Database System Security Officer

Home | Previous Page | Next Page Audit Administration > Administrative Roles and Role Separation >

Database System Security Officer

The DBSSO is a system administrator who performs all the routine tasks related to maintaining the security of a database server. These tasks include the following actions:

Maintaining the audit masks
Responding to security problems
Educating users

The DBSSO performs these tasks with the onaudit utility. For information, see The onaudit Utility.

The DBSSO role is supported by a designated account and software. To use the audit tools, the users who fill the DBSSO role must log into the designated account and meet access-control requirements. After the DBSSO users meet the access-control requirements and use the administrative software, their actions can be audited.

Tip:

A DBSSO on UNIX is any user who belongs to the group that owns $INFORMIXDIR/dbssodir. On Windows, the administrator uses registry settings, through the Role Separation dialog box that appears during installation, to specify DBSSO users.

Important:

The onaudit utility can create a potential threat to the security of the database server. An unscrupulous user can abuse a DBSSO account, for example, by turning off auditing for a specific user. To reduce this risk, all actions taken through onaudit should be audited.