaction. This enables you to redact data based on a search pattern for the data. For example, you can use regular expressions to redact specific phone numbers or email addresses in your data.

- Random redaction. The redacted data presented to the querying user appears as randomly-generated values each time it is displayed.

- No redaction. This option enables you to test the internal operation of your redaction policies, with no effect on the results of queries against tables with policies defined on them. You can use this option to test the redaction policy definitions before applying them to a production environment.

Data Redaction performs the redaction at run time, that is, the moment that the user tries to view the data. This functionality is ideally suited for dynamic production systems in which data constantly changes. While the data is being redacted, Oracle Database can process all data normally and preserve the back-end referential integrity constraints. Data redaction can help you to comply with industry regulations such as Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Tutorial: Redacting Data for a Select Group of Users

You can redact data for a select group of users, when one group of users must have very restricted access to the data and other groups have greater access to the same data.

Topics:

- About Redacting Data for a Select Group of Users

- Step 1: Create User Accounts and Grant Them the Necessary Privileges

- Step 2: Create and Populate the SALES_OPPS Sales Opportunities Table

- Step 3: Create the SALES_OPPS_POL Oracle Data Redaction Policy

- Step 5: Test the SALES_OPPS_POL Oracle Data Redaction Policy

- Step 6: Optionally_ Remove the Components for This Tutorial

About Redacting Data for a Select Group of Users

The scenario for this tutorial is a sales office in which the sales manager, user ezlotkey, must be able to see all the data in the sales_opps table, which describes various sales opportunities.

However, the sale representatives under this sales manager, users ahutton and eabel, must have limited access to the sales_opps table columns that describe account names and closing dates.

To solve this problem, you will create an Oracle Data Redaction policy that accomplishes these needs by performing the following actions:

- The policy redacts data in two columns, each using a different redaction style.

- The effect of the policy is the display of the query result with either the actual data or the redacted data based on the enabled roles of the querying user.

For this tutorial, you will interact directly with the database by using database user accounts. This is for simplicity. The intended use scenarios for Oracle Data Redaction are twofold: redact database applications and redact direct database access. Oracle Data Redaction on its own is a good solution for redacting sensitive data from packaged and custom applications. After completing the tutorial, you will have the knowledge necessary to apply what you have learned (using the database user accounts) for scenarios that involve actual application users. When direct database access is the target scenario, you should couple Oracle Data Redaction with preventive and detective controls that provide security for privileged database users (for example, Oracle Database Vault, Oracle Label Security, Oracle Audit Vault, and Oracle Database Firewall).

Step 1: Create User Accounts and Grant Them the Necessary Privileges

First, you must create the necessary user accounts and then grant user sec_admin the EXECUTE privilege on the DBMS_REDACT PL/SQL package, which is required to create Oracle Data Redaction policies.

To create user accounts for this tutorial:

1. In Enterprise Manager, access the Database home page for your target database as user SYS with the SYSDBA administrative privilege.
See Oracle Database 2 Day DBA for more information.

2. From the Administration menu, select Security, and then select Roles.

3. In the Roles page, select Create.

4. In the Create Role page Name field, enter SUPERVISOR and then click OK.

5. From the Administration menu, select Security, and then select Users.

6. In the Users Page, click Create.

7. In the Create User page, enter the following information:

- Name: EZLOTKEY (to create the user account for Eleni Zlotkey)

- Profile: DEFAULT

- Authentication: Password

- Enter Password and Confirm Password: Enter a password that meets the requirements in "Requirements for Creating Passwords".

- Default Tablespace: EXAMPLE

- Temporary Tablespace: TEMP

- Status: Unlocked

8. Select the System Privileges tab.

9. Select the Edit List button.

10. In the Modify System Privileges list, select the following privileges and then move them to the Selected System Privileges list.

- CREATE SESSION

- CREATE TABLE

- UNLIMITED TABLESPACE

11. Click OK.

12. In the Create User page, select the Roles tab, and then select the Edit List button.

13. In the Modify Roles page, double-click the SUPERVISOR role in the Available Roles list to move it to the Selected Roles list.

14. Click OK, and then click OK again to return to the Users page.

15. Select the Create button.

16. In the Create User page, enter the following information:

- Name: EABEL (to create the user account for Ellen Abel)

- Profile: DEFAULT

- Authentication: Password

- Enter Password and Confirm Password: Enter a password that meets the requirements in "Requirements for Creating Passwords".

- Default Tablespace: EXAMPLE

- Temporary Tablespace: TEMP

- Status: Unlocked

17. Select the System Privileges tab.

18. Select the Edit List button.

19. In the Modify System Privileges list, double-click the CREATE SESSION system privilege to move it to Selected System Privileges list.

20. Click OK.

21. In the Users page, select the EABEL user.

22. From the Actions list, select the Create Like button and then click Go.

23. In the Create User page, enter the following information:

- Name: Enter AHUTTON (for user Alyssa Hutton).

- Enter Password and Confirm Password: Enter a password that meets the requirements in "Requirements for Creating Passwords".

Note that user ezlotkey has been granted a role, supervisor, but the users eabel and ahutton are not granted any roles.

24. Click OK.

25. In the Users page, select the SEC_ADMIN user and then click the Edit button.
If user SEC_ADMIN does not exist, then you can quickly create this user in SQL*Plus by entering the following statement:

GRANT CREATE PROCEDURE, CREATE ROLE, CREATE SESSION, INHERIT ANY PRIVILEGES, SELECT ANY DICTIONARY TO sec_admin IDENTIFIED BY password;

See also "Step 2: Create a Security Administrator Account" to create this account.

26. Select the Object Privileges tab.

27. In the Object Privileges tab, from the Select Object Type list, select Package, and then click Add.

28. In the Select Package Objects field, enter SYS.DBMS_REDACT, and then in the Available Privileges list, move the EXECUTE privilege to the Selected Privileges list.

29. Click OK, and then click Apply.

Step 2: Create and Populate the SALES_OPPS Sales Opportunities Table

The sales_opps sales contains information for small businesses that are sales opportunities. It contains two columns that you must later on create an Oracle Data Redaction policy for.

To create and populate the sales_opps sales opportunities table:

1. Log into the database instance as user ezlotkey.

sqlplus ezlotkey
Enter password: password

2. Create the sales_opps table.

CREATE TABLE sales_opps (
account varchar2(30),
region varchar2(20),
product varchar2(20),
sales_rep varchar2(15),
close_date date,
price number,
quantity number);

3. Populate the sales_opps table with some data.

INSERT INTO sales_opps VALUES ('Rising Dough Bakery', 'north-east', 'AA1 AccountPro', 'ahutton', '07-JUL-12', 400.00, 4);
INSERT INTO sales_opps VALUES ('Shear Madness Hair Salon', 'south-west', 'AA1 AccountPro', 'eabel', '20-APR-12', 400.00, 1);
INSERT INTO sales_opps VALUES ('Doublecheck Accounting', 'north-east', 'AA1 AccountPro', 'ahutton', '14-MAR-12', 400.00, 12);
INSERT INTO sales_opps VALUES ('State of Art Framing', 'south-west', 'AA1 TaxPro', 'eabel', '21-MAY-12', 300.00, 2);
INSERT INTO sales_opps VALUES ('Shady Trees Arborists', 'north-east', 'AA1 AccountPro', 'ahutton', '17-JUN-12', 400.00, 16);

4. Query the account and close_date columns of the sales_opps table, to see the data that must be redacted.

SELECT account, close_date, product, quantity FROM sales_opps;

ACCOUNT                        CLOSE_DAT PRODUCT                QUANTITY
------------------------------ --------- -------------------- ----------
Rising Dough Bakery            07-JUL-12 AA1 AccountPro                4
Shear Madness Hair Salon       20-APR-12 AA1 AccountPro                1
Doublecheck Accounting         14-MAR-12 AA1 AccountPro               12
State of Art Framing           21-MAY-12 AA1 TaxPro                    2
Shady Trees Arborists          17-JUN-12 AA1 AccountPro               16

Step 3: Create the SALES_OPPS_POL Oracle Data Redaction Policy

As user sec_admin, create the sales_opps_pol Oracle Data Redaction policy.

To create the sales_opps_pol Data Redaction policy:

1. In Enterprise Manager, log out, and then log back in again as user sec_admin.
See Oracle Database 2 Day DBA for more information.

2. From the Administration menu, select Security, and then select Oracle Data Redaction.

3. In the Data Redaction page, select the Create button.

4. In the Create Data Redaction Policy page, enter the following information to design the basics of the policy:

- Schema: Enter EZLOTKEY (in capital letters).

- Table/View: Enter SALES_OPPS (in capital letters).

- Policy Name: Enter SALES_OPPS_POL.

