Responses to identified security problems

After you identify the user or users who are responsible for irregularities in the security audit trail, see your site security procedures. If your site has no security procedures regarding potential security breaches, you might consider the following actions:

  • Enable additional auditing to further identify the problem.
  • Shut down the database server to halt any unauthorized information flow.
  • Develop a plan with the supervisor of the user to address the problem.
  • Confront the specific individual.

In some cases, you might find that an otherwise authorized user is browsing a bit too widely on the database server. After some observation, you might want to talk with the supervisor of the user. It might not be wise to talk directly with an individual whose actions are being monitored.

You must ascertain whether a particular problem that is identified through the audit trail is actually someone attempting to breach security or just, for example, a programming error in a newly installed application.

The exact type of security irregularity that might occur and the specific action to take in response to it are not within the scope of this manual.