Enhancing Privacy in Databases by Data-Layer

This study addresses the growing challenge of enhancing privacy in enterprise database systems, where excessive privileges and shared service accounts often lead to unauthorized data access and insider threats. The study proposes a data-layer security framework that enforces fine-grained access control based on authenticated user identities, integrating role-based access control (RBAC) and the principle of least privilege (PLP) to protect sensitive information. The model restricts developer and administrative access strictly to authorized data objects, reducing exposure while maintaining operational efficiency. Drawing on established database security mechanisms, including authentication, authorization, and centralized identity management through Active Directory, the proposed framework ensures that all database interactions are executed under verified user credentials. The approach is implemented using Microsoft SQL Server within an enterprise environment and evaluated through controlled experiments conducted before and after deployment. Results demonstrate a significant reduction in unauthorized data retrieval without introducing noticeable performance overhead. The findings confirm that enforcing privacy at the data-layer provides an effective and scalable solution for securing sensitive data in modern database systems, strengthening accountability and mitigating risks associated with privilege misuse.

@article{Alharbi2025,
  title     = {Enhancing Privacy in Databases by Data-Layer},
  journal   = {International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications},
  volume    = {16},
  number    = {12},
  year      = {2025},
  publisher = {The Science and Information Organization},
  author    = {Sami Alharbi and Samer Atawneh and Hussein Al Bazar and Roxane Elias Mallouhy},
  doi       = {10.14569/IJACSA.2025.01612118},
  url       = {https://doi.org/10.14569/IJACSA.2025.01612118}
}