This gap can be a critical blind spot, as databases house the crown jewels of most organizations: sensitive data. Misconfigurations and risky database changes can lead to breaches, regulatory violations, and reputational damage. By embedding Database DevSecOps platforms like DBmaestro into existing CSPM tools and application DevOps platforms, organizations can achieve a 360-degree view of corporate risk. This article explores how DBmaestro enhances CSPM capabilities by extending their reach into the database layer, enabling proactive risk detection and comprehensive governance.

The Role and Importance of CSPM

CSPM tools automate the detection of misconfigurations, policy violations, and compliance gaps in cloud environments. They provide ongoing monitoring and remediation for cloud-native infrastructure, helping organizations:

• Ensure Compliance: Align with frameworks like GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, and SOC 2.
• Prevent Misconfigurations: Reduce the risk of accidental exposure due to errors in storage, networking, or access controls.
• Detect Threats: Identify potential vulnerabilities and breaches before they can be exploited.

The Limitations of CSPM for Databases

Despite their strengths, CSPM tools have historically focused on infrastructure-level and application-level risks. Databases, however, present a unique set of challenges:

1. Dynamic Changes: In fast-paced DevOps environments, database schemas are frequently updated. Without visibility into these changes, CSPM tools may miss risks introduced during development.
2. Data Sensitivity: Unlike application misconfigurations, database missteps can lead directly to data exposure or corruption.
3. Compliance Complexity: Regulations often have database-specific requirements, such as encryption, auditing, and role-based access controls.

Without deep database integration, CSPM tools may flag application-level risks but fail to address equally critical database vulnerabilities.

Enter DBmaestro: Extending CSPM into Database DevSecOps

DBmaestro bridges the gap between CSPM tools and database environments by embedding Database DevSecOps capabilities into application DevOps workflows. By integrating with tools like Jira, Jenkins, GitLab, GitHub, and CircleCI, DBmaestro extends the proactive risk detection capabilities of CSPM tools to include databases and their change management processes.

Here’s how DBmaestro enhances CSPM:

1. Proactive Risk Detection for Databases

While CSPM tools excel at identifying risks in application code and infrastructure, DBmaestro adds database-level scanning for:

• Schema misconfigurations.
• Unauthorized database changes.
• Poorly configured access controls.

For example, DBmaestro can identify when a schema change introduces a new attack vector, such as an overly permissive user role or clear text passwords. By surfacing these risks alongside application vulnerabilities, CSPM tools deliver a more holistic view of security.

2. Seamless Integration with Existing Platforms

DBmaestro integrates directly into DevOps platforms and CI/CD pipelines, enabling database risks to be managed alongside application development. For instance:

• Jenkins Pipelines: DBmaestro scans database changes during build and deployment phases, ensuring that no misconfigurations are introduced into production.
• GitLab and GitHub Actions: As developers commit changes, DBmaestro validates database scripts against security policies.
• Jira Integration: Database-related tasks can be automatically tracked as issues within Jira, aligning database governance with existing issue management workflows.

3. 360-Degree View of Corporate Risk

By embedding database security into the same ecosystem as CSPM tools, DBmaestro provides a unified view of risk across the entire application stack. Organizations can:

• Correlate application and database risks in a single pane of glass.
• Monitor compliance across both applications and databases in real time.

Use Case: Enhancing CSPM with DBmaestro

Consider a retail company using a multi-cloud environment with CSPM tools like AWS Security Hub and Microsoft Defender for Cloud. These tools monitor application-level risks but lack visibility into database changes. Here’s how DBmaestro transforms their security posture:

1. Pipeline Integration:
   • Developers push code changes via GitLab, including updates to the database schema.
   • DBmaestro scans the schema changes during the CI/CD process, identifying a misconfigured user role that grants excessive privileges.
2. Risk Correlation:
   • AWS Security Hub detects an overly permissive IAM policy on the application side.
   • DBmaestro highlights that this policy aligns with a risky database configuration, tagging a high-priority risk in Jira or Gitlab etc.
3. Proactive Remediation:
   • Developers receive actionable feedback directly within their CI/CD tools, enabling them to fix the database issue before deployment.
   • Security teams view a consolidated dashboard that includes both application and database risks, streamlining compliance reporting.

Why CISOs Should Prioritize Database DevSecOps

For CISOs and risk management leaders, the integration of database security into CSPM workflows is a game-changer. Here’s why:

1. Closing the Visibility Gap:
   • Databases are often overlooked in cloud security strategies, yet they’re the most targeted assets in breaches.
   • DBmaestro ensures that database risks are surfaced and addressed alongside application and infrastructure risks.
2. Compliance Simplification:
   • Regulations like GDPR, PCI DSS, and HIPAA require strict database controls.
   • By automating compliance checks for databases, DBmaestro reduces audit complexity and ensures continuous adherence.
3. Enhanced Risk Correlation:
   • With DBmaestro, CSPM tools can correlate risks across the full stack, enabling better prioritization and remediation.
4. Proactive Governance:
   • DBmaestro’s integration with DevOps platforms ensures that security is addressed early in the development lifecycle, reducing the cost and impact of vulnerabilities.

The Future of CSPM and Database DevSecOps

As cloud environments grow more complex, the convergence of CSPM and Database DevSecOps is inevitable. Organizations must adopt tools that can:

• Integrate Seamlessly: Security solutions must work across applications, infrastructure, and databases without adding friction.
• Shift Left: Risks must be detected and remediated earlier in the development lifecycle.
• Provide Holistic Visibility: Security teams need a unified view of risks across all layers of the stack.

DBmaestro is uniquely positioned to enable this convergence. By embedding database security into CSPM tools and DevOps platforms, it provides the comprehensive governance needed to secure modern cloud environments.

Conclusion

Cloud Security Posture Management has transformed how organizations secure their cloud infrastructure, but its true potential is unlocked when extended to the database layer. DBmaestro enhances CSPM tools like AWS Security Hub, Microsoft Defender for Cloud, and Check Point CloudGuard by embedding database DevSecOps capabilities into CI/CD pipelines and DevOps workflows. This integration enables proactive risk detection and provides a holistic view of corporate risk, ensuring that databases—the foundation of most organizations—are no longer a blind spot.

For CISOs, the message is clear: securing databases is just as critical as securing applications and infrastructure. By adopting DBmaestro, organizations can not only strengthen their security posture but also streamline compliance and governance, achieving true end-to-end cloud security.

The Imperative of Database DevSecOps

Digital transformation demands a fundamental shift in how organizations manage their data assets. Traditional database management approaches often struggle to keep pace with the speed and complexity of modern digital initiatives. Database DevSecOps addresses this challenge by seamlessly integrating security and operations into the database development lifecycle, ensuring that data management practices align with broader digital transformation goals.

