Summary

Database access control is the fundamental mechanism for data security. Oracle provides two different types of privileges: system privileges, which apply across the database, and object privileges, which apply to specific database objects. Effective security implies a good understanding of the different types of privileges and their relationships and dependencies as well as the ability to verify privileges for specific users.

Roles have many advantages. When used carefully and correctly, database roles provide a flexible, secure, and easy way of ensuring least privileges and ultimate database security. Oracle supports different role types for different situations. Standard roles allow users’ privileges to be easily aggregated and managed. Global and enterprise roles support Oracle’s EUS strategy by allowing different end users to maintain different roles even while mapped to the same database schema.

Another advantage to using roles can also be seen with the ability to support selective privilege enablement. Roles can be enabled or disabled by default. This can facilitate many real-world security policies. To do this effectively, enabling the roles must be done in a secure manner. Password-protected roles provide security for enabling roles. While password-protected roles are good in many situations, they are vulnerable to several password management–related issues.

Extending the ability to protect roles are secure application roles. Secure application roles allow the database to ultimately decide whether a role and its related privileges should be enabled. Security is often not based on the user’s identity alone. Access must be controlled based on many things, such as how and when the users authenticated, the application they are using, and the location of the user when accessing the database. Secure application roles provide a way to meet this complex and varying set of requirements.