Re: is it possible to edit archivelog files?

Wijbrand Pauw wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I work at al large bank and we want to get on Unix-Oracle the highest
> possible classification on availability and integrety.
>
> You all know the expressions that one fool can ask more questions than 100
> wise man can answer, well than our security officer is a fool.....
>
> He now wants to know if it is possible to edit/change an archivelogfile and
> then apply it to an standby database.
> We are doing a checksum on the files on the production and standby machine
> before applying, for what that's worth.
> He wants to know because he wants to be very sure that someone can't fake a
> disaster on production, going to the standby database, bringing it up and
> there are for example new financial transactions (there will be over
> $50.000.000.000,- transferred every day) which weren't in the orignal
> production environment (that one is for example completly destroyed).
>
> I know that this sounds perhaps a bit silly or overdone but they want to
> know.
> So is there a chance that someone can hack the archivelog files and the file
> still be accepted by the standby database?
>
> Can you think of other potential dangers of changing the standby database
> without being noticed (of course the database will remain in standby mode
> but it is also used in ready only)?
>
> Thanks for your reply!
>
> Regards,
>
> Wijbrand

Reading the various answers to your post I am left with the following (A) anyone can do it and (B) hard as heck. So I'm not sure how you will decipher which answer is correct.

My answer is a bit different.

The biggest security leak to any system is a post-it note with a user-id and password on it taped to the bottom of a keyboard or stuck inside of a drawer.

The security risks of Oracle are lower than with its competitors if one institutes good policies and procedures and takes advantage of all of the security features Oracle has to offer. One thing you might consider is to write a function that encrypts/decrypts dollar amounts and wrap the code. Then people may be able to hack anything but it will be impossible to know what they are hacking.

But in the end the problem really comes down to controlling physical access. If someone can't get to it ... they can't alter it.

Daniel Morgan Received on Mon Oct 21 2002 - 12:32:03 CDT