Rob Smyth's Blog

In my time working in the Public Sector it has become clear that there is a sea-change in how software companies are approaching problems with security.  Oracle's own E-Business Suite supports multiple configurations to help this (see Steve Chan's blog for more information).  But for most government departments there is still the old-fashioned view of restricted and de-restricted networks.  The restricted network is then used by 'Trusted' staff who can access data even though their roles don't merit it.  Oracle recognised this problem and has recently launched Oracle Database Vault which allows for formal separation of duties so that, for example, a DBA can alter tablespace information without being able to see the data within the tables within the tablespace. As I believe that citizens will want more interaction with their government departments I think this change will be embraced more and more in the future.