- Policy Expression: Enter the following expression:

SYS_CONTEXT('SYS_SESSION_ROLES', 'SUPERVISOR') = 'FALSE'

The expression translates to "Redact the data in the account column for any user who does not have the supervisor role enabled." In other words, only the supervisor, ezlotkey, will be able to see the data in the account column.

5. Still in the Data Redaction page, apply the sales_opps_policy policy to a column, as follows:

a. Select the Add button.

b. In the Add window, from the Column list, select ACCOUNT.
The Column Datatype field displays the data type of ACCOUNT, which is VARCHAR2.

c. From the Redaction Template list, select Custom (which should be the default selection.)

d. From the Redaction Function list, select FULL.
FULL means all the characters in the account column will be redacted. Because the data type of the account column is VARCHAR2, the data will appear as a blank space.

e. Click OK.

6. Apply the sales_opps_pol policy to a second column, as follows:

a. Select the Add button.

b. In the Add window, from the Column list, select CLOSE_DATE.
The Column Datatype field determines that the data type for CLOSE_DATE is DATE.

c. From the Redaction Function list, select PARTIAL.
In a moment, the Add window expands to show the Function Attributes area.

d. In the Date Redaction Format field, enter the following attribute:

m06d7YHMS

This setting redacts the month and day of each date, setting them to appear as 07-JUNE-12.

e. Click OK.
The Create Data Redaction Policy page should appear as follows:

7. In the Create Data Redaction Policy page, click OK.
The policy appears in the Data Redaction Policies list.

Do not exit Enterprise Manager.

Step 5: Test the SALES_OPPS_POL Oracle Data Redaction Policy

To test the sales_opps_pol Oracle Data Redaction policy, log in as the users you created earlier and query the redacted columns in the sales_opps table.

To test the sales_opps_pol policy:

1. Connect to SQL*Plus as user ezlotkey.

connect ezlotkey
Enter password: password

2. Grant the sales representatives the SELECT privilege for the sales_opps table.

GRANT SELECT ON sales_opps TO eabel;
GRANT SELECT ON sales_opps TO ahutton;

3. Connect as user eabel.

connect eabel
Enter password: password

4. Query the sales_opps tables as follows:

SELECT account, close_date, product, quantity FROM ezlotkey.sales_opps;

Output similar to the following should appear:

ACCOUNT                        CLOSE_DAT PRODUCT                QUANTITY
------------------------------ --------- -------------------- ----------
07-JUN-12 AA1 AccountPro                4
07-JUN-12 AA1 AccountPro                1
07-JUN-12 AA1 AccountPro               12
07-JUN-12 AA1 TaxPro                    2
07-JUN-12 AA1 AccountPro               16

No data appears in the account column because it has been redacted to display a blank space for each row. The close_date column shows dates, but they are all partial date values. The product and quantity columns show their data, as expected, because the Data Redaction policy does not apply to them.

5. Connect as user ahutton and perform the same query.

connect ahutton
Enter password: password

SELECT account, close_date, product, quantity FROM ezlotkey.sales_opps;

ACCOUNT                        CLOSE_DAT PRODUCT                QUANTITY
------------------------------ --------- -------------------- ----------
07-JUN-12 AA1 AccountPro                4
07-JUN-12 AA1 AccountPro                1
07-JUN-12 AA1 AccountPro               12
07-JUN-12 AA1 TaxPro                    2
07-JUN-12 AA1 AccountPro               16

The data is redacted for user ahutton as well.

6. Connect as user ezlotkey and perform the same query.

connect ezlotkey
Enter password: password

SELECT account, close_date, product, quantity FROM sales_opps;

ACCOUNT                        CLOSE_DAT PRODUCT                QUANTITY
------------------------------ --------- -------------------- ----------
Rising Dough Bakery            07-JUL-12 AA1 AccountPro                4
Shear Madness Hair Salon       20-APR-12 AA1 AccountPro                1
Doublecheck Accounting         14-MAR-12 AA1 AccountPro               12
State of Art Framing           21-MAY-12 AA1 TaxPro                    2
Shady Trees Arborists          17-JUN-12 AA1 AccountPro               16

The sales_opps_pol Data Redaction policy shows the actual data for user ezlotkey because she has the supervisor role enabled. However, if this role is disabled for ezlotkey, then when she queries this table, the account and close_date columns will be redacted, even though she created and owns the sales_opps table.

7. Log out of SQL*Plus.

EXIT

Step 6: Optionally, Remove the Components for This Tutorial

You can remove the components that you created for this tutorial if you no longer need them.

To remove the components for this tutorial:

1. In Enterprise Manager, ensure that you are logged in as user sec_admin.

2. In the Data Redaction Policies page, select the SALES_OPPS_POL policy.

3. Click the Delete button.

4. In the Confirmation page, click Yes.

5. Log out of Enterprise Manager and then log back in again as user SYS with the SYSDBA administrative privilege

6. From the Database home page, select Security, then Administration, and then Users.

7. Select user AHUTTON, click Delete, and then in the Confirmation window, select Yes.

8. Select user EABEL, click Delete, and then in the Confirmation window, select Yes.

9. Select user EZLOTKEY, click Delete, and then in the Confirmation window, select Yes.

10. From the Administration menu, select Security, and then select Roles.

11. Select the role SUPERVISOR, click Delete, and in the Confirmation window, select Yes.

12. In the Users page, select the SEC_ADMIN user and then click Edit.

13. In the Edit User: SEC_ADMIN page, select the Object Privileges tab.

14. Select the EXECUTE privilege for the DBMS_REDACT package, and then click Delete.

15. Click the Apply button.

16. Exit Enterprise Manager by clicking the Log Out button.

8 Enforcing Row-Level Security with Oracle Label Security

Oracle Label Security enables you to enforce row-level security.

Topics:

- About Oracle Label Security

- Differences Between Virtual Private Database_ Oracle Label Security_ and Data Redaction

- Guidelines for Planning an Oracle Label Security Policy

- Tutorial: Creating Levels of Access to Table Data Based on the User

See Also:

Oracle Label Security Administrator's Guide

About Oracle Label Security

Oracle Label Security (OLS) provides row-level security for your database tables. You can accomplish this by assigning one or more security labels that define the level of security you want for the data rows of the table.

This feature secures your database tables at the row level, and assigns these rows different levels of security based on security labels. You then create a security authorization for users based on the OLS labels.

For example, rows that contain highly sensitive data can be assigned a label entitled HIGHLY SENSITIVE; rows that are less sensitive can be labeled as SENSITIVE, and so on. Rows that all users can have access to can be labeled PUBLIC. You can create as many labels as you need, to fit your site's security requirements. In a multitenant environment, the labels apply to the local pluggable database (PDB) and the session labels apply to local users.

After you create and assign the labels, you can use Oracle Label Security to assign specific users authorization for specific rows, based on these labels. Afterward, Oracle Label Security automatically compares the label of the data row with the security clearance of the user to determine whether the user is allowed access to the data in the row.

An Oracle Label Security policy has the following components:

- Labels. Labels for data and users, along with authorizations for users and program units, govern access to specified protected objects. Labels are composed of the following:

- Levels. Levels indicate the type of sensitivity that you want to assign to the row, for example, SENSITIVE or HIGHLY SENSITIVE.

- Compartments. (Optional) Data can have the same level (Public, Confidential and Secret), but can belong to different projects inside a company, for example ACME Merger and IT Security. Compartments represent the projects in this example, that help define more precise access controls. They are most often used in government environments.

- Groups. (Optional) Groups identify organizations owning or accessing the data, for example, UK, US, Asia, Europe. Groups are used both in commercial and government environments, and frequently used in place of compartments due to their flexibility.

- Policy. A policy is a name associated with these labels, rules, and authorizations.

You can create Oracle Label Security labels and policies in Enterprise Manager, or you can create them using the SA_SYSDBA, SA_COMPONENTS, and SA_LABEL_ADMIN PL/SQL packages. For information about using the PL/SQL packages, see Oracle Label Security Administrator's Guide. This guide explains how to create Oracle Label Security labels and policies by using Enterprise Manager.

For example, assume that a user has the SELECT privilege on an application table. As illustrated in the following figure, when the user runs a SELECT statement, Oracle Label Security evaluates each row selected to determine whether the user can access it. The decision is based on the privileges and access labels assigned to the user by the security administrator. You can also configure Oracle Label Security to perform security checks on UPDATE, DELETE, and INSERT statements.

Differences Between Virtual Private Database, Oracle Label Security, and Data Redaction

Oracle Virtual Private Database (VPD), Oracle Label Security (OLS), and Oracle Data Redaction enable you to restrict the data that different users can see in database tables.

