A Practical Guide to Database Security

Think of your database as the vault. It's where your customer records live. It's where product secrets and analytics models are stored. And increasingly, it's where AI applications pull their most sensitive context. In other words, if you lose control here, it doesn’t matter how polished your user authentication flow is.

Securing a database isn’t just an IT checkbox — it’s a strategic imperative. A breach can cost millions in fines and recovery, but the long-term damage to customer trust and brand reputation often cuts deeper. Whether you manage your own infrastructure or rely on a cloud provider, understanding how database security works — and how to evaluate it — is one of the smartest investments you can make in your organization’s future.

Why database security is different from app security

It’s easy to assume if your application is secure, your database is safe too. But databases often store the most sensitive information: user credentials, payment information, proprietary models and more. While application security focuses on endpoints and user interactions, database security is about controlling access to the core. A vulnerability here can affect everything.

Principles of a database security for sensitive data

The first step in data security is applying the principle of least privilege. Only give users and applications the access they need — and nothing more. This reduces the risk of an attacker exploiting a compromised credential.

Strong role-based access controls (RBAC) are essential. These allow you to define roles (like “read-only analyst” or “data engineer”) and assign permissions to those roles rather than to individuals. This simplifies management and ensures consistency. It is also important to manage, lock and restrict access to default and privileged user accounts to prevent unauthorized access and reduce the risk of insider threat.

Encryption should be enforced both in transit and at rest. SSL/TLS protects data as it moves between clients and the database, while encryption at rest ensures data isn’t readable if the physical hardware is accessed. Encryption also protects sensitive data from unauthorized users — including those who might gain access through risky practices like password sharing.

A secure database should track who accessed what, when and from where. These logs are critical for detecting breaches, performing forensic analysis and meeting compliance requirements. Effective data management practices, including real-time monitoring and secure access, are essential for maintaining a secure database environment by streamlining data workflows and supporting both technical and business user needs. Internal controls, like segregation of duties, code review and privilege management, help prevent insider threat and ensure regulatory compliance.

Database security threats

Databases are prime targets for attackers because they often hold the most sensitive data within an organization. Security threats to databases come in many forms, from database software vulnerabilities that can be exploited by hackers, to insider threats where authorized users misuse their access. SQL injection attacks remain a common method for breaching databases, allowing attackers to manipulate database queries and gain unauthorized access. Web applications are a frequent target for such attacks, making it crucial to deploy web application firewalls (WAFs) to protect both web applications and their underlying databases from malicious traffic. Database security breaches can lead to significant financial losses, reputational damage and regulatory penalties. 

AI database security risks

As organizations increasingly integrate AI into their software development and database environments, new security risks emerge that traditional controls may not address. Incorporating AI technologies expands the attack surface — introducing additional entry points and potential vulnerabilities throughout the entire AI lifecycle. Security teams must have complete visibility into AI infrastructure to identify and remediate security risks, especially as only a small fraction of gen AI projects are currently considered secure. The rapid adoption of AI, often prioritized over security, heightens the risk of data breaches and regulatory non-compliance, particularly with evolving standards like the EU AI Act.

The integration of artificial intelligence into modern database technologies has led to the development of specialized AI databases designed to handle hybrid structured and unstructured data for AI applications. These AI databases support advanced analytics, machine learning and the deployment of machine learning models by enabling complex queries and similarity search, which are essential for extracting insights from large and diverse datasets. Real-time database capabilities and seamless integration with AI workflows allow organizations to process new data efficiently, and respond quickly to emerging threats and opportunities.

Key certifications and security controls that signal a vendor takes security seriously

When evaluating a database platform — especially one hosted in the cloud — it’s easy to be swayed by glossy feature lists or vague security promises. But certifications offer something more concrete. They demonstrate that a vendor has invested in independent audits, established formal security policies and met rigorous standards. In short, they show the vendor actually walks the walk.

Two of the most important certifications to look for are ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2. These are widely recognized across industries and provide strong indicators of a vendor's security posture.

ISO 27001: Information Security Management System (ISMS)

Who needs it
Any organization that handles sensitive data — especially at scale — should seek vendors with ISO 27001 certification. This includes industries like financial services, healthcare, government contractors and any enterprise with regulatory exposure or customer data obligations.

What it means

ISO 27001 is an international standard for establishing, maintaining and continuously improving an Information Security Management System (ISMS). A vendor certified to ISO 27001 has demonstrated that it has formal processes in place to identify security risks, manage them effectively and respond to incidents.

