A key point here when going back to the backing up of the database I ran the export on this database, re-imported it to a new database and ran the same query above and got the same encrypted results, showing that the data in the backup remained encrypted throughout the backup/restore process. When we tell the client that we are not decrypting the data, by setting Always Encrypted to disabled, we are asking for the binary (encrypted) values. What happened here? The SSN data was encrypted with Always Encrypted, running through the wizard as discussed earlier. So, what we will see is the encrypted SSNs when we run the following query: This doesn’t remove the encryption from the column we just encrypted, it simply tells the client (SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), in this case) to not decrypt the data. In the textbox, enter Column Encryption Setting=Disabled.Select the Additional Connection Parameters tab.In your query window, right-click and select Connection > Change Connection….What does the data look like when I retrieve it? Let’s first make sure we have Always Encrypted disabled: This means that when the backup is performed, SQL Server doesn’t have access to the keys and, therefore, cannot decrypt the data. As it was explained above, Always Encrypted works by having the keys to decrypt on the client-side. This only affects the backup file, not the actual data in the database. What the “Encryption for backups” is talking about is the actual backup file while the backup file is not encrypted, the data within the backup remains encrypted.ĭigging a bit more into this, Encrypted Backups use a certificate or an asymmetric key along with an encryption algorithm to encrypt the backup file when a backup is performed. Does this mean that if I have my data encrypted and I export the database, the data is no longer encrypted? The short answer is no – the data remains encrypted.
One of the points of confusion when looking over the security features of SQL Server 2016 Express may be that it shows that Express does not provide encryption for backups.
Encrypted Backups in SQL Server 2016 Express, Explained For details on this process, see this article. To encrypt the SSN column, you would use the Always Encrypted Wizard to set the desired encryption configuration for this column (and any other column you choose). Using the example above with the Social Security Number, lets assume you have a Patients database where info such as First Name, Last Name, and SSN are stored. You can configure Always Encrypted for individual columns in your database which contain sensitive data. This provides a separation between those who own the data and those who manage the data, ensuring that a database administrator who is not authorized to view the data cannot access the encrypted data. Always Encrypted relies on the necessary keys to decrypt data to be stored client-side and these keys are never available to the Database Engine. What is Always Encrypted?Īlways Encrypted helps protect sensitive data, such as social security numbers, inside of a database (Azure SQL or SQL Server) by offering column-level encryption. The reason why it’s not seen at first glance is because the Always Encrypted feature is what provides the column-level security. The question I usually get is “I heard that SQL Server 2016 supports column-level encryption, but I only see row-level”. Which Encryption Options are Available for SQL Server 2016 SP1 Express?Īs shown in the list of security features, you can see that the Express edition supports Row-level security, Always Encrypted, Dynamic data masking, and Auditing (most of which require SP1). This post is motivated by a customer who was hoping to understand a bit more about the different encryption options, specifically column-level encryption, and whether or not the data remains encrypted when exported or backed up. In this post, I want to focus on the Always Encrypted security feature of SQL Server 2016 SP1, specifically with the Express edition. This post is provided by Senior App Dev Manager, Chris Tjoumas who provides an overview of Always Encrypted with SQL Server 2016.
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