But which of the features should you use? Virtual Private Database is effective when there is existing data you can use to determine the access requirements. For example, you can configure a sales representative to see only the rows and columns in a customer order entry table for orders he or she handles. Oracle Label Security is useful if you have no natural data (such as user accounts or employee IDs) that can be used to indicate a table's access requirements. To determine this type of user access, you assign different levels of sensitivity to the table rows. Oracle Data Redaction enables you to select from three differing (redaction) styles, and it applies the redaction when the user accesses the data, not directly in the database table.

In some cases, Oracle Virtual Private Database and Oracle Label Security can complement each other. The following Oracle Technology Network hands-on tutorial demonstrates how a Virtual Private Database policy can compare an Oracle Label Security user clearance with a minimum clearance. When the user clearance dominates the threshold, the Salary column is not hidden.

http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/database/security/ols-cs1-099558.html

Table 8-1 compares the features of Oracle Virtual Private Database, Oracle Label Security, and Oracle Data Redaction.

Table 8-1 Comparing Virtual Private Database, Label Security, and Data Redaction

Feature

VPD

OLS

Data Redaction

Provides full masking, partial masking, and random masking

No

No

Yes

Redacts data in real-time, as the user is accessing it

No

No

Yes

Provides row-level security

Yes

Yes

No

Provides column-level security (column masking)

Yes

No

Yes

Binds a user-defined PL/SQL package to a table, view, or synonym

Yes

No[1]

No

Modifies SQL by dynamically adding a WHERE clause returned from the PL/SQL procedures

Yes

No

No

Restricts database operations by privileged users[2]

No

No

No

Controls access to a set of rows based on the sensitivity label of the row and the security level of the user

No

Yes

No

Adds a column (optionally hidden) designed to store sensitivity labels for rows in the protected table[3]

No

Yes

No

Provides a user account to manage its administration

No[4]

Yes[5]

No

Provides pre-defined PL/SQL packages for row-level security

No

Yes

No

Is provided in the default installation of Oracle Database

Yes

Yes

Yes

Is provided as an additional option to Oracle Database and must be licensed

No

No

Yes

See Also:

- Controlling Access with Oracle Database Vault

- Restricting Access with Oracle Virtual Private Database

- Limiting Access to Sensitive Data Using Oracle Data Redaction

Guidelines for Planning an Oracle Label Security Policy

Before you create an Oracle Label Security policy, you must determine where and how to apply the labels to the application schema.

To determine where and how to apply Oracle Label Security policies for application data, follow these guidelines:

1. Analyze the application schema. Identify the tables that require an Oracle Label Security policy. In most cases, only a small number of the application tables will require an Oracle Label Security policy. For example, tables that store lookup values or constants usually do not need to be protected with a security policy. However, tables that contain sensitive data, such as patient medical histories or employee salaries, do.

2. Analyze the use of data levels. After you identify the candidate tables, evaluate the data in the tables to determine the level of security for the table. Someone who has broad familiarity with business operations can provide valuable assistance with this stage of the analysis.

Data levels refer to the sensitivity of the data. PUBLIC, SENSITIVE, and HIGHLY SENSITIVE are examples of data levels. You should also consider future sensitivities. Doing so creates a robust set of label definitions.

Remember that if a data record is assigned a sensitivity label whose level component is lower than the clearance of the user, then a user attempting to read the record is granted access to that row.

3. Analyze the use of data compartments. Data compartments are used primarily in government environments. If your application is a commercial application, in most cases, you will not create data compartments.

4. Analyze the data groups. Data groups and data compartments are typically used to control access to data by organization, region, or data ownership. For example, if the application is a sales application, access to the sales data can be controlled by country or region.

When a data record is assigned a sensitivity label with compartments and groups, a user attempting to read the record must have a user clearance that contains a level that is equal to or greater than the level of the data label, all of its compartments, and at least one of the groups in the sensitivity label. Because groups are hierarchical, a user could have the parent of one of the groups in the sensitivity label assigned to the data label and still be able to access that record.

5. Analyze the user population. Separate the users into one or more designated user types. For example, a user might be designated as a typical user, privileged user, or administrative user. After you create these categories of users, compare the categories with the data levels you created in Step 2. They must correspond correctly for each table identified during the schema analysis you performed in Step 1. Then, compare the organizational structure of the user population with the data groups that you identified in Step 4.

6. Examine the highly privileged and administrative users to determine which Oracle Label Security authorizations should be assigned to the user. Oracle Label Security has several special authorizations that can be assigned to users. In general, typical users do not require any special authorizations. See Oracle Label Security Administrator's Guide for a complete list of these authorizations.

7. Review and document the data you gathered. This step is crucial for continuity across the enterprise, and the resulting document should become part of the enterprise security policy. For example, this document should contain a list of protected application tables and corresponding justifications.

Tutorial: Creating Levels of Access to Table Data Based on the User

You can create different levels of Oracle Labe Security access to table data based on who the user is.

Topics:

- About Creating Levels of Access to Table Data Based on the User

- Step 1: Enable Oracle Label Security

- Step 2: Enable the LBACSYS Account

- Step 3: Create a Role and Three Users for the Oracle Label Security Tutorial

- Step 4: Create the ACCESS_LOCATIONS Oracle Label Security Policy

- Step 5: Define the ACCESS_LOCATIONS Policy-Level Components

- Step 6: Create the ACCESS_LOCATIONS Policy Data Labels

- Step 7: Create the ACCESS_LOCATIONS Policy User Authorizations

- Step 8: Apply the ACCESS_LOCATIONS Policy to the HR.LOCATIONS Table

- Step 9: Add the ACCESS_LOCATIONS Labels to the HR.LOCATIONS Data

- Step 10: Test the ACCESS_LOCATIONS Policy

- Step 11: Optionally_ Remove the Components for This Tutorial

About Creating Levels of Access to Table Data Based on the User

This tutorial demonstrates the general concepts of using Oracle Label Security.

In this tutorial, you will apply security labels to the HR.LOCATIONS table. Three users, sking, kpartner, and ldoran will have access to specific rows within this table, based on the cities listed in the LOCATIONS table.

With Oracle Label Security, you restrict user access to data by focusing on row data, and designing different levels of access based on the sensitivity of your data. If you must restrict user access by focusing on user privileges, or some other method such as the job title that the user in your organization has, you can create a PL/SQL function or procedure to use with a Virtual Private Database policy. See Restricting Access with Oracle Virtual Private Database, for more information.

The schema for HR.LOCATIONS is as follows:

Name                                      Null?    Type
----------------------------------------- -------- -------------
LOCATION_ID                               NOT NULL NUMBER(4)
STREET_ADDRESS                                     VARCHAR2(40)
POSTAL_CODE                                        VARCHAR2(12)
CITY                                      NOT NULL VARCHAR2(30)
STATE_PROVINCE                                     VARCHAR2(25)
COUNTRY_ID                                         CHAR(2)

You will apply the following labels:

Label

Privileges

CONFIDENTIAL

Read access to the cities Munich, Oxford, and Roma

SENSITIVE

Read access to the cities Beijing, Tokyo, and Singapore

PUBLIC

Read access to all other cities listed in HR.LOCATIONS

Step 1: Enable Oracle Label Security

In a default Oracle Database installation, Oracle Label Security is installed but you must manually enable it.

To enable Oracle Label Security:

1. Log into the database instance as user SYS with the SYSDBA administrative privilege.
For example:

sqlplus sys as sysdba
Enter password: password

2. Check if Oracle Label Security has been registered with the database.

SELECT STATUS FROM DBA_OLS_STATUS WHERE NAME = 'OLS_CONFIGURE_STATUS';

If it returns TRUE, then Oracle Label Security has been registered with the database. If the output is FALSE, then run the following procedure:

EXEC LBACSYS.CONFIGURE_OLS;

3. Check if Oracle Label Security is enabled. The PARAMETER column is case sensitive, so use the case shown here.

SELECT VALUE FROM V$OPTION WHERE PARAMETER = 'Oracle Label Security';

If it returns TRUE, then Oracle Label Security is enabled. Go to "Step 2: Enable the LBACSYS Account". If it returns FALSE, then run the following procedure to enable it:

EXEC LBACSYS.OLS_ENFORCEMENT.ENABLE_OLS;

4. If you needed to register and enable Oracle Label Security, then connect as user SYS with the SYSOPER privilege.

CONNECT sys as sysoper
Enter password: password

5. Restart the database.

SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE
STARTUP

Step 2: Enable the LBACSYS Account

After you have enabled Oracle Label Security, you must enable the default Oracle Label Security account, which is called LBACSYS.

To enable the Oracle Label Security LBACSYS user account:

1. Access the Database home page for your target database as user SYS with the SYSDBA administrative privilege.
See Oracle Database 2 Day DBA for more information.

2. From the Administration menu, select Security, then Users.

3. Select the LBACSYS account and click Edit.
If the account is active (the status will say OPEN), then go to "Step 3: Create a Role and Three Users for the Oracle Label Security Tutorial".

