DATABASE SECURITY

Creating specific user roles with tailored privileges is a best practice in database security. It follows the principle of least privilege, where users are granted the minimum levels of access—or permissions—needed to perform their jobs. This approach significantly reduces the risk of accidental or deliberate data misuse.

In this database, several new users have been created and granted INSERT privileges. This means these users can add new data to the database via interfaces such as Microsoft Access forms but cannot read, modify, or delete existing data unless explicitly allowed. Here are steps taken and why they're important:

• User Creation: Each user has a unique login, which provides an authentication mechanism to verify their identity before accessing the database.

• Granting Privileges: Users were granted INSERT privileges to specified tables where they need to input data. This allows them to contribute new entries without the risk of altering existing data.

• Access via Forms: Users input data through Microsoft Access forms, which can be designed to further restrict data entry to certain fields and enforce data validation rules.

The individuals (users) who volunteered to contribute to the insertion into this database include Helen, Comfort, Ayanfeoluwa, and Serene.

Activity Logging is a critical component of a secure database. It creates an audit trail of all database operations, which can be analyzed to detect unauthorized access attempts, ensure accountability, and help in understanding how the data is used and by whom.

For the movie_production_companies database, the activity_log table captures all user activities. Here's why it's valuable:

• Monitoring User Activities: The log records what data users are inserting, along with their usernames. This can deter malicious behavior since users know their actions are being tracked.

• Audit Trail: The log acts as a forensic tool. In the event of an incident, the activity log can be reviewed to understand what happened, trace steps, and identify the involved parties.

• Compliance: Many industries have regulations requiring logs of all database transactions. This log helps in meeting such regulatory requirements.

• Troubleshooting: If a user reports an issue or there is a data discrepancy, the log can be used to troubleshoot what actions were taken and by whom.