Umm Al-Qura University (UQU), one of the largest universities in Saudi Arabia, is a distinguished institution recognized for its comprehensive academic offerings. UQU chose Oracle Database security to reinforce its data protection capabilities and meet the compliance requirements for Saudi Arabia’s National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA) and National Data Management Office (NDMO).
Business challenges
Student records contain a wealth of personal and often sensitive data regulated under Saudi Arabia’s National Cybersecurity Authority (NCA). Umm Al-Qura University needed to strengthen its database security by maintaining comprehensive security standards and regulatory compliance across its educational environment, without impacting current operations and business processes.
Why Umm Al-Qura chose Oracle
UQU wanted a data encryption solution that was not only easy to deploy and manage, but also transparent to their existing applications. They also wanted to centrally monitor the user activities across multiple databases without impacting their applications and administrative processes. UQU chose Oracle Database security products to encrypt student data, centralize audit log collection, and report on user activity for regulatory compliance. Selecting an Oracle solution also gave them the assurance that it would work with all their deployment modes across its life cycle.
Results
Implementing Oracle Advanced Security Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) was instrumental in securing sensitive data at rest by encrypting entire tablespaces while being transparent for applications. An additional benefit is that backups also become encrypted. Oracle TDE has helped UQU to meet industry standards and comply with local regulatory requirements, providing maximum assurance for sensitive academic and administrative data.
UQU deployed Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall (AVDF) to audit database activity, ensuring that all data operations aligned with the university’s strict governance policies. Looking ahead, UQU plans to expand its use of AVDF by auditing sensitive stored procedures. Monitoring and auditing administrative activities have enhanced the university’s ability to detect and respond to anomalies or unauthorized access, maintaining high accountability and compliance standards.
Further, as part of this project, UQU decided to upgrade to the latest release of Oracle Database, ensuring a modern and robust foundation for its critical academic systems.
Benefits realized
Oracle Advanced Security and Audit Vault and Database Firewall provided UQU with the critical security capabilities to safeguard sensitive student data, and meet regulatory requirements:
- Data encryption at-rest, in backups, transparent to applications.
- Centralized audit log collection, alerts, and activity reports.