4. In the Edit User: LBACSYS page, enter the following settings:

- Enter Password and Confirm Password: Enter a password that meets the requirements in "Requirements for Creating Passwords".

- Status: Set the status to Unlocked.

5. Click Apply.

6. Select the System Privileges tab.

7. In the System Privileges page, select the Edit List button.

8. In the Modify System Privileges page, select SELECT ANY DICTIONARY from the Available System Privileges list, and then move it to the Selected System Privileges list. Click OK.

9. In the Edit User page, click Apply.

Step 3: Create a Role and Three Users for the Oracle Label Security Tutorial

You are ready to create a role and three users, and then grant these users the role.

Topics:

- Creating a Role

- Creating the Users

Creating a Role

The emp_role role provides the necessary privileges for the three users you will create.

To create the role emp_role:

1. Access the Database home page.
See Oracle Database 2 Day DBA for more information. Log in as user SYSTEM with the NORMAL privilege.

2. From the Administration menu, select Security, then Roles.

3. In the Roles page, click Create.

4. In the Create Role page, in the Name field, enter EMP_ROLE and leave Authentication set to None.

5. Select the Object Privileges subpage.

6. From the Select Object Type list, select Table, and then click Add.
The Add Table Object Privileges page appears.

7. Under Select Table Objects, enter HR.LOCATIONS to select the LOCATIONS table in the HR schema, and then under Available Privileges, move SELECT to the Selected Privileges list.

8. Click OK to return to the Create Role page, and then click OK to return to the Roles page.

Creating the Oracle Label Security Users

The three users that you must create will have different levels of access to the HR.LOCATIONS table, depending on their position.

Steven King (sking) is the advertising president, so he has full read access to the HR.LOCATIONS table. Karen Partners (kpartner) is a sales manager who has less access, and Louise Doran (ldoran) is a sales representative who has the least access.

To create the users:

1. From the Administration menu, select Security, then Users.
The Users page appears.

2. Click Create.

3. In the Create User page, enter the following information:

- Name: SKING

- Profile: DEFAULT

- Authentication: Password

- Enter Password and Confirm Password: Enter a password that meets the requirements in "Requirements for Creating Passwords".

- Default Tablespace: EXAMPLE

- Temporary Tablespace: TEMP

- Status: Set to Unlocked.

- Roles: Select the Roles subpage, and then grant the emp_role role to sking by selecting Edit List. From the Available Roles list, select emp_role, and then click Move to move it to the Selected Roles list. Click OK. In the Create User page, ensure that the Default box is selected for both the CONNECT and emp_role roles.

- System Privileges: Select the System Privileges subpage and then click Edit List to grant the CREATE SESSION privilege. Do not grant sking the ADMIN OPTION option.

4. Click OK to return to the Create User page, and then from there, click OK to return to the Users page.

5. In the Users page, select SKING, set Actions to Create Like, and then click Go.

6. In the Create User page, create accounts for kpartner and ldoran.
Create their names and passwords. (See "Requirements for Creating Passwords".) You do not need to grant roles or system privileges to them. Their roles and system privileges, defined in the sking account, are automatically created.

At this stage, you have created three users who have identical privileges. All of these users have the SELECT privilege on the HR.LOCATIONS table, through the EMP_ROLE role.

Step 4: Create the ACCESS_LOCATIONS Oracle Label Security Policy

After you create the user accounts, you are ready to create the ACCESS_LOCATIONS policy.

To create the ACCESS_LOCATIONS policy:

1. Log in to the Enterprise Manager target database as user as user LBACSYS with the NORMAL role selected.

2. From the Administration menu, select Security, then Oracle Label Security.

3. In the Label Security Policies page, click Create.

4. In the Create Label Security Policy page, enter the following information:

- Name: ACCESS_LOCATIONS

- Label Column: OLS_COLUMN
Later on, when you apply the policy to a table, the label column is added to that table. By default, the data type of the policy label column is NUMBER(10).

- Hide Label Column: Deselect this box so that the label column will not be hidden. (It should be deselected by default.)
Usually, the label column is hidden, but during the development phase, you may want to have it visible so that you can check it. After the policy is created and working, hide this column so that it is transparent to applications. Many applications are designed not to show an another column, so hiding the column prevents the application from breaking.

- Enabled: Select this box to enable the policy. (It should be enabled by default.)

- Inverse user's read and write groups (INVERSE_GROUP): Do not select this option.

- Default Policy Enforcement Options: Select Apply Policy Enforcement, and then select the following options:
For all queries (READ_CONTROL)

To use session's default label for label column update (LABEL_DEFAULT)

5. Click OK.
The ACCESS_LOCATIONS policy appears in the Label Security Policies page.

Step 5: Define the ACCESS_LOCATIONS Policy-Level Components

At this stage, you have the policy and have set enforcement options for it. Next, you are ready to create label components for the policy.

At a minimum, you must create one or more levels, such as PUBLIC or SENSITIVE; and define a long name, a short name, and a number indicating the sensitivity level. Compartments and groups are optional.

The level numbers indicate the level of sensitivity needed for their corresponding labels. Select a numeric range that can be expanded later on, in case your security policy needs more levels. For example, to create the additional levels LOW_SENSITIVITY and HIGH_SENSITIVITY, you can assign them numbers 7300 (for LOW_SENSITIVITY) and 7600 (for HIGH_SENSITIVITY), so that they fit in the scale of security your policy creates. Generally, the higher the number, the more sensitive the data.

Compartments identify areas that describe the sensitivity of the labeled data, providing a finer level of granularity within a level. Compartments are optional.

Groups identify organizations owning or accessing the data. Groups are useful for the controlled dissemination of data and for timely reaction to organizational change. Groups are optional.

In this step, you define the level components, which reflect the names and relationships of the SENSITIVE, CONFIDENTIAL, and PUBLIC labels that you must create for the ACCESS_LOCATIONS policy.

To define the label components for the ACCESS_LOCATIONS policy:

1. In the Label Security policies page, select the ACCESS_LOCATIONS policy, and then select Edit.

2. In the Edit Label Security Policy page, select the Label Components subpage.

3. Under Levels, click Add 5 Rows, and then enter a long name, short name, and a numeric tag as follows. (To move from one field to the next, press the Tab key.)

Long Name

Short Name

Numeric Tag

SENSITIVE

SENS

3000

CONFIDENTIAL

CONF

2000

PUBLIC

PUB

1000

4. Click Apply.

Step 6: Create the ACCESS_LOCATIONS Policy Data Labels

In this step, you create data labels for the ACCESS_LOCATION policy.

To create the data label, you must assign a numeric tag to each level. Later on, the tag number will be stored in the security column when you apply the policy to a table. It has nothing to do with the sensitivity of the label; it is only used to identify the labels for the policy.

To create the data labels:

1. Return to the Label Security policies page by selecting the Label Security Policies link.

2. Select the selection button for the ACCESS_LOCATIONS policy.

3. In the Actions list, select Data Labels, and then click Go.

4. In the Data Labels page, click Add.

5. In the Create Data Label page, enter the following information:

- Numeric Tag: Enter 1000.

- Level: Enter PUB.

6. Click OK.
The data label appears in the Data Labels page.

7. Click Add again, and then create a data label for the CONF label as follows:

- Numeric Tag: Enter 2000.

- Level: Select CONF from the list.

8. Click OK.

9. Click Add again, and then create a data label for the SENS label as follows:

- Numeric Tag: Enter 3000.

- Level: Select SENS from the list.

10. Click OK.
The CONF, PUB, and SENS labels appear in the Data Labels page.

Later, the tag number will be stored in the security column when you apply the policy to the HR.LOCATIONS table. It has nothing to do with the sensitivity of the label; it is only used to identify the labels for the policy.

Step 7: Create the ACCESS_LOCATIONS Policy User Authorizations

Next, you are ready to create user authorizations for the policy.

To create user authorizations for the policy:

1. Return to the Label Security policies page by selecting the Label Security Policies link.

2. Select the selection button for the ACCESS_LOCATIONS policy.

3. In the Actions list, select Authorization, and then click Go.

4. In the Authorization page, click Add Users.

5. In the Add User: Users page, under Database Users, click Add.
The Search and Select: Userpage appears. Enter SKING, and then click Go.

Typically, a database user account already has been created in the database, for example, by using the CREATE USER SQL statement.

The other option is Non Database Users. Most application users are considered nondatabase users. A nondatabase user does not exist in the database. This can be any user name that meets the Oracle Label Security naming standards and can fit into the VARCHAR2(30) length field. However, be aware that Oracle Database does not automatically configure the associated security information for the nondatabase user when the application connects to the database. In this case, the application must call an Oracle Label Security function to assume the label authorizations of the specified user who is not a database user.

6. Select the check box for user SKING, and then click Select.
The Create User page lists user SKING.

7. Select the check box for user SKING and then click Next.
(You may need to refresh the page to display user SKING's check box.)