Key Components of DBmaestro’s Database DevSecOps Solution

Automation and Efficiency

In the digital age, speed is a competitive business advantage. DBmaestro’s platform automates the entire database release process, from deployment and testing to monitoring, effectively removing manual bottlenecks that can impede progress. This automation not only accelerates time-to-market but also significantly reduces the risk of human error, ensuring that database changes are implemented consistently and reliably.

By integrating database automation into the DevSecOps pipeline, organizations can:

• Release database changes up to 10 times faster
• Improve overall quality through smart automation
• Accelerate feedback loops between developers and DBAs

Built-In Security

As digital transformation initiatives expand the attack surface, cybersecurity becomes paramount. DBmaestro embeds security practices directly into the database management lifecycle, ensuring that every database change undergoes rigorous security scrutiny. This proactive approach helps organizations:

• Detect and address vulnerabilities early in the development process
• Enforce role-based access controls and automated policy checks
• Maintain compliance with industry regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC 2

Collaboration and Alignment

Digital transformation thrives on cross-functional collaboration. DBmaestro’s platform serves as a bridge between development, security, and operations teams, fostering a culture of shared responsibility and seamless communication. This collaborative environment enables organizations to:

• Break down silos between teams
• Accelerate innovation through improved coordination
• Adapt quickly to new challenges and market demands

Establish a Unified, High Standard for Database Code Quality, Continuous Improvement and Scalability

As organizations scale their digital operations, database environments grow increasingly complex. DBmaestro supports continuous improvement by providing:

• Automated feedback loops for database changes
• Comprehensive auditing and monitoring capabilities
• Scalability to manage complex database environments efficiently

This ensures that database management practices evolve in tandem with business growth, supporting digital transformation efforts without compromising performance or security.

Compliance and Risk Management

In an era of stringent data regulations, compliance is non-negotiable. DBmaestro’s platform integrates compliance checks throughout the database lifecycle, helping organizations:

• Meet industry standards and regulatory requirements
• Generate detailed audit trails for all database activities
• Minimize the risk of non-compliance and associated penalties

The Impact of Database DevSecOps on Digital Transformation

Implementing DBmaestro’s Database DevSecOps solution can have far-reaching effects on an organization’s digital transformation journey:

• Accelerated Innovation: By streamlining database management processes, organizations can innovate faster and bring new digital products and services to market more quickly.
• Enhanced Security Posture: With security embedded at every stage, organizations can confidently pursue digital initiatives without compromising data integrity or privacy.
• Improved Operational Efficiency: Automation and collaboration lead to significant improvements in operational efficiency, allowing IT teams to focus on strategic initiatives rather than routine maintenance.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: By ensuring the reliability and accessibility of data, Database DevSecOps enables organizations to make more informed, data-driven decisions.
• Competitive Advantage: Organizations leveraging DevOps practices, including database management, report up to 23% higher customer satisfaction and 22% greater operational efficiency.

Conclusion

As organizations navigate the complexities of digital transformation, Database DevSecOps emerges as a critical success factor. DBmaestro’s platform offers a comprehensive solution that addresses the key challenges of modern database management – from security and compliance to collaboration and scalability.

By embracing Database DevSecOps, organizations can ensure that their data infrastructure remains agile, secure, and aligned with their broader digital transformation objectives. In an era where data is the lifeblood of business, DBmaestro’s solution provides the foundation for a successful, sustainable digital future.

As businesses continue to evolve in the digital landscape, those who prioritize Database DevSecOps will find themselves better equipped to innovate, compete, and thrive in an increasingly data-driven world.

In today’s digital economy, data has become the lifeblood of organizations. It drives decision-making, powers insights, and is often considered the most valuable corporate asset. A 2023 study by Gartner highlights that 91% of companies recognize data as a critical enabler of their business strategy. Data isn’t just a byproduct of operations; it’s the treasure trove that organizations rely on to stay competitive and evolve.

From customer preferences to financial reports, inventory control, and supply chain management—everything is governed by the data that flows through modern businesses. But for all its power, data’s value is not just in the raw numbers—it’s in the way that data is structured, stored, and accessed. That’s where metadata comes into play, acting as the treasure map that guides us through the complexity of the data landscape.

Metadata: The Treasure Map

Metadata is the often-overlooked piece of the puzzle. While data provides the “what,” metadata provides the “who, what, when, where, and how” about that data. Metadata tells us where data is stored, how it should be used, and who has access to it. Think of it as the blueprint or treasure map that helps organizations understand and manage their data effectively.

Despite its importance, metadata is frequently managed manually or, even worse, neglected altogether. The paradox here is striking: organizations invest millions in data warehousing, analytics platforms, and data management systems, but without properly maintained metadata, they’re essentially wandering in the dark. According to a study by IDC, organizations spend nearly 30% of their IT budgets on data management, yet a significant portion of that investment goes to waste due to poor metadata management.

The same IDC study revealed that 67% of organizations reported issues with their data governance practices, primarily due to manual processes and lack of automation in metadata handling. This kind of inefficiency becomes absurd when you consider the high stakes: corporate decisions, from quarterly financial reporting to inventory allocation, all depend on well-maintained, accurate data. Without properly governed metadata, it’s like owning a treasure chest but losing the map that leads to it.

The Absurdity of Neglecting Metadata

Think about it: organizations spend massive amounts of money to build and maintain complex data warehouses and analytics platforms. They rely on data for everything from daily operations to strategic decision-making, betting their future on the insights gained from this data. Yet, despite this enormous investment, many organizations still allow developers and data teams to manage schema changes without any oversight or control.

This becomes even more troubling when we consider the business implications. For example, schema changes without segregation of duties can directly impact critical business processes like quarterly financial reporting. If a developer makes an error when modifying the database structure, it can cause delays in reporting, inaccuracies in financial statements, or worse—compliance failures. Similarly, a poorly managed change can skew inventory allocations, leading to overstocking or shortages, both of which can hurt the bottom line.

A 2022 survey conducted by the Data Governance Institute found that 72% of organizations experienced at least one critical failure due to poor change management practices, and 45% of those failures directly impacted financial reporting. These statistics highlight the absurdity of neglecting metadata management when so much of an organization’s success depends on it.

The Hidden Costs of Manual Change Management

Most organizations understand the risks posed by data security threats, but they fail to recognize the equally damaging vulnerabilities created by manual change management processes. The risk here is not just operational but also strategic. When schema changes are made without proper control, there’s a very real chance that these changes will disrupt critical business functions.

Data warehousing and analytics platforms are not static entities. They evolve as business needs change, but each evolution comes with risk. Without an automated system to manage these changes, the organization is left vulnerable. Manual processes are not only time-consuming but also prone to human error. A 2023 report by Ponemon Institute found that 43% of data breaches were caused by misconfigurations—often the result of manual processes that failed to account for all changes in the data environment.

Consider a real-world example: A global retail company experiences a data schema change during the busiest quarter of the year. The change was implemented without proper oversight, and as a result, the company’s inventory system was unable to sync with its sales data, causing massive shortages in stores and an excess of unsellable stock in its warehouses. The financial impact was devastating—tens of millions in lost sales during a critical season. The root cause? A failure to manage and track metadata during a routine change to the data warehouse.

