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Security
You can secure your Informix® database server and the data that is stored in your Informix databases. You can encrypt data, secure connections, control user privileges and access, and audit data security.
Security in HCL Informix®
The Informix® Security Guide documents methods for keeping your data secure by preventing unauthorized viewing and altering of data or database objects, including how to use the secure-auditing facility of the database server.
Auditing data security
Overview of auditing with the Informix® secure auditing facility
Audit configuration
Access to the audit trail
Access to audit files on UNIX™

Security
You can secure your Informix® database server and the data that is stored in your Informix databases. You can encrypt data, secure connections, control user privileges and access, and audit data security.
- Security in HCL Informix®
  The Informix® Security Guide documents methods for keeping your data secure by preventing unauthorized viewing and altering of data or database objects, including how to use the secure-auditing facility of the database server.
  - Securing data
  - Auditing data security
    - Overview of auditing with the Informix® secure auditing facility
    - Audit administration
    - Audit analysis
    - The onaudit utility
      Use the onaudit utility to manage audit masks and auditing configuration.
    - The onshowaudit utility
      Use the onshowaudit utility to view the audit information from an existing audit trail. You can use this command to extract information for a particular user, database server, or both, making it possible to isolate a particular subset of data from a potentially large audit trail.
    - Audit event codes and fields
      The secure-auditing facility audits certain database server events.
    - The ADTCFG file

Access to audit files on UNIX™

The following characteristics control access to audit files in a UNIX™ environment and protect them from being accidentally read or deleted:

Ownership:: informix
Group ID:: same as $INFORMIXDIR/aaodir
Permissions:: 775

Important: The AAO must be careful when selecting the directory in which the audit files are stored (ADTPATH). The directories in the path must have adequate ownership and access permissions for the level of risk that the AAO allows. The default directory (/tmp) does not have adequate protection.

The following examples show the security configuration for UNIX™ audit files with no role separation:

aaodir

Ownership:: informix
Group ID:: informix
Permissions:: 775

aaodir/adtcfg.std

Ownership:: informix
Group ID:: informix
Permissions:: 644

The following examples show the UNIX™ security configuration with role separation:

aaodir

Ownership:: informix
Group ID:: <aao_group>
Permissions:: 775

aaodir/adtcfg.std

Ownership:: informix
Group ID:: <aao_group>
Permissions:: 644

Important: Because any account with the group ID of informix or superuser (root) ownership, or both, can access the audit trail, you must exercise care to protect these accounts and their passwords.