How to Improve Your MySQL Database Security in 8 Easy Steps

MySQL database is one of the most popular database management systems in the world. MySQL databases are used by many web applications, including WordPress, Facebook, Twitter, and others. MySQL databases store important data that must be protected from cyber threats, such as SQL injection attacks, data theft, hacking, and more.

MySQL database security is an important aspect of cybersecurity, as MySQL databases can be a prime target for hackers looking to steal confidential information, corrupt data, or disrupt business operations. Therefore, you need to follow best practices to secure your MySQL database from cyber threats.

In this article, I will describe 8 easy steps you can take to improve the security of your MySQL database. These steps are based on the sources you provide, namely:

MySQL Database Security
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  • MySQL Security: Common Threats and 8 Best Practices
  • MySQL Database Security
  • Best practices for securing MySQL databases
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Step 1: Use a Strong and Secure Password

Passwords are one of the first defense mechanisms you have to protect your MySQL database from unauthorized access. You should use strong and secure passwords for root accounts and all user accounts that can access your MySQL database.

A strong and secure password is one that:

  • Be at least 8 characters long
  • Contains a combination of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols
  • Does not contain personal information, such as name, date of birth, or email address
  • Not easy to guess or use common words, such as password, 123456, or qwerty
  • Different for each account and database
  • Replaced periodically, at least every 90 days

You can use an online password generator to create strong and secure passwords, such as Password Generator.

Step 2: Restrict User Access Rights and Privileges

In addition to using strong and secure passwords, you should also restrict the permissions and privileges of users who can access your MySQL database. You should grant access rights and privileges appropriate to the needs and roles of each user, and avoid granting excessive or unnecessary access rights and privileges.

User access rights and privileges are the rights and abilities that users have to perform certain operations on a MySQL database, such as creating, reading, modifying, or deleting data. User permissions and privileges can be granted or revoked using GRANT or REVOKE commands, such as the following example:

-- Grant SELECT, INSERT, and UPDATE permissions and privileges in the customer's table to user user1
GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE ON database_name.customers TO 'user1''localhost';

-- Revoke DELETE permissions and privileges on the customer's table from user user1
REVOKE DELETE ON database_name.customers FROM 'user1''localhost';

Step 3: Use a Secure and Encrypted Connection

A secure and encrypted connection is a connection that uses protocols or certificates that can protect data transmitted between the client and the server from eavesdropping, modification, or theft by third parties. You must use a secure and encrypted connection to access your MySQL database, either through a web application, database management tool, or shell command.

One way to use a secure and encrypted connection is to use SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) or TLS (Transport Layer Security), which is a standard protocol for securing communications on the internet. SSL or TLS can encrypt data transmitted between the client and the server so that only authorized parties can read it.

To use SSL or TLS, you need to have an SSL certificate or TLS certificate, which is a digital file containing identity information and public keys from a client or server. You can purchase an SSL or TLS certificate from a trusted service provider, or create your own SSL or TLS certificate using a tool like OpenSSL.

To enable SSL or TLS on your MySQL database, you need to change some configuration parameters on my.cnf or my.ini files, which are files that store MySQL database settings. You need to add or modify the following parameters in the [mysqld] section:

Enable SSL or TLS

ssl=ON

Determine the location of the server’s SSL or TLS certificate file

ssl-ca=/path/to/ca-cert.pem
ssl-cert=/path/to/server-cert.pem
ssl-key=/path/to/server-key.pem

You also need to add or change the following parameters in the [client] section:You also need to add or change the following parameters in the [client] section:

Enable SSL or TLS

ssl=ON

Specify the location of the client’s SSL or TLS certificate file

ssl-ca=/path/to/ca-cert.pem
ssl-cert=/path/to/server-cert.pem
ssl-key=/path/to/server-key.pem

After changing the configuration file, you need to restart your MySQL database service for the changes to take effect.

To test whether your connection is already using SSL or TLS, you can use the STATUS or \s command on the MySQL client, such as the following example:

-- Display connection status
mysql> STATUS;
---------
mysql Ver 14.14 Distrib 5.7.34, for Linux (x86_64) using EditLine wrapper

Connection id: 2
Current database:
Current user: rootlocalhost
SSL: Cipher in use is DHE-RSA-AES256-SHA
Current pager: stdout
Using outfile: ''
Using delimiter: ;
Server version: 5.7.34 MySQL Community Server (GPL)
Protocol version: 10
Connection: localhost via TCP/IP
Server characterset: latin1
Db characterset: latin1
Client characterset: utf8
Conn. characterset: utf8
TCP port: 3306
Uptime: 1 min 2 sec

Threads: 1 Questions: 4 Slow queries: 0 Opens: 105 Flush tables: 1 Open tables: 98 Queries per second avg: 0.064
---------

-- Display connection status (briefly)
mysql> \s
---------
mysql

Well, I’ll continue writing the truncated article. Here is the next section:

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