DBmaestro: The GPS Navigation System for Corporate Treasure

This is where DBmaestro enters the picture. If data is the treasure and metadata is the map, then DBmaestro is the GPS navigation system that ensures organizations reach their destination safely and securely. DBmaestro is a database DevSecOps platform designed to automate and secure database release automation, offering a comprehensive solution to manage changes, secure data, and ensure that all metadata is up-to-date and synchronized across all teams and systems.

Securing the Data Treasure

DBmaestro goes beyond just automating database changes—it ensures that every change is secure, documented, and compliant with industry standards. With role-based access control and segregation of duties, DBmaestro makes it impossible for unauthorized users to make changes that could impact critical business functions. By automating these controls, DBmaestro reduces the risk of human error and ensures that only approved changes are made to the database.

Automating Metadata Management

Perhaps one of DBmaestro’s greatest strengths is its ability to automatically update and manage metadata. This is particularly important in fast-paced DevOps environments where changes happen frequently. By maintaining an up-to-date map of all database changes, DBmaestro ensures that every developer, DBA, and data stakeholder is on the same page, eliminating confusion and reducing the likelihood of errors.

Compliance and Regulatory Adherence

In today’s regulatory landscape, compliance is non-negotiable. Whether it’s GDPR, HIPAA, or SOX, organizations must ensure that their data practices meet stringent requirements. DBmaestro provides full audit trails, ensuring that every change to the database is documented and easily retrievable. This not only helps with regulatory compliance but also provides peace of mind for data chiefs and CISOs, knowing that their data treasure is well-protected.

Real-Time Monitoring and Alerts

DBmaestro also offers real-time monitoring and alerts for database changes, allowing teams to catch potential issues before they become full-blown problems. This proactive approach minimizes downtime and ensures that critical systems remain operational, even during updates and changes.

Integration with Existing Toolchains

DBmaestro integrates seamlessly with popular DevOps tools such as Jenkins, Git, Jira, and others, making it easy to include database change management in the broader CI/CD pipeline. This ensures that database changes are treated with the same level of rigor and automation as application code, further enhancing security and reducing the risk of errors.

Conclusion: The Path Forward

Organizations can no longer afford to treat metadata as an afterthought or manage database changes manually. The risks are too high, and the stakes are too great. With the rise of data-driven decision-making, the corporate treasure—your data—must be protected, and the metadata guiding it must be meticulously maintained.

DBmaestro provides a comprehensive solution that automates database release management, secures data, and ensures compliance with industry regulations. By using DBmaestro, organizations can not only protect their data treasure but also ensure that all stakeholders have access to an up-to-date map of the database landscape. In a world where data is king, DBmaestro is the navigation system that leads the way.

Investing in DBmaestro isn’t just a smart move—it’s a necessity for any organization serious about protecting its most valuable asset: its data.

What You’ll Learn

• The critical importance of database security in protecting sensitive information.
• Key regulatory frameworks impacting database compliance, including GDPR, HIPAA, and SOX.
• Best practices for ensuring database security and compliance, such as encryption and access control.
• Common challenges organizations face in maintaining database security and actionable solutions to overcome them.
• Steps to build a comprehensive database security and compliance strategy tailored to your organization’s needs.
• How DBmaestro can enhance your database security and compliance efforts.

The Importance of Database Security

Database security is no longer optional—it’s a necessity for modern businesses. With the increasing frequency and sophistication of cyber-attacks, organizations face significant risks to their data integrity, confidentiality, and availability. A single data breach can result in substantial financial losses, reputational damage, and legal consequences.

Threats to database security come in various forms:

• SQL injection attacks: Malicious actors exploit vulnerabilities in application code to manipulate database queries.
• Insider threats: Employees or contractors with privileged access may misuse or compromise sensitive data.
• Ransomware: Cybercriminals encrypt databases and demand payment for decryption keys.
• Misconfiguration: Improperly configured databases can leave sensitive information exposed to unauthorized access.

Understanding Database Compliance Regulations

Compliance with data protection regulations is essential for organizations handling sensitive information. Key regulatory frameworks include:

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)

• Applies to organizations processing EU residents’ personal data
• Requires explicit consent for data collection and processing
• Mandates data breach notifications within 72 hours

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)

• Governs healthcare organizations and their business associates in the US
• Requires safeguards for protected health information (PHI)
• Imposes strict penalties for non-compliance

SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley Act)

• Applies to publicly traded companies in the US
• Mandates internal controls and financial reporting standards
• Requires retention of electronic records and communications

Database Security Best Practices for Compliance

To ensure database security and maintain compliance, organizations should implement the following best practices:

1. Implement Strong Access Controls

Robust access management is crucial for protecting sensitive data. Key strategies include:

• Enforcing the principle of least privilege
• Implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA)
• Regularly reviewing and updating user permissions
• Using role-based access control (RBAC)

2. Encrypt Sensitive Data

Encryption is essential for safeguarding data both at rest and in transit. Best practices include:

• Utilizing industry-standard encryption algorithms (e.g., AES)
• Implementing SSL/TLS for secure data transmission
• Encrypting backups and sensitive database fields

3. Conduct Regular Security Audits

Periodic audits help identify vulnerabilities and ensure ongoing compliance. Key audit activities include:

• Reviewing access logs and user activities
• Assessing database configurations and security settings
• Conducting vulnerability scans and penetration testing

4. Keep Software Updated

Regularly updating database management systems and associated software is crucial for addressing known vulnerabilities. Best practices include:

• Implementing a patch management process
• Testing updates in a non-production environment before deployment
• Automating security updates where possible

5. Monitor Database Activity

Continuous monitoring helps detect and respond to potential security threats. Effective monitoring strategies include:

• Implementing intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS)
• Using database activity monitoring (DAM) tools
• Setting up alerts for suspicious activities or unauthorized access attempts

Common Database Security Challenges and How to Overcome Them

Organizations face several challenges in maintaining database security and compliance:

Challenge: Insider Threats

Solution: Implement strict access controls, conduct regular security awareness training, and monitor user activities for anomalous behavior. Using role-based access control and multi-factor-authentication rather than user and password logins will limit potential vulnerability.

Challenge: Legacy Systems

Solution: Develop a migration plan for outdated systems, implement compensating controls, and isolate legacy databases from critical infrastructure.

Challenge: Cloud Migration

Solution: Choose cloud providers with robust security measures, implement encryption for data in transit and at rest, and clearly define responsibilities in shared security models.