What vendors must do to get it
Achieving ISO 27001 requires a detailed audit by an accredited external party. The audit reviews internal policies, access controls, asset management, business continuity, encryption practices, employee training and more. Certification is renewed annually and typically involves periodic surveillance audits to maintain compliance.

SOC 2 Type 2: Operational Effectiveness of Security Controls

Who needs it
SOC 2 compliance is critical for any software or data vendor serving customers in the United States — particularly those in SaaS, cloud or IT services. Buyers in enterprise IT, finance and healthcare sectors often request a SOC 2 report as part of procurement or security reviews.

What it means
SOC 2 evaluates a company’s controls across one or more of five Trust Service Criteria: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality and privacy. A Type 1 report assesses whether the controls are designed correctly at a single point in time. A Type 2 report goes further, evaluating how effectively those controls operate over a 3–12 month period. This distinction makes SOC 2 Type 2 a stronger indicator of ongoing operational security.

What vendors must do to get it
SOC 2 Type 2 requires an extended audit conducted by a certified CPA firm. It includes documentation reviews, live testing of controls, employee interviews and evidence of real-world effectiveness. Vendors must show not only that they have controls, but that they follow them — consistently.

Other important certifications to consider

• GDPR compliance. Required for any organization handling the personal data of EU citizens; focuses on data privacy and user rights.

• HIPAA. Essential for U.S. companies managing protected health information (PHI); applies to healthcare providers, insurers and their vendors.

• FedRAMP. A U.S. government standard for secure cloud services; required for federal agencies and contractors working with federal data.

While these are more industry-specific, ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2 are broadly applicable and should be considered baseline requirements when selecting a secure database vendor.

Data security for cloud data and cloud-hosted databases

Cloud databases deliver scalability and convenience, but they also introduce new attack surfaces. Unlike traditional on-premises setups — where your team controls the full environment — cloud deployments require trust in a vendor’s infrastructure, processes, and personnel. That makes understanding cloud-specific risks essential.

Here are five key concerns to keep in mind:

1. Expanded attack surface
Cloud environments expose more components — APIs, networking layers and integrations — that can be misconfigured. A single open endpoint or permissive firewall rule can give attackers access to sensitive data.

2. Shared responsibility model
Cloud providers secure the infrastructure, but the customer is responsible for data access, configuration and user permissions. Breaches often occur when this responsibility split is misunderstood or overlooked.

3. Data residency and compliance
Cloud-hosted data may span multiple regions, which can raise legal or regulatory issues depending on your industry. Look for databases that offer customer-controlled data residency, allowing you to specify where your data is stored.

4. Encryption and key management
Encryption should be enforced both in transit and at rest. Stronger vendors also offer bring-your-own-key (BYOK) or customer-managed key (CMK) options, giving you direct control over who can decrypt your data — even internally.

5. Backup security
Backups are often overlooked as a security gap. A good vendor will encrypt and isolate backups and offer fine-grained restore controls, ensuring sensitive data isn’t accidentally exposed during recovery operations.

In addition to these concerns, it’s important to evaluate how the vendor protects against insider threats. Even in the cloud, people with elevated privileges can pose risks. Ask about background checks, access policies, and monitoring within the vendor’s own team. Physical security measures, such as controlling access to data center hardware and backups, are also essential to prevent unauthorized access.

How SingleStore approaches data security

SingleStore is built to deliver the performance you need for enterprise AI, but it’s also built with enterprise-grade security in mind. The platform meets ISO 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2 standards providing strong access control, role separation and encryption options. Whether you deploy in the cloud or on-premises, SingleStore offers the tooling and assurance to keep your data protected.

SingleStore’s security platform provides advanced security tools, AI powered solutions and security solutions designed to protect AI projects and database workloads. These features help organizations address evolving security challenges and ensure comprehensive protection for sensitive data.

If you’re building applications or AI workloads that rely on sensitive data, security can’t be an afterthought. Integrating AI and incorporating AI databases thoughtfully into your workflows is essential to address new security challenges and ensure secure AI. Make sure your database platform is part of your defense and not your weakest link.

SingleStore helps mitigate database specific threats, like SQL injection attacks, through advanced security tools and regular vulnerability testing, providing robust protection for your data.

Ready to build on a secure enterprise data platform? Start free with SingleStore.