8. In the Privileges page, select Next to move to the Audit page.
Oracle Label Security enforces the policy through the label authorizations. The Privileges page enables the user to override the policy label authorization, so do not select any of its options.

9. In the Labels, Compartments and Groups page, enter the following settings:

- Maximum Level: SENS (for SENSITIVE)

- Minimum Level: CONF (for CONFIDENTIAL)

- Default Level: SENS

- Row Level: SENS

10. Click Next to go to the Audit page.

11. In the Audit pane of the Add Users: Audit page, ensure that all of the audit operations are set to None, and then click Next.
The Review page appears.

12. Ensure that the settings are correct, and then click Finish.

The Review page lists all the authorization settings you have selected.

13. Repeat Step 4 through Step 12 to create the following authorizations for user KPARTNER, so that she can read confidential and public data in HR.LOCATIONS.

- Privileges: Select no privileges.

- Labels, Compartments And Groups: Set the four levels to the following:

- Maximum Level: CONF (for CONFIDENTIAL)

- Minimum Level: PUB (for PUBLIC)

- Default Level: CONF

- Row Level: CONF

- Audit: Set all to None.

14. Create the following authorizations for user LDORAN, who is only allowed to read public data from HR.LOCATIONS:

- Privileges: Select no privileges.

- Labels, Compartments And Groups: Set all four levels to PUB.

- Audit: Set all to None.

Step 8: Apply the ACCESS_LOCATIONS Policy to the HR.LOCATIONS Table

Next, you are ready to apply the policy to the HR.LOCATIONS table.

To apply the ACCESS_LOCATIONS policy to the HR.LOCATIONS table:

1. Return to the Label Security policies page by selecting the Label Security Policies link.

2. Select the selection button for the ACCESS_LOCATIONS policy.

3. In the Actions list, select Apply, and then click Go.

4. In the Apply page, click Create.
The Add Table page appears.

5. In the Table field, enter HR.LOCATIONS.

6. Ensure that the Hide Policy Column box is not selected.

7. Ensure that the Enabled box is selected.

8. Under Policy Enforcement Options, select Use Default Policy Enforcement.
By choosing Use Default Policy Enforcement, you are automatically choosing these options:

- For all queries (READ_CONTROL)

- Use session's default label for label column update (LABEL_DEFAULT)

9. Click OK.
The ACCESS_LOCATIONS policy is applied to the HR.LOCATIONS table.

Step 9: Add the ACCESS_LOCATIONS Labels to the HR.LOCATIONS Data

After you have applied the ACCESS_LOCATIONS policy to the HR.LOCATIONS table, you must apply the labels of the policy to the OLS_COLUMN in LOCATIONS.

For the user HR (the owner of that table) to accomplish this, the user must have FULL access to locations before being able to add the data labels to the hidden OLS_COLUMN column in LOCATIONS.

Topics:

- Granting HR FULL Policy Privilege for the HR.LOCATIONS Table

- Updating the OLS_COLUMN Table in HR.LOCATIONS

Granting HR FULL Policy Privilege for the HR.LOCATIONS Table

The label security administrative user, LBACSYS, can grant HR the necessary privilege.

To grant HR FULL access to the ACCESS_LOCATIONS policy:

1. Return to the Label Security policies page by selecting the Label Security Policies link.

2. Select the selection button for the ACCESS_LOCATIONS policy.

3. Select Authorization from the Actions list, and then click Go.

4. In the Authorization page, click Add Users.

5. In the Add Users page, under Database Users, click Add.

6. In the Search and Select window, select the box for user HR, and then click Select.
The Add User page lists user HR.

7. Click Next to display the Privileges page.

8. Select the Bypass all Label Security checks (FULL) privilege, and then click Next.

9. Click Next to display the Levels, Compartments and Groups page.

10. Click Next.

11. In the Audit page, click Next to display the Review page.

12. Click Finish.
At this stage, HR is listed in the Authorization page with the other users.

13. Do not exit Enterprise Manager.

Updating the OLS_COLUMN Table in HR.LOCATIONS

The user HR now can update the OLS_COLUMN column in the HR.LOCATIONS table to include data labels that will be assigned to specific rows in the table, based on the cities listed in the CITY column.

To update the OLS_COLUMN table in HR.LOCATIONS:

1. In SQL*Plus, connect as user HR.

CONNECT HR
Enter password: password

If you cannot log in as HR because this account locked and expired, log in as SYSTEM and then enter the following statement. Replace password with an appropriate password for the HR account. For greater security, do not reuse the same password that was used in previous releases of Oracle Database. See "Requirements for Creating Passwords".

ALTER USER HR ACCOUNT UNLOCK IDENTIFIED BY password

After you complete this ALTER USER statement, try logging in as user HR again.

2. Enter the following UPDATE statement to apply the SENS label to the cities Beijing, Tokyo, and Singapore:

UPDATE LOCATIONS
SET ols_column = CHAR_TO_LABEL('ACCESS_LOCATIONS','SENS')
WHERE UPPER(city) IN ('BEIJING', 'TOKYO', 'SINGAPORE');

3. Enter the following UPDATE statement to apply the CONF label to the cities Munich, Oxford, and Roma:

UPDATE LOCATIONS
SET ols_column = CHAR_TO_LABEL('ACCESS_LOCATIONS','CONF')
WHERE UPPER(city) IN ('MUNICH', 'OXFORD', 'ROMA');

4. Enter the following UPDATE statement to apply the PUB label to the remaining cities:

UPDATE LOCATIONS
SET ols_column = CHAR_TO_LABEL('ACCESS_LOCATIONS','PUB')
WHERE ols_column IS NULL;

5. To check that the columns were updated, enter the following statement:

SELECT LABEL_TO_CHAR (OLS_COLUMN) FROM LOCATIONS;

The following output should appear:

LABEL_TO_CHAR(OLS_COLUMN)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONF
PUB
SENS
PUB
PUB
PUB
PUB
PUB
PUB
PUB
SENS
PUB
PUB
SENS
PUB
CONF
PUB
CONF
PUB
PUB
PUB
PUB
PUB

23 rows selected.

Note:

Using the label column name (OLS_COLUMN) explicitly in the preceding query enables you to see the label column, even if it was hidden.

If the label column is hidden, and you do not specify the label column name explicitly, then the label column is not displayed in the query results. For example, using the SELECT * FROM LOCATIONS query does not show the label column if it is hidden. This feature enables the label column to remain transparent to applications. An application that was designed before the label column was added does not know about the label column and will never see it.

Step 10: Test the ACCESS_LOCATIONS Policy

The ACCESS_LOCATIONS policy is complete and ready to be tested. You can test it by logging in to SQL*Plus as each of the three users and performing a SELECT on the HR.LOCATIONS table.

To test the ACCESS_LOCATIONS policy:

1. In SQL*Plus, connect as user sking.

CONNECT sking
Enter password: password

2. Enter the following:

The following commands format the width of the table columns so that you can read them easier. You only need to perform this step once for the entire session (including when kpartner and ldoran log in.)

COL city HEADING City FORMAT a25
COL country_id HEADING Country FORMAT a11
COL Label format a10

Now enter the SELECT statement as follows:

SELECT CITY, COUNTRY_ID, LABEL_TO_CHAR (OLS_COLUMN)
AS LABEL FROM HR.LOCATIONS ORDER BY OLS_COLUMN;

User sking is able to access all 23 rows of the HR.LOCATIONS table. Even though he is only authorized to access rows that are labeled CONF and SENS, he can still read (but not write to) rows labeled PUB.

City                      Country     LABEL
------------------------- ----------- ----------
Venice                    IT          PUB
Utrecht                   NL          PUB
Bern                      CH          PUB
Geneva                    CH          PUB
Sao Paulo                 BR          PUB
Stretford                 UK          PUB
Mexico City               MX          PUB
Hiroshima                 JP          PUB
Southlake                 US          PUB
South San Francisco       US          PUB
South Brunswick           US          PUB
Seattle                   US          PUB
Toronto                   CA          PUB
Whitehorse                CA          PUB
Bombay                    IN          PUB
Sydney                    AU          PUB
London                    UK          PUB
Oxford                    UK          CONF
Munich                    DE          CONF
Roma                      IT          CONF
Singapore                 SG          SENS
Tokyo                     JP          SENS
Beijing                   CN          SENS

23 rows selected.

