Home
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
DBMS security threats
Primary threats

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

Primary threats

Primary threats to the security of a database server involve unauthorized disclosure or modification of sensitive information. To counter these measures, the DBSSO, DBSA, and OSA must ensure that all users of the DBMS are identified and authenticated before they are able to use or access the software or data.

Users must belong to the correct group to access the database server. They must also have a valid login ID in the operating-system password file.

In addition, all users who attempt to access data must satisfy Discretionary Access Control (DAC) restrictions before access is granted. DAC uses SQL statements to specify which users can and cannot access data in the database. Access can be allowed or revoked at the following levels:

Database level
Table level
SPL routine level
Column level
Role level
Fragmentation level

These countermeasures are adequate for legitimate use of the product when users attempt to access the data directly. They cannot, however, counter threats of confidentiality or modification to the data posed by illegitimate use of the product, such as if a privileged user abuses their permissions or access privileges.