Latest Secerno.SQL release boosts database security

Security vendor Secerno has today released the latest version of its database monitoring product in anticipation of managing the complexity of growing consolidation in this part of enterprise IT infrastructure.

The new version of Secerno.SQL has been launched on the basis of the trend, identified by IT analyst Forrester, towards consolidating the many thousands of databases run by major corporations, which it estimates will be subject of a widespread consolidation move within the next two to three years.

Secerno.SQL v2.1 features patent-pending, machine-learning technology that observes how applications access the database, to allow IT managers to control and protect their data assets from known and unknown, external and internal threats

Steve Hurn, chief executive of the Oxford-based vendor, said that consolidation will result in a decreasing number of databases holding an ever-increasing volume of data, making them an "alluring one-stop-shop for hackers keen to steal as much customer data as possible."

He said this new version would enable organisations to define and enforce security policies that segment and discriminate between different types of business access to these increasingly widely shared databases.

It can not only determine who is allowed access to the database, at what time and from where, but can also control access according to individuals' behaviour without the system manager needing to develop and maintain complex policy configurations for every scenario.

The new version also introduces the direct console access monitoring (DCAM) feature to audit and control direct operator database access, as well as access through network applications. This is intended to help with increasing regulatory-driven compliance pressures to demonstrate transparency in database access and control management, without requiring any external software agent.

DCAM instead uses the core database capabilities themselves to produce analysis for regulatory reporting processes, irrespective of where and how a database is accessed and without degrading core database system management performance.

Miya Knights

A 25-year veteran enterprise technology expert, Miya Knights applies her deep understanding of technology gained through her journalism career to both her role as a consultant and as director at Retail Technology Magazine, which she helped shape over the past 17 years. Miya was educated at Oxford University, earning a master’s degree in English.

Her role as a journalist has seen her write for many of the leading technology publishers in the UK such as ITPro, TechWeekEurope, CIO UK, Computer Weekly, and also a number of national newspapers including The Times, Independent, and Financial Times.