Exploring Database Encryption
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Summary of Exploring Database Encryption
ServiceNow offers Database Encryption (DBE) and full-disk encryption methods to meet statutory data protection requirements. However, it's important to note that with the Washington DC release, DBE is being prepared for deprecation, with Cloud Encryption being the recommended solution for data at rest.
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Key Features
- AES-256 Encryption: All data, whether online or offline, is protected using symmetric AES-256 encryption, ensuring comprehensive data security.
- Real-Time Encryption: Stored data is encrypted in real-time, meaning there is no loss of functionality for users.
- Full Disk Encryption: Protects offline data against disk loss or theft, encrypting all instances, replication traffic, and backups.
- Three-Level Key Hierarchy: Keys are managed in a three-tiered system, enhancing security for customer-specific data encryption.
- Customer Controlled Switch (CCS): An optional feature that allows customers to use their own keys while maintaining full functionality.
Key Outcomes
By utilizing Database Encryption, ServiceNow customers can ensure that their data is securely stored and managed, protecting it from unauthorized access while maintaining operational efficiency. Customers can also expect a minor performance impact (up to 5%) during instance cloning, but overall functionality remains unaffected. Note that Database Encryption is not available for on-premise instances.
ServiceNow® offers database encryption (DBE) and full-disk encryption methods for customers with statutory obligations for data protection which may require at-rest protection for all data.
Database Encryption enables all data to be protected with symmetric AES-256 encryption, whether the database is online or offline. From the ServiceNow AI Platform perspective, all data flows in decrypted.
- Database Encryption supports all stored data to be encrypted in real time providing protection for data online and offline with no loss of functionality.
- Full disk encryption protects offline data if there is disk loss or theft.
With Database Encryption, all stored data is encrypted and individual records or tables are decrypted in memory while being accessed. New or changed data is encrypted as it is entered into a table and associated activity log files (bin, redo, undo, and error) are also encrypted.
Database Encryption is transparent to users, with no loss of functionality. When using this feature, all instances are encrypted, along with replication traffic and backups. Instance cloning is still available with a minor performance impact for using Database Encryption of up to 5%. Both new and existing instances on supported releases of the ServiceNow AI Platform can take advantage of database encryption.
As illustrated, ServiceNow stores and manages keys using a three-level key hierarchy:
- A customer specific AES-256 key is created by the database engine and is used to encrypt the data.
- A second customer specific AES-256 key is created by the database engine and is used to protect the first-level key.
- A third AES-256 key is created by and stored within FIPS 140 validated key management appliances in the ServiceNow datacenters. This key protects the second-level key and is unique per customer instance.
The ServiceNow AI Platform also supports database encryption with a customer supplied switch, DBE with CCS. This is an encryption solution that encrypts all data-at-rest when not in use in the database. It uses industry standard AES encryption with no impact to functionality. The database encrypts data as it is written to the disk, and decrypts data as it is read from the disk. That means that applications always have the data in an unencrypted state to perform the necessary logic and functions without impact.
If you are using your own keys for database encryption, see Database Encryption with Customer Controlled Switch.