3. Repeat Steps 1 and 2 for users kpartner and ldoran.
User KPARTNER can access the rows labeled CONF and PUB:

City                      Country     LABEL
------------------------- ----------- ----------
Venice                    IT          PUB
Utrecht                   NL          PUB
Bern                      CH          PUB
Mexico City               MX          PUB
Hiroshima                 JP          PUB
Southlake                 US          PUB
South San Francisco       US          PUB
South Brunswick           US          PUB
Seattle                   US          PUB
Toronto                   CA          PUB
Whitehorse                CA          PUB
Bombay                    IN          PUB
Sydney                    AU          PUB
London                    UK          PUB
Stretford                 UK          PUB
Sao Paulo                 BR          PUB
Geneva                    CH          PUB
Oxford                    UK          CONF
Munich                    DE          CONF
Roma                      IT          CONF
20 rows selected.

User LDORAN can access the rows labeled PUB:

City                      Country     LABEL
------------------------- ----------- ----------
Venice                    IT          PUB
Hiroshima                 JP          PUB
Southlake                 US          PUB
South San Francisco       US          PUB
South Brunswick           US          PUB
Seattle                   US          PUB
Toronto                   CA          PUB
Whitehorse                CA          PUB
Bombay                    IN          PUB
Sydney                    AU          PUB
London                    UK          PUB
Stretford                 UK          PUB
Sao Paulo                 BR          PUB
Geneva                    CH          PUB
Bern                      CH          PUB
Utrecht                   NL          PUB
Mexico City               MX          PUB

17 rows selected.

4. Exit SQL*Plus.

Step 11: Optionally, Remove the Components for This Tutorial

You can remove the components that you created for this tutorial if you no longer need them.

To remove the components for this tutorial:

1. Return to the Label Security policies page by selecting the Label Security Policies link.

2. Select the ACCESS_LOCATIONS policy and then click Delete. In the Confirmation page, select the Drop column check box and then click Yes.
Deleting the ACCESS_LOCATIONS policy also drops the OLS_COLUMN column from the HR.LOCATIONS table.

3. Log out of Enterprise Manager and then log back in as user SYSTEM.

4. From the Administration menu, select Security, then Users.

5. Select user KPARTNER, and then click Delete.

6. In the Confirmation page, click Yes.

7. Repeat Step 5 and Step 6 to remove users ldoran and sking.

8. Click the Database Instance link to return to the Database home page.

9. From the Administration menu, select Security, then Roles.

10. Select the role emp_role, and then click Delete.

11. In the Confirmation dialog box, click Yes.

12. Log out of Enterprise Manager.

13. If necessary, disable Oracle Label Security.

a. Log into the database instance as either SYS with the SYSDBA administrative privilege, or as a user who has been granted the LBAC_DBA role.
For example:

sqlplus lbacsys
Enter password: password

b. Run the following procedure:

EXEC LBACSYS.OLS_ENFORCEMENT.DISABLE_OLS

c. Restart the database:

CONNECT SYS AS SYSOPER
Enter password: password

SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE
STARTUP

[1]
Oracle Label Security uses predefined PL/SQL packages, not user-created packages, to attach security policies to tables.

[2]
If you want to restrict privileged user access, consider using Oracle Database Vault.

[3]
Usually, this column is hidden to achieve transparency and not break applications that are not designed to show an additional column.

[4]
Oracle Virtual Private Database does not provide a user account, but you can create a user account that is solely responsible for managing Virtual Private Database policies.

[5]
The LBACSYS account manages Oracle Label Security policies. This provides an additional layer of security in that one specific user account is responsible for these policies, which reduces the risk of another user tampering with the policies.

9 Auditing Database Activity

To audit database activity, you can use unified auditing, which enables you to create policies that audit user behavior in the database in a variety of ways.

Topics:

- About Auditing

- Why Is Auditing Used?

- Tutorial: Creating a Unified Audit Policy

See Also:

- Oracle Database Security Guide for other ways that you can audit user and database activities

- Oracle Database Security Guide for important guidelines for creating audit policies

- Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall Administrator's Guide for information about advanced auditing features

About Auditing

Auditing is the monitoring and recording of selected user database actions.

To perform auditing, you must be granted the appropriate system privileges. To better facilitate separation of duty, the following two default roles are provided:

- AUDIT_ADMIN role, which enables you to configure auditing and administer both unified audit policies and fine-grained audit policies. It also enables you to view and analyze audit data. Typically, security administrators are granted this role.

- AUDIT_VIEWER role, which enables you to view and analyze audit data only. Typically, external auditors are granted this role.

This section provides an introduction to unified auditing, which captures audit records from the following locations:

- Audit records (including SYS audit records) from unified audit policies and AUDIT settings

- Fine-grained audit records from the DBMS_FGA PL/SQL package

- Oracle Real Application Security audit records

- Oracle Recovery Manager audit records

- Oracle Database Vault audit records

- Oracle Label Security audit records

Oracle Database consolidates these records in one location, in one format, viewable from the UNIFIED_AUDIT_TRAIL view for single database instances and GV$UNIFIED_AUDIT_TRAIL for Oracle Real Application Clusters environments.

When you upgrade your database to the current release, you must manually migrate to unified auditing if you want to use it. After you complete the migration, in an upgraded database, the audit records from the previous release are still available. You then can archive and purge these older audit trails. Afterwards, the new audit records will be written to the unified audit trail.

For a newly created database, Oracle Database provides mixed mode-enabled auditing, which enables both the old and new audit facilities to run simultaneously.

When you create and enable a unified audit policy, the policy begins to collect audit records right away. You do not need to set initialization parameters to enable overall auditing, as was necessary in previous releases. The policy can be as simple as auditing the activities of a single user or you can create complex audit policies that use conditions. You can have more than one audit policy in effect at a time in a database. An audit policy can contain both system-wide and object-specific audit options. Most of the auditing that you will do for general activities (including standard auditing) requires the use of audit policies

Another type of auditing is fine-grained auditing. Fine-grained auditing provides most of the auditing capabilities as unified auditing, plus the following functionality:

- Auditing specific columns. You can audit specific relevant columns that hold sensitive information, such as salaries or Social Security numbers.

- Using event handlers. For example, you can write a function that sends an email alert to a security administrator when an audited column that should not be changed at midnight is updated.

Oracle provides three predefined audit policies that cover commonly used security relevant audit settings. These policies are designed to provide an effective method of enforcing strong internal controls so that your site meets its regulatory compliance requirements.

See Also:

- Oracle Database Upgrade Guide for information about migrating to unified auditing and about mixed mode auditing

- Oracle Database Security Guide for information about archiving and purging the audit trail

- Oracle Database Security Guide for information about fine-grained auditing

- Oracle Database Security Guide for more information about the predefined audit policies

Why Is Auditing Used?

You typically use auditing to perform activities such as enabling user accountability, deterring inappropriate user actions, and investigating suspicious activity.

Auditing is used for the following reasons:

- Enable accountability for actions. These include actions taken in a particular schema, table, or row, or affecting specific content.

- Deter users from inappropriate actions based on that accountability.

- Investigate suspicious activity. For example, if a user is deleting data from tables, then a security administrator might decide to audit all connections to the database and all successful and unsuccessful deletions of rows from all tables in the database.

- Notify an auditor of actions by an unauthorized user. For example, an unauthorized user could change or delete data, or a user has more privileges than expected, which can lead to reassessing user authorizations.

- Detect problems with an authorization or access control implementation. For example, you can create audit policies that you expect will never generate an audit record because the data is protected in other ways. However, if these policies do generate audit records, then you will know the other security controls are not properly implemented.

- Address auditing requirements for compliance. Regulations such as the following have common auditing-related requirements:

- Sarbanes-Oxley Act

- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

- International Convergence of Capital Measurement and Capital Standards: a Revised Framework (Basel II)

- Japan Privacy Law

- European Union Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications

- Monitor and gather data about specific database activities. For example, the database administrator can gather statistics about which tables are being updated, how many logical I/O operations are performed, or how many concurrent users connect at peak times.

Tutorial: Creating a Unified Audit Policy

Suppose you wanted to audit SELECT statements on the OE.CUSTOMERS table. In this tutorial, you create unified audit policy that monitors SELECT statements on the OE.CUSTOMERS table.

Topics:

- Step 1: If Necessary_ Enable Unified Auditing

- Step 2: Grant the SEC_ADMIN User the AUDIT_ADMIN Role

- Step 3: Create and Enable a Unified Audit Policy

- Step 4: Test the Unified Audit Policy

- Step 5: Optionally_ Remove the Components for This Tutorial

- Step 6: Optionally_ Remove the SEC_ADMIN Security Administrator Account

Step 1: If Necessary, Enable Unified Auditing

In this procedure, you check if unified auditing has been enabled, and if it has not, you enable it.

To enable unified auditing:

1. Log in to SQL*Plus as user SYS with the SYSDBA administrative privilege.

sqlplus sys as sysdba
Enter password: password

2. Run the following query to find out if your database has been migrated to use unified auditing. Enter Unified Auditing in the case shown here.