How to Build a Database Security and Compliance Strategy

Developing a comprehensive security and compliance strategy involves several key steps:

1. Assess current security posture: Conduct a thorough risk assessment to identify vulnerabilities and compliance gaps.
2. Develop security policies: Create clear, documented policies outlining data handling procedures, access controls, and incident response plans.
3. Implement technical controls: Deploy security measures such as encryption, firewalls, and intrusion detection systems.
4. Train employees: Conduct regular security awareness training to educate staff on best practices and compliance requirements.
5. Continuously monitor and improve: Regularly assess the effectiveness of security measures and update strategies as threats evolve.

Key Takeaways

• Database security is critical for protecting sensitive data and maintaining regulatory compliance.
• Implementing strong access controls, encryption, and regular audits are essential best practices.
• Overcoming challenges like insider threats and legacy systems requires a multi-faceted approach.
• Building a comprehensive security strategy involves assessment, policy development, technical controls, training, and continuous improvement.

Leveraging DBmaestro for Enhanced Database Security and Compliance

As organizations strive to improve their database security and compliance posture, tools like DBmaestro can play a crucial role in automating and streamlining these processes. DBmaestro offers a comprehensive solution for database DevOps, addressing key security and compliance concerns:

• Automated Security and Compliance: DBmaestro enforces organizational policies, manages roles and permissions, leverages password values, single-sign-on processes, multi-factor-authentication, and ensures compliance with regulations such as SOC2, GDPR, CCPA, SOX, and HIPAA.
• Database Release Automation: By automating the release pipeline, DBmaestro helps ensure successful, seamless, and audited high-quality releases, reducing the risk of human error and improving overall security.
• Source Control and Version Management: DBmaestro extends coding best practices to databases, maintaining a single source of truth for all database changes and facilitating collaboration between teams.
• Audit Trails: The platform automatically creates detailed audit trails for all database changes, supporting compliance efforts and enabling better tracking of modifications.

By incorporating tools like DBmaestro into your database security and compliance strategy, you can enhance automation, reduce manual errors, and improve overall data protection.

By prioritizing database security and compliance, and leveraging advanced tools and practices, organizations can protect their valuable data assets, maintain customer trust, and avoid costly breaches and regulatory penalties. Stay vigilant, adapt to evolving threats, and make security an integral part of your data management strategy.

Generative AI’s impact on economies and enterprises is poised to be revolutionary. According to the McKinsey Global Institute, generative AI is expected to contribute between $2.6 and $4.4 trillion annually to the global economy.

Text-generating AI systems like ChatGPT are based on large language models (LLMs). These models train on vast datasets to answer questions or perform tasks by predicting the statistical likelihood of various outcomes. Instead of searching and synthesizing answers, LLMs use mathematical models to determine the most probable next step.

To maximize the outcomes of these smart but generic models and tailor them to specific company needs, corporates will have to fine-tune them by melting new and fresh training data extracted from their own operational systems. This new data can and will contain intellectual property information and raises the potential for regulatory breaches. There are no free rides—eventually, such data can and will be traded somewhere by someone.

Over the years, the absence of a single database authority, combined with the increasing demand for more insights and faster results, has led organizations to dangerously replicate databases and datasets into isolated and less protected environments for analytics or other prioritized needs. This practice, along with manual database code change management bad consequences and impact, sets the stage for new operational and security risks triggered by metadata inconsistencies.

The Hidden Dangers of Metadata Inconsistency in Generative AI

Metadata inconsistency arises when different teams create, manage, and extract data from various databases and schemas without a unified governance strategy. This fragmentation can lead to several security vulnerabilities:

1. Exposure of Sensitive Data: Personal Identifiable Information (PII) and other sensitive data can be inadvertently exposed when metadata is not consistently managed. For example, secured columns may be ignored, leading to data breaches.
2. Uncontrolled Schema Copies: Creating multiple copies of schemas for generative AI purposes without proper governance increases the risk of unauthorized access and data leakage.
3. Misleading Insights: Inconsistent metadata can twist the results of generative AI models, providing incorrect and misleading insights that can harm business decisions.
4. Compliance Breaches: Failure to maintain consistent metadata management can result in non-compliance with regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, SOX, and FFIEC, leading to hefty fines and legal repercussions.

As organizations take their initial steps in deploying generative AI, they must be aware of these risks and adopt robust metadata management practices to prevent security breaches and ensure accurate AI model outputs.

DBmaestro with DevSecOps: The Key to Secure Generative AI Deployments

DBmaestro, a leading DevSecOps platform, offers a comprehensive solution to the security and compliance challenges posed by generative AI. By integrating CI/CD and security into every stage of the database development lifecycle, DBmaestro ensures that metadata is consistently managed, sensitive metadata is protected, and compliance requirements are met. Here are the main DevSecOps features and functionalities of DBmaestro and how they address the challenges of generative AI:

• Single Source of Truth: DBmaestro provides a unified repository for all databases, schemas, and environments, ensuring consistent metadata management.
• Automated Security Features: With features like Single Sign-On (SSO), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), password vaults, and automated policy enforcement, DBmaestro enhances security and compliance.
• Separation of Duties: DBmaestro’s policy enforcement module helps create a state-of-the-art separation of duties, reducing risks and increasing efficiency.
• Agile Deployment: By integrating security into the development pipeline, DBmaestro enables faster and safer deployment of generative AI models, turning DevOps teams into agile and efficient units.

1. Automated Release Automation and Version Control:
   • Challenge Addressed: Uncontrolled schema copies and exposure of sensitive data.
   • Solution: DBmaestro provides automated release automation and version control, ensuring that every change to the database is tracked and managed. This helps govern schema copies and ensures that sensitive data is consistently protected across all environments.
2. Policy Enforcement and Compliance:
   • Challenge Addressed: Compliance breaches and exposure of sensitive data.
   • Solution: With DBmaestro’s policy enforcement, organizations can define and enforce rules for database changes, ensuring compliance with regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, SOX, and FFIEC. This reduces the risk of data breaches and legal repercussions.
3. Security Gates and Approval Workflows:
   • Challenge Addressed: Uncontrolled schema copies and exposure of sensitive data.
   • Solution: DBmaestro incorporates security gates and approval workflows into the DevOps process, requiring approvals for changes that affect sensitive data or critical database components. This ensures that all changes are reviewed and authorized, preventing unauthorized access and data leakage.
4. Comprehensive Audit Trails:
   • Challenge Addressed: Compliance breaches and exposure of sensitive data.
   • Solution: DBmaestro maintains comprehensive audit trails of all database activities, providing visibility into who made changes, what changes were made, and when. This transparency is crucial for compliance audits and for investigating potential security incidents.
5. Automated Drift Detection and Correction:
   • Challenge Addressed: Misleading insights and uncontrolled schema copies.
   • Solution: DBmaestro automatically detects and corrects configuration drifts between different database environments. This ensures that generative AI models are working with consistent and accurate data, preventing misleading insights.
6. Role-Based Access Control (RBAC):
   • Challenge Addressed: Unauthorized access and data leakage.
   • Solution: DBmaestro’s RBAC feature ensures that only authorized personnel have access to sensitive data and database management functions. This minimizes the risk of data leakage and unauthorized modifications.
7. Continuous Monitoring and Threat Detection:
   • Challenge Addressed: Exposure of sensitive data and compliance breaches.
   • Solution: DBmaestro provides detection capabilities, identifying potential security threats in real-time and enabling prompt action to mitigate risks. This proactive approach helps in maintaining the security and integrity of generative AI deployments.

