As far as I know IB is NOT secure for this type of access...

For Interbase to be secure it must be kept on a secure file system and
users who shouldn't have access to the database should not have access
to the database file... End of storey... (well not quite)

Apparently (never tried it just read about it (and it is all from
memory!)), all you need to do to get around the Interbase security is
copy the database file onto another PC with a different security
database (isc4.gdb from memory)... And hey presto, you now have access
to the database using the credentials in the new isc4.gdb database... I
guess if a user had access to the isc4.gdb they could also overwrite it
with a new one...

For us here, this is fine as no user (other than the administrators)
have access to the security or data database, they are locked up with
NTFS security.

I believe the firebird project are looking to update the security in the
future...

I shall see if I can find an article on IB security... Yip, here are a
couple: http://www.ibphoenix.com/art_fb_security.html 
http://www.volny.cz/iprenosil/interbase/ip_ib_isc4.htm


Regards
Colin

-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
On Behalf Of Phil Scadden
Sent: Monday, 19 November 2001 9:39 a.m.
To: Multiple recipients of list database
Subject: [DUG-DB]: Interbase security.


I am create some fairly valuable data inside an Interbase database at
moment. The application installs and creates the database, and sets up a
working account with a password based on a hash of machine
characteristics. The machine characteristics used are encrypted with
Blowfish and stored in an ascii file so can recover password if machine
characteristics change.

The database is used in Local server mode only, no network access.

Now what I am wanting to guard against is someone lifting the GDB file
off disk and taking it away to pull the data off it. I realise that no
data is likely to resist a really determined attack but I do want it so
someone has to invest considerable effort to achieve this.

Question: Is interbase security enough or are there tools to prise the
data out without knowing the passwords to the database? I realise it is
going to be more secure if I encrypt data inside the database as well
but this adds load to every store and retrieve operation which I am
hoping to avoid.


----------------------------------------------------------
Phil Scadden, Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences
41 Bell Rd South, PO Box 30368, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Ph +64 4 5704821, fax +64 4 5704603

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