CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#databaseencryption
Ben
Ben

Reputation: 2523

Simple Encrypt/Decrypt for Database storage

I have been looking for a simple encryption/decryption class for storing information in the database. Trouble is I have no clue what I'm looking at half the time, so I really don't know if what I find is really all that worth implementing for what I need, whether it be over-complex or too easy to crack.

I have brain stormed about it for a bit, my first thought-train leading to a simple "switch, add, multiply" key for the ACII Values, but I think that wouldn't really be worth it after seeing what encryption classes actually are.

Essentially I'm looking for a key that encrypts any and all data (including table and column names) on storage, and decrypts on withdrawal. But like I said, doesn't need to be too complex, but if someone does want to access the data, they have to earn it haha.

Can anyone suggest a good link/provide a simple class for what I'm looking for? It could possibly be something I have found before, but like I said, I haven't the faintest as to what I'm looking at half the time

Thanks in advance!

Pre-emptive Edit I know some Databases have their own encrypt/decrypt methods, but I figure this is the easiest way to implement it because I will be working will multiple different database programs.

Upvotes: 1

Views: 339

Answers (1)

BradleyDotNET
BradleyDotNET

Reputation: 61349

AES 256 is (while potentially overkill) a very secure encryption algorithm. Microsoft provides an implementation in System.Security.Cryptography and the example at MSDN is a great place to get started.

I've used this for database encryption and it works just fine.

Since you said you are new to encryption, I will try to touch on what encryption does, and doesn't do for you. Encryption takes normal data (ie. ("My private string")) and turns it into random data (bunch of bytes), only reversible by knowing the private key (in AES 256). Data, since it is different between cells, and likely private/important information is a good thing to encrypt.

Your database schema is constant, so encryption is only minimally useful here. The difference between calling a table "Names" and "A" and "oiaeoriuojdklfjsad" (this last is an example "encryption") is minimal. This is what is meant by "security by obfuscation". You could argue that choosing a random name is slightly more secure than a descriptive one, but it is really just going to confuse you when you try to use it, and the real "gold" a hacker will want is the data anyways. Knowing what kind of data it is isn't really going to help if it's going up against a good encryption algorithm.

Upvotes: 2

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