SELECT VALUE FROM V$OPTION WHERE PARAMETER = 'Unified Auditing';

If the output for the VALUE column is FALSE, then complete the remaining steps in this section to migrate to unified auditing. If the output is TRUE, then unified auditing is enabled and you can go to "Step 2: Grant the SEC_ADMIN User the AUDIT_ADMIN Role".

3. Stop the database.
For single-instance installations, enter the following commands from SQL*Plus:

SHUTDOWN IMMEDIATE
EXIT

For Windows systems, stop the Oracle service:

net stop OracleService%ORACLE_SID%

For Oracle Real Application Clusters (Oracle RAC) installations, shut down each database instance as follows:

srvctl stop database -db db_name

4. Stop the listener. (Stopping the listener is not necessary for Oracle RAC and Grid Infrastructure listeners.)

lsnrctl stop listener_name

You can find the name of the listener by running the lsnrctl status command. The name is indicated by the Alias setting.

5. Go to the $ORACLE_HOME/rdbms/lib directory.

6. Enable the unified auditing executable.

- UNIX: Run the following command:

make -f ins_rdbms.mk uniaud_on ioracle ORACLE_HOME=$ORACLE_HOME

- Windows: Rename the %ORACLE_HOME%/bin/orauniaud12.dll.option file to %ORACLE_HOME%/bin/orauniaud12.dll.

7. Restart the listener.

lsnrctl start listener_name

8. Restart the database. Log in to SQL*Plus and then enter the STARTUP command as follows:

sqlplus sys as sysoper
Enter password: password

SQL> STARTUP

For Windows systems, start the Oracle service again.

net start OracleService%ORACLE_SID%

For Oracle RAC installations, from a command line, restart the database as follows:

srvctl setenv database -db orcl

Step 2: Grant the SEC_ADMIN User the AUDIT_ADMIN Role

After you enable unified auditing, you are ready to grant the sec_admin user the AUDIT_ADMIN role, which enables SEC_ADMIN to create audit policies.

To grant the SEC_ADMIN user the AUDIT_ADMIN role:

1. Access the Database home page for your target database as user SYS with the SYSDBA administrative privilege.
See Oracle Database 2 Day DBA for more information.

2. From the Administration menu, select Security, then Users.

3. Select the SEC_ADMIN account and click Edit.
If the sec_admin user account does not exist, see "Step 2: Create a Security Administrator Account" for instructions on how to create the sec_admin security administrator account.

4. In the Edit User: SEC_ADMIN page, select the Roles tab.

5. Select the Edit List button.

6. In the Modify Roles page, select AUDIT_ADMIN from the Available Roles list, and then move it to the Selected Roles list. Click OK.

7. In the Edit User: SEC_ADMIN page, select the Object Privileges tab.

8. In the Edit User page: SEC_ADMIN page, from the Object Type list, select Package, and then click Add.

9. In the Add Package Object Privileges page, do the following:

a. In the Select Package Objects field, enter SYS.DBMS_AUDIT_MGMT.

b. Under Available Packages, select EXECUTE and then click Move to send it to the Selected Privileges list.

c. Click OK.

10. In the Edit User page: SEC_ADMIN page, click Apply.

Step 3: Create and Enable a Unified Audit Policy

You can log in to Enterprise Manager as user sec_admin and then create a unified auditing policy for SELECT statements on the OE.CUSTOMERS table.

To create the unified audit policy:

1. In Enterprise Manager, log out and then log back in again as user sec_admin.

2. From the Administration menu, select Security, and then select Audit Settings.

3. In the Audit Settings page, click Create.

4. In the Create Audit Policy : Privileges and Roles page, enter the following settings:

- Name: Enter select_cust_pol for the policy name.

- Comments: Enter Audit policy for SELECT statements on OE.CUSTOMERS.

5. Click the Next button.

6. In the Create Audit Policy : Component Actions page, click Next.

7. In the Create Audit Policy : Object Actions page, click Add Object.

8. In the Add Object dialog box, enter the following settings:

- Schema: OE

- Type: TABLE

- Object: CUSTOMERS

- Action: SELECT

9. Click OK.
The Create Audit Policy : Object Actions page should appear as follows:

10. In the Create Audit Policy : Object Actions window click Next.

11. In the Create Audit Policy : Conditions window, click Next. In the Create Audit Policy : Review page, click Submit.
The Audit Settings page appears., with SELECT_CUST_POL in the list of policies.

12. Select SELECT_CUST_POL and then click the Enable button.

13. In the Enable Audit Policy dialog box, deselect the Enable Audit Policy For All Users check box.
The Enable Audit Policy dialog expands so that you can add specific users.

14. Click the Add User button.

15. In the Add User dialog box, search for and enter OE (select the Show Oracle Supplied check box) and ensure that the Audit on Success and Audit on Failure check boxes are selected.

16. Click OK.

17. Repeat these steps to add user HR to the list.

18. Do not exit Enterprise Manager.

Step 4: Test the Unified Audit Policy

At this stage, auditing is enabled and any SELECT statements performed on the OE.CUSTOMERS table are written to the to the UNIFIED_AUDIT_TRAIL dynamic view. Now, you are ready to test the audit settings.

A unified auditing policy takes effect in the next user session for the users who are being audited. So, before their audit records can be captured, the users must connect to the database after the policy has been created.

To test the audit settings:

1. In SQL*Plus, connect as user OE and query the OE.CUSTOMERS table so that you can generate a record for the audit trail.

connect OE
Enter password: password

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM CUSTOMERS;

COUNT(*)
--------
319

2. Connect as user HR and try to run this query.

connect HR
Enter password: password

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM OE.CUSTOMERS;

ERROR at line 1:
ORA-00942: table or view does not exist

At this point, the audit trail contains two records, one for a successful query by user OE and another for a failed query attempt by user HR.

3. Connect as user SH and try to run the same query.

connect SH
Enter password: password

SELECT COUNT(*) FROM OE.CUSTOMERS;

ERROR at line 1:
ORA-00942: table or view does not exist

Because this user is not being audited, there should be no audit record for this action.

4. Connect as user sec_admin.

connect sec_admin
Enter password: password

5. Run then the following procedure.

EXEC SYS.DBMS_AUDIT_MGMT.FLUSH_UNIFIED_AUDIT_TRAIL;

If the audit trail mode is QUEUED, then audit records are not written to disk until the in-memory queues are full. This command explicitly flushes the queues to disk, so that you can see the audit trail records in the UNIFIED_AUDIT_TRAIL view.

6. Enter the following statement to query the UNIFIED_AUDIT_TRAIL view:

col dbusername format a12
col sql_text format a30
col event_timestamp format a38

SELECT DBUSERNAME, SQL_TEXT, EVENT_TIMESTAMP
FROM UNIFIED_AUDIT_TRAIL
WHERE SQL_TEXT LIKE 'SELECT %';

For this SELECT statement, enter the text for the SQL_TEXT column ('SELECT %') using the same case that you used when you entered the SELECT statement for users OE, HR, and SH. In other words, if you entered that SELECT statement in lowercase letters, then enter 'select %' when you query the DBA_AUDIT_TRAIL view, not 'SELECT %'.

Output similar to the following appears:

DBUSERNAME SQL_TEXT                          EVENT_TIMESTAMP
---------- --------------------------------- --------------------------------
OE         SELECT COUNT(*) FROM CUSTOMERS    04-JAN-13 03.39.02.468963 PM
HR         SELECT COUNT(*) FROM OE.CUSTOMERS 04-JAN-13 03.38.05.974127 PM

Because the audit policy only applied to users OE and HR, there is no record for user SH's actions.

Step 5: Optionally, Remove the Components for This Tutorial

You can remove the components of this tutorial if you no longer need them.

To remove the audit settings for this tutorial:

1. In Enterprise Manager, ensure that you are logged in as user sec_admin.

2. Select Administration, then Security, and then Audit Settings to display the Audit Settings page.

3. Select the SELECT_CUST_POL policy, click Disable, and then select Yes in the Confirmation dialog box.

4. Select the SELECT_CUST_POL policy again, click Delete, and then select Yes in the Confirmation dialog box. Then click Yes again.

5. Log out of Enterprise Manager and then log back in again as user SYS with the SYSDBA administrative privilege.

6. From the Administration menu, select Security, and then select Users.

7. Select the SEC_ADMIN user and then click Edit.

8. In the Edit User : SEC_ADMIN page, select Roles.

9. Select the Edit List button.

10. In the Modify Roles page, move the AUDIT_ADMIN role to the Available Roles list and then click OK.

11. In the Edit User : SEC_ADMIN page, select the Object Privileges tab.

12. Select the EXECUTE privilege for the DBMS_AUDIT_MGMT package, and then click Delete.

13. Click Apply.

Step 6: Optionally, Remove the SEC_ADMIN Security Administrator Account

This is the last example in this guide. If you no longer need the sec_admin administrator account, then you should remove it.

