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The top ten most common database security vulnerabilities

What are the most common, and serious, database vulnerabilities that businesses should be aware of?
Written by Charlie Osborne, Contributing Writer
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Digital warfare and worldwide cyberattack rates are on the rise, and protection on corporate networks is even more crucial.

Databases are a key target for cybercriminals due to the often valuable nature of sensitive information locked away inside. Whether the data is financial or holds intellectual property and corporate secrets, hackers worldwide can profit from breaching a businesses' servers and plundering databases.

According to a new report issued by Dark Reading, there are a number of key security failures that cybercriminals take advantage of. However, it is often the staff of an enterprise — database developers, administrators and the like — who create the environment necessary for attacks to gain access to data.

The researchers say that the top ten vulnerabilities often found in database-driven systems, whether during the creation phase, through the integration of applications or when updating and patching, are:

1. Deployment Failures

The most common cause of database vulnerabilities is a lack of due care at the moment they are deployed. Although any given database is tested for functionality and to make sure it is doing what the databases is designed to do, very few checks are made to check the database is not doing things it should not be doing.

2. Broken databases

The SQL Slammer worm of 2003 was able to infect more than 90 percent of vulnerable computers within 10 minutes of deployment, taking down thousands of databases in minutes. This worm took advantage of a bug that was discovered in Microsoft's SQL Server database software the previous year, but few system administrators installed a fix, leaving computers vulnerable.

By exploiting a buffer-overflow vulnerability, the worm's success demonstrates how critical installing security patches and fixes are. However, whether lacking time or resources, not enough businesses keep their systems regularly patched, leaving databases vulnerable.

3. Data leaks

Databases may be considered a "back end" part of the office and secure from Internet-based threats (and so data doesn't have to be encrypted), but this is not the case. Databases also contain a networking interface, and so hackers are able to capture this type of traffic to exploit it. To avoid such a pitfall, administrators should use SSL- or TLS-encrypted communication platforms.

4. Stolen database backups

External attackers who infiltrate systems to steal data are one threat, but what about those inside the corporation? The report suggests that insiders are also likely to steal archives — including database backups — whether for money, profit or revenge. This is a common problem for the modern enterprise, and businesses should consider encrypting archives to mitigate the insider-risk.

5. The abuse of database features

The research team says that over the past three years, every database exploit they've seen has been based on the misuse of a standard database feature. For example, a hacker can gain access through legitimate credentials before forcing the service to run arbitrary code. Although complex, in many cases, this access was gained through simple flaws that allow such systems to be taken advantage of or bypassed completely. Future abuse can be limited by removing unnecessary tools — not by destroying the possibility of zero-day exploits, but by at least shrinking the surface area hackers can study to launch an attack.

6. A lack of segregation

The separation of administrator and user powers, as well as the segregation of duties, can make it more difficult for fraud or theft undertaken by internal staff. In addition, limiting the power of user accounts may give a hacker a harder time in taking complete control of a database.

7. Hopscotch

Rather than taking advantage of buffer overflow and gaining complete access to a database in the first stage, cybercriminals often play a game of Hopscotch: finding a weakness within the infrastructure that can be used as leverage for more serious attacks until they reach the back-end database system. For example, a hacker may worm their way through your accounts department before hitting the credit card processing arena. Unless every department has the same standard of control, creating separate administrator accounts and segregating systems can help mitigate the risk.

8. SQL injections

A popular method for hackers to take, SQL injections remain a critical problem in the protection of enterprise databases. Applications are attacked by injections, and the database administrator is left to clean up the mess caused by unclean variables and malicious code which is inserted into strings, later passed to an instance of SQL server for parsing and execution. The best ways to protect against these threats are to protect web-facing databases with firewalls and to test input variables for SQL injection during development.

9. Sub-standard key management

Key management systems are meant to keep keys safe, but the research team often found encryption keys stored on company disk drives. Database administrators sometimes falsely believe these keys have to be left on the disk because of database failures, but this isn't true — and placing such keys in an unprotected state can leave systems vulnerable to attack.

10. Database inconsistencies

Finally, the researchers found that the common thread which brings all of these vulnerabilities together is a lack of consistency, which is an administrative rather than database technology problem. System administrators and database developers need to develop a consistent practice in looking after their databases, staying aware of threats and making sure that vulnerabilities are taken care of. This isn't an easy task, but documentation and automation to track and make changes can ensure that the information contained in enterprise networks is kept secure.

For a more in-depth explanation, download the report.

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