Security Inside Out

No spoilers, just watch the video!

This year was a first. Today the first session in the IOUG track on the first day of Oracle Open World was all about data security. I think it really shows the increasing awareness among the Oracle Database community around data security. The session was a panel discussion on the 2009 IOUG Data Security Report published last week. The panel moderated by Andy Flower, IOUG Executive Vice President, included Tanya Baccam who teaches a great class on Oracle Database Security for SANS, Kim Floss, former IOUG President and Manager of Enterprise Database Services at Pepsi, and myself for Oracle. We had a very interactive discussion with really good questions and feedback from the audience. The session was recorded so will put up a link when available for those who couldn't make it out this year.

For those of you who attending Oracle Open World World this week,download the FocusOn Database Security schedule for database security sessions and workshops. I will be attending all days and hope to have an opportunity to meet many of you in person.

The October 2009 Critical Patch Update (CPU) was released earlier this week. Applying security patches is the foundation of Database Security as per Noel Yuhanna's Database Security Strategy report. But a lot of customers struggle with applying the quarterly CPU because of 7x24 operational requirements which prevent them from bringing their database down for more than an hour once or twice a year. So how do you apply security patches while still keeping your database running? Watch this...