In the last blog post of this series, we discussed in detail how Master Key encryption works. In this post, based on what we already know about Master Key encryption, we look into how Master Key rotation works.

The idea behind Master Key rotation is that we want to generate a new Master Key and use this new Master Key to re-encrypt the tablespace key (stored in tablespace’s header).

Let’s remind ourselves what a Master Key encryption header looks like (it is located in tablespace’s header):

From the previous blog post, we know that when a server starts it goes through all encrypted tablespaces’ encryption headers. During that, it remembers the highest KEY ID it read from all the encrypted tablespaces. For instance, if we have three tables with KEY_ID = 3 and one table with KEY ID = 4, it means that …

We will have a look at a new feature in MySQL 8.0 called binlog encryption. This feature is available from the MySQL version 8.0.14 or above.

Our previous blogs discussed about table space encryption in MySQL and Percona servers. In Mydbops, we are giving high importance about achieving security compliances.

The binary log records changes made to the databases so that it can be used to replicate the same to the slaves and also for the point in time recovery (PITR). So, it means that if someone has access to the binary logs, they can reproduce our entire database in many forms. As a DBA, we need to make sure that the binary log files are protected from users who are having access to the file system and also, log files need …

The Case

Securing MySQL is always a challenge. There are general best practices that can be followed for securing your installation, but the more complex setup you have the more likely you are to face some issues which can be difficult to troubleshoot.

We’ve recently been working on a case (thanks Alok Pathak and Janos Ruszo for their major contribution to this case) where MySQL started becoming unavailable when threads activity was high, going beyond a threshold, but not always the same one.

During that time there were many logs like the following, and mysqld was becoming unresponsive for a few seconds.

2019-11-27T10:26:03.476282Z 7736563 [Note] Got an error writing communication packets
2019-11-27T10:26:03.476305Z 7736564 [Note] Got an error writing …

Starting with Percona Server for MySQL 8.0.17, Percona Server ships with a data masking plugin, using the same API as the MySQL Enterprise Masking and De-identification feature. This plugin was developed by Francisco Miguel Biete and was submitted to Percona Server as a community contribution. He also wrote an excellent post describing his contribution for Percona’s Community Blog titled Percona Server for MySQL 8.0 – New Data Masking Feature and the full list of functions can be found in the documentation of the MySQL Enterprise plugin. …

In the previous blog post of this series, MySQL Encryption: Talking About Keyrings, I described how keyrings work. In this post, I will talk about how master key encryption works and what the pros and cons are of using envelope encryption such as a master key.

The idea behind envelope encryption is that you use one key to encrypt multiple other keys. In InnoDB, this “one key” is the master encryption key and the “multiple other keys” are the tablespace keys. Those tablespace keys are the ones that are actually used to encrypt tablespaces. Graphically it can be presented like this:

The master key resides in the keyring, while encrypted tablespace keys reside in tablespace headers (written on page 0 of a tablespace). In the picture above:

Table A is encrypted with key 1. Key 1 is encrypted …

It has been possible to enable Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) in Percona Server for MySQL/MySQL for a while now, but have you ever wondered how it works under the hood and what kind of implications TDE can have on your server instance? In this blog posts series, we are going to have a look at how TDE works internally. First, we talk about keyrings, as they are required for any encryption to work. Then we explore in detail how encryption in Percona Server for MySQL/MySQL works and what the extra encryption features are that Percona Server for MySQL provides.

MySQL Keyrings

Keyrings are plugins that allow a server to fetch/create/delete keys in a local file (keyring_file) or on a remote server (for example, HashiCorp Vault). All keys are cached locally inside the keyring’s cache to speed up fetching keys. They can be separated into …

Some say that the best password is the one you don’t have to remember. That’s possible with MySQL, thanks to the auth_socket plugin and its MariaDB version unix_socket.

Neither of these plugins is new, and some words have been written about the auth_socket on this blog before, for example: how to change passwords in MySQL 5.7 when using plugin: auth_socket. But while reviewing what’s new with MariaDB 10.4, I saw that the unix_socket now comes installed by default and is one of the authentication methods (one of them because in MariaDB 10.4 a single user can have more than one authentication plugin, …

As an intro to his performance act, an “old school” entertainer Victor Borge once famously asked the audience: “Do you care for piano music?“, which was greeted by a crowd, only to be immediately followed by a self-ironic punch line – “Too bad.”…

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MySQL needs an SSL/TLS library. It uses it primarily to encrypt network connections, but also uses its various algorithms and random number generators.

OpenSSL is the golden standard when it comes to cross-platform open source SSL/TLS library that you use from C/C++.…

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Author: Robert Agar

A constant in the computing world is that it is always evolving and offering new challenges and opportunities. Software solutions come and go with some becoming staples in the business community while others barely cause a ripple as they disappear into the ether. Take MySQL as an example. From its humble beginnings in 1994, the platform has grown to become the most popular SQL database in 2019. If you are a database professional, chances are very good that you work with MySQL regularly.

The popularity of the database platform has not gone unnoticed by the unscrupulous entities that engage in cybersecurity attacks with nefarious intentions. Whether acting …