Database Development with a Security-First Mentality

In today’s increasingly digital world, ensuring the security of data is paramount. This session, will dive into the essential practices and principles of secure SQL Server database development. Attendees will learn how to adopt a proactive approach to database security from the initial stages of development, incorporating best practices to safeguard sensitive information against unauthorized access, data breaches, and malicious attacks.

The session will explore critical security features within SQL Server, such as encryption, authentication, role-based access control, and auditing. Furthermore, we will address the importance of regular security assessments and continuous monitoring to stay ahead of evolving threats.

By the end of the presentation, developers will have the knowledge and tools to integrate security seamlessly into the database development lifecycle, ensuring their SQL Server databases are resilient and compliant with industry standards and regulations.

Kerberos: A deep dive into delegation & SQL Server

In this session, we will explore the inner workings of Kerberos authentication in Active Directory and its critical role in modern network security, with a special focus on delegation and its application to SQL Server environments.

Kerberos is the gold standard for secure authentication in distributed systems, but its complexities - particularly around delegatio - can be challenging to navigate. This talk will break down the key concepts of Kerberos, explaining what it is, how it works, from the login process up to the use of services like SQL Server.

We'll be looking into delegation, the technical aspects of it, how the various delegation types work, including their weaknesses and how this relates to our SQL Data Platform.

Last but not least we'll also take a look at attack scenario's hackers use and what you can do to prevent certain attacks.

Automate Security & Compliance for your Infrastructure

After giving you insight into fundamentals of Security & Compliancy by design for your data platform. We'll take you on a daylong journey into the various topics that help you standardize, automate and report on your Security & Compliancy.
We'll dive into Security Configuration Baselines, how to define them, set them up in your environments, ensuring your platform is compliant. Give you examples of tools you can use and give you insights into processes around them.
How to setup and manage your environments from a DevSecOps perspective in a way that keeps your infrastructure secure, looking into the auditing and give you hands-on examples on how to protect your data.
We will dive into the complex part of backup/restore process that allows your DevOps Way-of-Working to be as self-serviced as possible venturing into matters as Quality Assurance and Testing.
All this is wrapped up on the compliance questions that come with this way-of-working.

Security Configuration Baselines: How to get started

We all have our auditing in place, our default deployment is fully automated, but what if that auditor comes by unannounced and wants you to report on your estate that everything is still conform your default configuration? This is where Security (Configuration) Baselines come in to play. This session will dive into the compliance side of your estate. Whether you want to know yourself if all those instances you manage are configured as you expect them to be, or you have to report on them for regulatory purposes, it doesn't matter.
And not just the boring theory of things, we'll also see some examples of how you can scan your own environments, collect information and report on it.

This session is aimed at a DBA/Compliance audience, targeted for a 60 to 75 minute duration.
Attendees should have an advanced knowledge of SQL Server. This session can be considered level 250-300.

Securing the SQL Server Data Platform: Preventing Data Loss and Ensuring Data Privacy

In today’s world of escalating cyber threats, securing your SQL Server environment has become a critical priority. The phrase "It's not a matter of if, but when you're going to be hacked" has never been more true. With external attacks becoming more sophisticated, organizations must prepare for the inevitable and safeguard their SQL Server data platform against data breaches, unauthorized access, and data loss.

This talk will focus on the essential steps to secure SQL Server environments against external threats and prevent the loss of critical data. We'll explore how to design a security strategy that reduces the attack surface and ensures your data is protected - even when facing advanced, targeted attacks.

From securing network connections and enforcing strong authentication mechanisms to implementing encryption, we'll discuss a range of practical, actionable measures that will help you safeguard your SQL Server Platform from malicious external actors.