Oracle PL/SQL for DBAs

Why Learn About RLS?

From this initial description of RLS, you might be thinking that it is a rather specialized security function, one that you are not likely to use in your daily work as a DBA. In fact, the benefits of RLS extend beyond security. I’ll take a quick look here at the reasons that DBAs find RLS helpful and discuss these in greater detail throughout the chapter.

Enhance security

Certainly, RLS’s primary purpose is to enhance security within your organization. For many organizations, RLS is helpful in meeting the new security and privacy initiatives and guidelines (e.g., Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA, Visa Cardholder Information Security Program) with which they must now comply. These days, security is no longer an afterthought, relegated to the cubicles of auditors far out in the corporate jungle. It has become an important part of the overall system design and development life cycle. Today, everyone from the most junior developers to the most senior DBAs must be knowledgeable about the security tools and technologies available to them. Oracle offers many advanced and add-on security features and options, but RLS is built into the Oracle database engine and is the first tool you should turn to when you are faced with the need to implement access policies. Whether you are a new DBA or a veteran with several years of PL/SQL development under your belt, you will quickly find that a thorough knowledge of RLS will help you to smoothly integrate security features into your database. ...