In conclusion, as organizations embrace generative AI, they must prioritize metadata management and security. Database DevSecOps, with solutions like DBmaestro, provides the necessary framework to mitigate security risks, ensure compliance, and deliver accurate AI insights. By adopting these practices, organizations can securely and efficiently leverage the power of generative AI, driving innovation and business success.

As DBAs and CISOs, we understand the criticality of securing our corporate databases. In today’s dynamic development landscape, where multiple development teams access schemas for diverse business needs, the traditional approach of siloed database management simply doesn’t cut it anymore. This is where Database DevSecOps (DevSecOps for Databases) comes in, offering a powerful solution to enhance security while streamlining development processes.

The Challenge: Juggling Agility with Security

The rise of Agile methodologies has revolutionized software development, promoting faster release cycles and closer collaboration between development and operations teams. This agility, however, can introduce new security risks, especially when it comes to database change management. With multiple developers potentially modifying schemas concurrently, the potential for unauthorized access, undocumented changes, accidental errors, and vulnerabilities increases significantly.

The Answer: Embracing Secure Database Change Management

The answer lies in implementing a secure database change management process. This involves automating database deployments, enforcing strict access controls, and continuously monitoring for suspicious activity. Here’s where Single Sign-On (SSO) and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), Password Vaults, Role Base Access Control (RBAC)  and Policy Enforcement become essential building blocks.

The Two layers Double shield:

• The Passive Layer: Forging extra authentication and authorization
• The Dynamic layer: A proactive security watch dog for changes.

Passive Shield: Authentication and Authorization

The first line of defense in our Double Shield is a passive shield focused on user authentication and authorization. This layer utilizes the following measures:

• Single Sign-On (SSO): Imagine a world where developers only need to log in once to access all the resources they need, including databases. SSO centralizes authentication, eliminating the need for managing multiple credentials and reducing the risk of password fatigue. This simplifies access management for developers while strengthening security.
• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): MFA adds an extra layer of protection by requiring a secondary verification step beyond just a username and password. This could be a code sent to your phone, a fingerprint scan, or a security token. MFA significantly reduces the risk of unauthorized access, even if a developer’s credentials are compromised.
• Password Vaults: As mentioned earlier, password vaults securely store database credentials, eliminating the need for developers to know them directly. This further strengthens security by removing the risk of credential leakage or misuse if a developer’s device is compromised.

These passive measures act as the initial barrier, preventing unauthorized access and ensuring only authorized users can enter the database environment.

Dynamic Protection: RBAC and Policy Enforcement

The second layer of our Double Shield is a dynamic protection layer that actively controls database activity. This layer leverages the following:

• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Imagine a hierarchy of access permissions within your database environment. RBAC allows you to define these permissions based on user roles. For example, a developer role may include permissions to access lower environment in one project, and a permission to access a higher environment in another project. This granular control ensures that developers only have the access they absolutely need to perform their tasks, minimizing the potential for accidental or malicious activity.
• Policy Enforcement: Think of policy enforcement as a set of automated rules that govern what changes can be made to your database and how. These policies can cover various aspects, such as mandatory code reviews for sensitive changes, restrictions on specific data types, alert for wrong practices, bad coding, security challenged code and adherence to data governance regulations. By automatically enforcing these policies, the system acts as a real-time guardrail, preventing unauthorized or non-compliant modifications that could compromise database security.

Why SSO and MFA, PW vaults, RBAC and Policy enforcement Matter for Database DevSecOps

By integrating the double shield into your CI/CD pipeline, you achieve several crucial benefits:

• Reduced Attack Surface: Limiting access points through SSO minimizes the area vulnerable to potential attacks.
• Enhanced User Experience: Developers can access all necessary resources seamlessly, boosting productivity.
• Improved Compliance, adherence to industry regulations.
• Streamlined Auditing: clearer audit trails, simplifying security investigations.

DBmaestro: Building the Database Fortress

DBmaestro, a leading DevSecOps platform for databases, takes secure database change management to the next level by seamlessly integrating the Double Shield security approach into its core functionalities. Here’s how DBmaestro builds your secure database fortress:

Leveraging the Passive Shield:

• SSO and Password Vault Integration: DBmaestro integrates with leading SSO providers, allowing developers to access database resources with a single login. This eliminates the need for managing multiple credentials and reduces the risk of password fatigue or misuse. Additionally, DBmaestro can leverage password vaulting solutions. When a developer needs to access a database, DBmaestro retrieves the credentials securely from the vault using secure communication protocols, further reducing the risk of unauthorized access.

• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Support: DBmaestro doesn’t directly implement MFA, but it sseamlessly integrates with existing MFA solutions. This allows organizations to leverage the additional security layer provided by MFA. For example, a developer might use their fingerprint or a security token alongside their SSO login to access the database through DBmaestro. This adds a crucial layer of protection, even if a developer’s credentials are compromised.

Fortifying the Dynamic Protection Layer:

• Granular RBAC with User Role Management: DBmaestro allows you to define user roles with granular access permissions. These roles map directly to your development workflows, ensuring developers only have the access they need to perform their specific tasks. For example, a developer working on a new feature might have access to a specific environment, while a tester might only have access for verification purposes. When a developer’s role within the organization changes, their access automatically adjusts based on the new role’s permissions. This eliminates manual updates and ensures they only have the required access, minimizing privilege creep.
• Automated Policy Enforcement Throughout the CI/CD Pipeline: DBmaestro empowers you to define comprehensive security policies that govern all aspects of database change management. These policies can be integrated directly into your CI/CD pipeline. Here’s how DBmaestro enforces these policies:
  • Dry Run: a Pre-deployment Check. DBmaestro automatically scans proposed database changes against your defined security policies before deployment. This ensures that only compliant changes are deployed to production, preventing the introduction of vulnerabilities or unauthorized modifications.
  • (Code Reviews for Sensitive Changes: For critical changes or those that impact specific data types, DBmaestro can enforce mandatory code reviews. This allows senior developers or security teams to review the changes before deployment, adding an extra layer of scrutiny and reducing the risk of errors.

Building a FedRAMP-Compliant Fortress:

DBmaestro’s security features are built from the ground up to meet the stringent requirements of FedRAMP. Here’s how it contributes to FedRAMP compliance:

• Access Control Best Practices: By enforcing RBAC and integrating with SSO, DBmaestro adheres to FedRAMP’s access control best practices, ensuring only authorized users can access sensitive data.
• Audit Logging and Traceability: DBmaestro provides comprehensive audit logs that track all database activities. This detailed record-keeping facilitates security investigations and demonstrates compliance with FedRAMP’s audit requirements.
• Secure Communication Protocols: DBmaestro leverages secure communication protocols for all data transmission, ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of data at rest and in transit.