To remove the sec_admin security administrator account:

1. Log in to the database as user SYSTEM.

2. From the Database home page, select Administration, then Security, then Users.

3. Select the user sec_admin.

4. Click Delete.

5. In the Confirmation page, select Yes.

6. Exit Enterprise Manager.

Index

A  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  K  L  M  N  O  P  R  S  T  U  V  W  X

A

- access control

- data encryption [1]

- Oracle Label Security [1]

- administrative accounts

- about [1]

- predefined, listed [1]

- administrators

- restricting access of [1]

- separation of duty [1]

- ANONYMOUS user account [1]

- application contexts

- Oracle Virtual Private Database, used with [1]

- ASMSNMP user account [1]

- auditing

- about [1]

- fine-grained auditing [1]

- monitoring user actions [1]

- reasons to audit [1]

- AUDSYS user account [1]

- AUTHID CURRENT USER invoker’s rights clause [1]

C

- CONNECT role, privilege available to [1]

- CREATE DATABASE LINK statement [1]

- CREATE EXTERNAL JOB privilege

- default security setting, modified by [1]

- CREATE SESSION statement [1]

- CTXSYS user account [1]

D

- database

- checking compatibility [1]

- database accounts

- See: user accounts

- data dictionary

- about [1]

- securing [1]

- data dictionary views

- DBA_USERS_WITH_DEFPWD [1]

- DBA_USERS_WITH_DEFPWD data dictionary view [1]

- DBSNMP user account

- about [1]

- default passwords

- importance of changing [1]

- default security settings

- about [1]

- DIP user account [1]

E

- encryption

- about [1]

- algorithms, described [1]

- components [1]

- network [1]

- reasons not to encrypt [1]

- reasons to encrypt [1]

- errors

- checking trace files [1]

- WHEN NO_DATA_FOUND exception example [1]

- examples [1]

- See also: tutorials

- exceptions

- WHEN NO_DATA_FOUND example [1]

F

- fine-grained auditing [1]

G

- GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES privilege [1]

- guidelines for security

- auditing

- predefined unified audit policies [1]

- Oracle Label Security policies, planning [1]

- passwords

- creating [1]

- privileges, granting [1]

- roles, granting to users [1]

H

- HR user account [1]

I

- initialization parameters

- configuration related [1]

- default security, modified by [1]

- FAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS [1]

- installation related [1]

- MAX_ENABLED_ROLES [1]

- modifying [1]

- O7_DICTIONARY_ACCESSIBILITY

- about [1]

- data dictionary, protecting [1]

- default setting [1]

- OS_AUTHENT_PREFIX [1]

- OS_ROLES [1]

- PASSWORD_GRACE_TIME [1]

- PASSWORD_LIFE_TIME [1]

- PASSWORD_LOCK_TIME [1]

- PASSWORD_REUSE_MAX [1]

- PASSWORD_REUSE_TIME [1]

- REMOTE_LISTENER [1]

- REMOTE_OS_AUTHENT [1]

- REMOTE_OS_ROLES [1] , [2]

- SEC_CASE_SENSITIVE_LOGIN [1]

- SEC_MAX_FAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS [1]

- SEC_RETURN_SERVER_RELEASE_BANNER [1]

- SQL92_SECURITY [1]

- invoker’s rights [1]

- IX user account [1]

K

- keystores

- closing [1]

- creating [1]

- creating master encryption key [1]

- creating software password keystore [1]

- opening [1]

L

- LBACSYS user account [1]

- least privilege principle [1]

M

- master encryption key

- creating [1]

- MDDATA user account [1]

- MDSYS user account [1]

- monitoring

- See: auditing

- multitenant container databases

- See: CDBs

- My Oracle Support

- about [1]

- user account for logging service requests [1]

N

- network encryption

- about [1]

- components [1]

- configuring [1]

- nondatabase users [1]

O

- object privileges [1]

- OE user account [1]

- OLAPSYS user account [1]

- ORACLE_OCM user account [1]

- Oracle Database Vault

- about [1]

- components [1]

- registering with database [1]

- regulatory compliances, how meets [1]

- tutorial [1]

- Oracle Data Redaction

- about [1]

- compared with VPD and OLS [1]

- industry compliance [1]

- redaction performed in real time [1]

- tutorial [1]

- types of redaction [1]

- Oracle Enterprise Manage

- about [1]

- Oracle Label Security (OLS)

- compared with VPD and Data Redaction [1]

- components [1]

- guidelines in planning [1]

- how it works [1]

- tutorial [1]

- used with Oracle Virtual Private Database [1]

- Oracle MetaLink

- See: My Oracle Support

- Oracle Net

- encrypting network traffic [1]

- Oracle Virtual Private Database (VPD)

- about [1]

- advantages [1]

- application contexts [1]

- compared with OLS and Data Redaction [1]

- components [1]

- tutorial [1]

- used with Oracle Label Security [1]

- ORDDATA user account [1]

- ORDPLUGINS user account [1]

- ORDSYS user account [1]

P

- passwords

- changing [1]

- default security setting, modified by [1]

- default user account [1]

- passwords for security

- requirements [1]

- pluggable databases

- See: PDBs

- PM user account [1]

- principle of least privilege [1]

- privileges

- about [1]

- CREATE DATABASE LINK statement [1]

- SYSTEM and OBJECT [1]

R

- roles

- CONNECT [1]

- create your own [1]

- job responsibility privileges only [1]

S

- SCOTT user

- about [1]

- restricting privileges of [1]

- sec_admin example security administrator

- removing [1]

- secure application roles

- about [1]

- advantages [1]

- components [1]

- invoker’s rights [1]

- tutorial [1]

- security administrator

- removing sec_admin [1]

- security tasks, common [1]

- SELECT ANY DICTIONARY privilege

- GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES privilege, not included in [1]

- sensitive data

- Oracle Virtual Private Database [1]

- secure application roles [1]

- separation of duty concepts [1]

- separation-of-duty principles

- about [1]

- Oracle Database Vault [1]

- session information, retrieving [1]

- SH user account [1]

- SI_INFORMTN_SCHEMA user account [1]

- SPATIAL_CSW_ADMIN_USR user account [1]

- SPATIAL_WFS_ADMIN_USR user account [1]

- standard auditing

- tutorial [1]

- SYSBACKUP user account

- about [1]

- SYSDG user account

- about [1]

- SYSKM user account

- about [1]

- system administrator

- See: administrative accounts, security administrator

- system privileges [1]

- SYSTEM user account

- about [1]

- SYS user account

- about [1]

T

- tablespaces

- encrypting [1]

- TDE

- See: Transparent Data Encryption (TDE)

- trace files

- checking for errors [1]

- Transparent Data Encryption (TDE)

- about [1]

- advantages [1]

- closing keystore [1]

- components [1]

- configuring [1]

- creating master encryption key [1]

- creating software password keystores [1]

- finding if keystore is open or closed [1]

- finding keystore location [1]

- finding keystore type [1]

- how it works [1]

- opening keystore [1]

- performance effects [1]

- storage space [1]

- table columns

- checking in database instances [1]

- encrypting [1]

- tablespaces

- checking [1]

- tablespaces, encrypting [1]

- troubleshooting

- checking trace files [1]

- tutorials

- Oracle Database Vault [1]

- Oracle Label Security [1]

- Oracle Virtual Private Database [1]

- secure application roles [1]

- standard auditing [1]

U

- user accounts

- about [1]

- default, changing password [1]

- expiring [1]

- locking [1]

- password requirements [1]

- predefined

- administrative [1]

- non-administrative [1]

- sample schema [1]

- unlocking [1]

- user accounts, predefined

- ANONYMOUS [1]

- ASMSNMP [1]

- AUDSYS [1]

- CTXSYS [1]

- DBSNMP [1]

- DIP [1]

- HR [1]

- IX [1]

- LBACSYS [1]

- MDDATA [1]

- MDSYS [1]

- OE [1]

- OLAPSYS [1]

- ORACLE_OCM [1]

- ORDDATA [1]

- ORDPLUGINS [1]

- ORDSYS [1]

- PM [1]

- SCOTT [1] , [2]

- SH [1]

- SI_INFORMTN_SCHEMA [1]

- SPATIAL_CSW_ADMIN_USR [1]

- SPATIAL_WFS_ADMIN_USR [1]

- SYS [1]

- SYSBACKUP [1]

- SYSDG [1]

- SYSKM [1]

- SYSTEM [1]

- WMSYS [1]

- XDB [1]

- XS$NULL [1]

- user session information, retrieving [1]

V

- views

- See: data dictionary views

- Virtual Private Database

- See: Oracle Virtual Private Database

- VPD

- See: Oracle Virtual Private Database

W

- WMSYS user account [1]

X

- XDB user account [1]

- XS$NULL user account [1]

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