Key Takeaways:

Traditional database management struggles to keep pace with the demands of Agile development. Secure database change management is essential for protecting data in multi-developer environments.

Double Shield Security Approach:

• SSO and MFA Integration: DBmaestro integrates with leading SSO providers and supports existing MFA solutions, ensuring a strong first line of defense through streamlined authentication and an extra layer of verification.
• Granular RBAC with User Role Management: DBmaestro empowers you to define user roles with fine-grained access controls. This ensures developers only have the permissions they need for their specific tasks, minimizing the potential for human error or malicious activity.
• Automated Policy Enforcement: DBmaestro allows you to define and enforce security policies throughout the CI/CD pipeline. Pre-deployment checks ensure only compliant changes are deployed, while mandatory code reviews for sensitive changes add an extra layer of scrutiny.

Conclusion:

DBmaestro empowers organizations to build a secure database fortress by design. Leveraging the Double Shield approach, DBmaestro integrates seamlessly with existing security solutions and enforces security policies throughout the development lifecycle. This ensures that organizations can achieve the agility of Agile development while maintaining robust database security and achieving FedRAMP compliance. By simplifying secure database change management, DBmaestro allows organizations to focus on innovation while protecting their critical data assets.

The Looming Shadow of Legacy Database Security Practices

Several shortcomings in legacy database security practices, exacerbated by the demands of DevOps, paved the way for DevSecOps:

• Insufficient Metadata Control and Management: Traditional database security often lacked granular control over user permissions and data access. Fragmented metadata management made it difficult to track changes and enforce compliance, especially when multiple teams were modifying the same schema.
• Person-Based Security: A Recipe for Disaster: The prevalent practice of granting developers individual login credentials for each database created a sprawling web of access privileges. As developers moved between projects, they accumulated ever-growing permission sets, becoming a security liability in case of compromised accounts. This “person-based” approach lacked the accountability and control necessary for robust database security, particularly within a collaborative DevOps environment.
• Low Metadata Resolution: Databases themselves often lack the ability to provide a detailed audit trail. This limited visibility into who made what changes, when, and why made it challenging to identify the root cause of issues and enforce accountability, especially when multiple teams were working on the same schema. Disconnected teams could inadvertently introduce conflicts like database drifts, where schemas diverge between environments, or partially updated code, leading to errors and downtime.

These factors combined to create a database security landscape riddled with vulnerabilities. Sensitive data remained exposed, compliance became a constant struggle, and the risk of insider threats loomed large.

DBmaestro: The New Operational Safeguard

DBmaestro emerges as a powerful solution within the DevSecOps framework, addressing the aforementioned challenges and providing a comprehensive suite of database security and change management tools. Here’s how DBmaestro elevates database security and fosters collaboration:

• Policy Enforcement for Secure Development: DBmaestro’s policy enforcement module acts as a critical safeguard, preventing developers from introducing security vulnerabilities through unauthorized database modifications. Its extensive library of over 100 built-in policies, coupled with the ability to create custom policies, ensures developers adhere to corporate compliance and coding standards. This includes preventing harmful commands like “grant any” or “drop table,” ensuring secure coding practices like using the right prefixes in naming conventions, and ultimately leading to a higher standard of database development.
• Automated Code Review with Immediate Feedback: DBmaestro streamlines the code review process by enabling automated database change code review. Developers receive immediate feedback on potential security issues or compliance violations or poor practices code, as well as results for a dry run process, leveraging a short feedback loop to accelerate the development cycle and improve code quality.
• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) for Granular Access Management: DBmaestro augments the precarious “person-based” approach with a robust RBAC system. Developers receive access only to the databases associated with their assigned projects. This access is automatically revoked when they move to a new project, significantly reducing the risk of unauthorized access.
• High-Resolution Audit Trails for Enhanced Visibility: DBmaestro provides a detailed audit trail that offers a high-resolution view of database activity. It meticulously tracks “who did what, when, where, and who approved it,” facilitating rapid issue identification and resolution. This comprehensive audit trail empowers proactive security measures and minimizes downtime caused by errors.
• Full Collaboration and Conflict Resolution: DBmaestro fosters seamless collaboration between teams working on the same schema. By providing a central repository for all database changes and enforcing version control, DBmaestro eliminates common problems like database drifts, overriding each other’s code, and partial updates.

DBmaestro’s features empower secure and efficient collaboration, ensuring a unified and consistent database schema across development, testing, and production environments. As DevSecOps continues to evolve, DBmaestro is poised to become the de facto standard for database change management, ensuring secure and reliable database operations in an ever-agile development environment.

Cyberattacks are here to stay

2020 was the year of rapid digital transformation. It also has been a record-breaking year for breaches, leaks, and cybersecurity incidents.

Prognosis for the future is dim, as many experts predict that things are likely to get worse. It is expected that in 2021, we will see a cyberattack incident every 11 seconds, nearly double the rate of 2019 (once every 19 seconds), and four times as much as five years ago (once every 40 seconds in 2016).

Cybercrime will cost the global economy $6.1 trillion annually. To put this numbers in perspective, the scale of cybercrime is on track to eclipse most world-economies, becoming the world’s third-largest economy, right behind the US and China.

Databases are increasingly targeted by threat actors

The database is the crown jewel that must be protected at all costs. But databases are also the treasure trove of valuable data, which increasingly comes under attack.

Security researchers have discovered this week a botnet operation that targets PostgreSQL databases to install a cryptocurrency miner. The botnet operates by performing brute-force attacks against internet-accessible PostgreSQL databases.

It has been reported that over 85,000 MySQL databases are on sale on a dark web portal at a price of only $550/database. 

Data is valuable, and workers are increasingly targeted with a significant volume of cyberattacks. Threat actors are taking advantage of the coronavirus crisis and are increasingly targeting remote workers with a host of COVID-19 fraud schemes, phishing attacks, ransomware attacks, and related cyber threats.

Humans are the weakest link in your cybersecurity defences

Malware, ransomware, phishing, or some other method – hackers are working hard to get their hands on valuable data.

And although nation-state actors and ultra-complicated schemes are receiving much attention in the media, most of the cyberattacks rely on tried and true attack methods: schemes aimed at taking advantage of human nature.

There are two main  main culprits behind the majority of the breaches in 2020. Phishing emails that are used to smuggle malware – such as AveMaria and NetWiredRC – onto the target machines followed by brute force attacks taking advantage of widespread password reuse. Both attack vectors are focusing on the weakest link of any cybersecurity program – the humans.

WFH security depends on policy enforcement and automation

Despite increased awareness of cybersecurity issues, working from home leads to major cybersecurity incidents. Since the shift to remote working brought in by COVID-19 related lockdown measures, organizations had been exposed to a greater risk of compromise and have suffered significantly more data breaches as a result.

According to a new report from Malwarebytes, since lockdowns were introduced, a staggering 20% of organizations have been compromised as a result of actions by a remote worker.

The report argues that the use of personal devices for work is a contributing factor, with nearly 61% of businesses not enforcing antivirus use on personal devices used for work.

Some worrying statistics and takeaways from the report include:

• 18 percent of respondents admitted that, for their employees, cybersecurity was not a priority, with 5 percent claiming that employees were oblivious to security best practices and presented a security risk
• At the same time, cybersecurity training is lacking, with 44 percent of respondents’ no’ providing any cybersecurity training that focused on potential threats of working from home
• 65 percent of organizations do not deploy antivirus (AV) solutions on work-issued devices.

How to protect your database in the work from home era

It seems that everybody knows how to improve cybersecurity posture for a remote workforce. Policies such as ensuring home networks are protected with strong passwords, making sure employees are not leaving company devices within reach of non-authorized users, and fighting password reuse are introduced left and right.

However, enforcing those “common sense” policies, in reality, has proven to be a significant challenge across the board. Despite introducing strict policies on paper, in practice, policy enforcement of remote workforce without compromising workability is extremely difficult.

So how can we make the humans comply with the policies of an organization without compromising employee experience?

Database automation to the rescue

Automating database release and deployment is key in stopping the threat actors in their tracks while empowering worker productivity at the same time.

Database delivery automation can help you streamline daily operations as well as integrate security into processes, applications, and infrastructure from the very beginning. Fully deploying database automation can ensure that proper procedures are followed without exception at every release.

Roles and responsibilities

Organizations must control who has access to organization’s sources at any point in time. Access control is an integral component of IT and data security for businesses, and the database is no exception.

In addition to giving greater control over who can access the database, access controls for the database also help organizations stay compliant with industry standards and regulations.

When it comes to the database, it is of paramount importance that only verified individuals can physically or virtually touch the parts of the database that they have permission to access.

This process involves restricting access or granting permissions that allow only relevant employees to make any changes to the database. The minimal privilege principle applies here, restricting access permissions to a very limited subset of users to do any of the following within the database:

• Access,
• Read,
• Modify,
• Communicate,
• Delete or otherwise destroy.

Reduce the high privilege passwords with automation

Passwords are fundamentally unsafe. According to the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, compromised passwords are responsible for 81% of hacking-related breaches.

It is clear that despite the focus on cybersecurity, both organizations and users fail to step up their password hygiene. One of the biggest issues is rampant password reuse.

Here are some staggering statistics that truly drive the magnitude of the password reuse problem home:

1. The average person reuses each password as many as 14 times.
2. 65% of people reuse passwords across multiple sites
3. 91% of respondents claim to understand the risks of reusing passwords across multiple accounts. 59% admit to doing it anyway.
4. 73% of users duplicate their passwords in both their personal and work accounts.
5. Nearly half (49%) of employees simply change or add a digit or character to their password when updating their company password every 90 days. Therefore forced resets are a very ineffective tactic.

It stands to reason that reducing the reliance on passwords by introducing automation flows that take the user out of the equation can significantly improve the database’s security. Ensuring that users are not involved in repetitive, manual actions that require them to repeatedly log into the system reduces the risks associated with passwords.

Automated audit and real-time alerts

You can’t protect what you cannot see. One of the pains around protecting the database is the difficulty to trace who made what change, when, and where.

With most databases, monitoring and auditing is a difficult task. Database automation makes it easy to pull up reports to quickly see where the changes originate from to spot and flag any suspicious activity.

Database delivery automation drives database security

Database delivery automation is a crucial element of a working database security protocol. By reducing reliance on manual, ad-hoc methods and introducing automated, repeatable protocols and procedures, organizations can improve their security posture and protect the database.

There are dozens of challenges that Database (DB) professionals and developers are facing on a daily basis today. Three biggest ones include:

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) was already trending before the Covid-19 outbreak. But the new reality has forced developers, DBAs, and DB professionals to work almost daily from home. They naturally use their private machines to get the job, which are hard to monitor and safeguard like before.

This by itself exposes the databases to malicious activity and suspect code. This is before addressing the dangers that come with unsecured WiFi connections. One thing hasn’t changed. Organisations are responsible for all personal data that devs and IT professionals handle on a daily basis.

Lack of Communication

It’s also quite obvious that having dozens of professionals scattered across cities and countries has introduced a plethora of challenges for organizations all around the world. Teams can no longer have coffee together to discuss bottlenecks, not can they collaborate seamlessly like before Covid-19 struck.

The only way to get things done today is by video and tele-conferencing. Unfortunately, like the aforementioned BYOD issue, these remote communications also provide additional opportunity for skilled hackers. There is also the issue of email phishing, which has escalated exponentially in 2020.

Needless to say, these limitations also hamper the development and implementation of development, governance, and security policies of organizations. Checking projects constantly for code accuracy and optimal quality is a problem, and so is the monitoring and tagging of changes in JIRA.

Deployment Issues

Implementing DevOps smoothly with traditional manual methods was already starting to become challenging in recent years. The dynamic nature of applications and the need for faster iterations (better time-to-market) led organizations to face code drift problems and version control issues.

To make matters worse, pinpointing bottlenecks and monitoring changes has become even more different with dozens of remote logins that are simply creating a lot of headaches for all sides involved. Quality is often compromised, which eventually leads to brand damage and loss of customers.

5 Ways to Achieve Success

Fortunately, having a proactive gameplan and automating various stages of the development pipeline can help avoid the aforementioned problems.

Establish BYOD Policies

All personal computers used by the developers and stakeholders should be subject to the official approval (and monitoring) of the network administrator, who needs to come up with a solid BYOD policy. This policy should ideally involve strict password and authentication protocols for optimal security.

Besides the obvious steps like automatic device locking after a period of inactivity and limitations for data processing (i.e – Personal Health Information), the organization should have a comprehensive governance mechanism where only the required permissions and access is given to the relevant personas.

Improve Security Training

All organization workers, regardless of their seniority or position, should be able to detect a phishing email and report it to the relevant person. As mentioned earlier, email traffic is growing due to the remote nature of the work today and malicious bodies are making use of this recent development.

You should ideally be creating procedures/policies for employees with access to sensitive data stored in the database (if needed) and other critical systems. All access times and durations should ideally be documented for compliance purposes and also to improve remediation times if and when issues arise.

Address Remote Login Vulnerabilities

This is where many organizations fail to enforce high security standards, despite the steps required being pretty obvious to all. Data sent through a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is encrypted and unreadable if intercepted by an unauthorised third party. Hence this is the first thing everyone must implement.

Furthermore, employees should be required to use a two-factor authentication process (i.e., two layers of security confirmation) to access the VPN.  Also, organizations must demand frequent password changes, which should be complex and unique  (not common words, dates or identifying information).

It’s also a good idea to require that home Wi-Fi passwords be changed on a regular basis for additional peace of mind. There should also be pre-defined data erasure protocols to avoid the device being sold or transferred to a third-party, malicious or not, with sensitive data still stored on it.

Enforce Secure Communication

Your organization needs to make sure that that video and tele-conferencing services are secure. This is because the mainstream communications apps are vulnerable to hackers. All devs and DB professionals should be required to use only pre-approved service providers to ensure optimal safety standards.

Some of the key aspects of security on this front include the Data Processing Agreement, what kinds of data does the app collect, what permissions are required, and most importantly is there end-to-end encryption with minimal metadata use.

The Dutch data protection supervisory authority’s comparison of video conferencing tools is a great way to select the right vendor for your needs.

Automate Your Database

The aforementioned tactics will only get you so far. You will also need to automate your database management in order to fight off the bad guys.

• Automated Governance – Policy enforcement is one of the biggest pain points during the Covid-19 period. But automating the governance process can help you manage all passwords and privileges from one centralized dashboard. The control is now absolute.
• Smooth Role Management  – Once the DBA has an automated software solution to minimize human intervention and manage roles with just a few clicks, security levels are elevated to a whole new level. Modifying and revoking roles and permissions has to be fast(er) in today’s reality.
• Audit Trails – Manually documenting and recording all database actions is often plagued by human error. Organizations originally had to invest a lot of time and resources to pass compliance audits. But now every login can be automatically recorded and documented for best results.

All in all, automating your database management processes will also improve cross-department collaboration, which is extremely crucial when everybody is working from home. With less friction between the devs, IT staff, and DB professionals, the focus can shift to what is really important – product quality.

That’s not all. The aforementioned issues need to be solved while still addressing the faster time-to-market requirement without compromising on quality. Things become extremely tricky when the organization is scaling up fast or migrating its database to the cloud, another Covid-19 trend.

The Problems Caused by Covid-19

As mentioned earlier, Covid-19 has presented IT professionals with a new array of problems that will possibly not go away even when a vaccine is successfully released. Companies will keep feeling the burn for years to come and corporate culture (i.e – working from home) can become a common practice going ahead.

1 – Lack of Funds and Resources

Organizations are losing money, which is forcing them to trim down operational expenses. This means that IT professionals are being fired or given less working hours. As a result of this, all of the remaining working staff are putting in extra hours, making more errors, and causing bigger issues down the line.

Additionally, as per Gartner, cloud spending in 2022 will reach levels that were previously expected to be attained only in 2023 or 2024. While this move was initially believed to be a natural evolution of DevOps, fast tracking this can also lead to a wide range of operational and technical problems.

2 – Compliance Problems

DB professionals don’t have just their daily tasks to complete. With so many mandatory protocols like GDPR, HIPAA, and SOX to follow, they have to make sure all requirements are met with zero slip-ups. Add the lack of manpower or resources and you are looking at a potential disaster waiting to happen.

3 – Poor Communication Standards

Working with remote teams and cross-continent collaboration were already big challenges. Connecting the dots in fast-growing development environments is not an easy task. But now things have become even more complicated, with all developers working from the safety of their homes.

Virtual access, remote work, and multiple machines are becoming big headaches, with productivity being directly affected due to work from dozens of remote locations at any given time. There are many remote management solutions coming up, but most of them are yet to gain maturity.

4 – Unexpected Security Loopholes

There is little margin for error when it comes to compromised Personal Identifiable Information (PII) or Protected Health Information (PHI). DB professionals are the last line of defence in today’s organization, with malicious bodies bypassing traditional security solutions with increased frequency.

5 – Technical and Login Issues

Developers are now logging in from dozens of locations on a daily basis, creating additional problems for IT workers, who already had to deal with manual script creation and track changes with Excel spreadsheets. This can lead to endless fixup cycles and inconsistencies leading to unstable releases.

These issues, that are being magnified by Covid-19, are putting the DBA (amongst others) in a tough spot. Without proper solutions, they can’t check projects constantly enough for code accuracy and optimal quality. They can’t monitor and tag changes consistently enough to show them in JIRA stories.

Automation to the Rescue

Companies are recognizing the importance of having a comprehensive database automation solution in place to address the Covid-19 challenges.

1 – Effective Use of Resources

Pushing out releases quickly, while preventing accidental overrides, and reducing application downtime caused by database-related errors is now achievable without wasting time, money, and resources. Automation will help you model, visualize, and assure one release after another with zero issues.

As a result of creating an automated pipeline, your organization’s developers can focus on what they do best – innovate. Lesser QA and mitigation professionals are required due to the enhanced quality of the application code, which will require minimal post-release updates and patches, if at all.

2 – Better Compliance Standards

A detailed history of all database activities carried out in all environments can now be kept automatically. All changes, successful or not, can now be registered, detailing the involved stakeholders, complete with a timestamp and user IP address. Simply put, this automatic process is a compliance booster.

Related: The Anatomy of a HIPAA Compliant Cloud Database

3 – Improved Communication

Having a centralized dashboard to view and manage permissions and policies makes life easier for DB professionals. Even having multiple teams in different locations is no longer a problem, since permissions can be granted, edited, or even revoked with just a few clicks to make user management a breeze.

This in turn allows all teams to be in the loop when it comes to releases and eventually boosts cross-department collaboration and communication.

4 – Optimizing Security

Also, databases are currently facing threats that simply cannot be handled by conventional security solutions such as Web Application Firewalls (WAFs), detection software, and traditional perimeter defenses. Only modern DB automation tools can help monitor internal controls for best results.

5 – Error-Free Database Management

Security and governance tools allow you to enforce organizational policy, manage permissions, define roles, and meet compliance regulations while maintaining a detailed audit trail. By automating your pipeline, you can easily specify (and manipulate) access, duties and rules for all database activities.

Doing so allows DevOps and automation teams to prevent unauthorized and undocumented database changes and keep team members from straying from defined processes. A comprehensive solution should be able to provide you with out-of-the-box policies and support for customizable project-specific policies.

As a result, DevOps teams and related stakeholders always have an idea of what is going on via one centralized dashboard, with complete transparency into the policies, roles, and permissions being implemented. This allows all sides involved, remote or in-house, to stay productive with zero operational hiccups.

Final Thoughts

DevOps is all about small and fast iterations, which helps multiple team members work together with zero errors and issues. This is a sharp turn from rigid corporate structures to flexible and dynamic teams. However, this methodology isn’t complete without a sound automation solution.

Deployments can often be slow, cumbersome, or even risky. DB professionals often face code freezes and configuration drifts due to poor management. But automation allows DB and automation teams to deploy more often, which means the changes are incremental and easier to reverse.

Embracing the automated DevOps mindset allows product and development teams to create better organizational momentum. This strong alignment makes it easier to achieve performance, productivity, compliance, and security, while ensuring optimal product quality with fast time-to-market.