Database Encryption

Beginning with version 2.2, OrientDB can encrypt records on disk. This prevents unauthorized users from accessing database content or even from bypassing OrientDB security. OrientDB does not save the encryption key to the database. You must provide it at run-time. In the event that you lose the encryption key, the database, (or at least the parts of the database you have encrypted), you lose access to its content.

NOTE: As of 2.2 this feature is in beta. It will be final with 2.2 GA.

Encryption works through the encryption interface. It acts at the cluster (collection) level. OrientDB supports two algorithms for encryption:

  • aes algorithm, which uses AES
  • des algorithm, which uses DES

The AES algorithm is preferable to DES, given that it’s stronger.

Encryption in OrientDB operates at the database-level. You can have multiple databases, each with different encryption interfaces, running under the same server, (or, JVM, in the event that you run OrientDB embedded). That said, you can use global configurations to define the same encryption rules for all databases open in the same JVM. For instance, you can define rules through the Java API:

  1. OGlobalConfiguration.STORAGE_ENCRYPTION_METHOD.setValue("aes");
  2. OGlobalConfiguration.STORAGE_ENCRYPTION_KEY.setValue("T1JJRU5UREJfSVNfQ09PTA==");

You can enable this at startup by passing these settings as JVM arguments:

  1. $ java ... -Dstorage.encryptionMethod=aes \
  2.       -Dstorage.encryptionKey="T1JJRU5UREJfSVNfQ09PTA=="

For more information on security in OrientDB, see the following pages:

Creating Encrypted Databases

You can create an encrypted database using either the console or through the Java API. To create an encrypted database, use the -encryption option through the CREATE DATABASE command. However, before you do so, you must set the encryption key by defining the storage.encryptionKey value through the CONFIG command.

  1. orientdb> CONFIG SET storage.encryptionKey T1JJRU5UREJfSVNfQ09PTA==
  2. orientdb> CREATE DATABASE plocal:/tmp/db/encrypted-db admin my_admin_password 
  3.           plocal document -encryption=aes

To create an encrypted database through the Java API, define the encryption algorithm and then set the encryption key as database properties:

  1. ODatabaseDocumentTx db = new ODatabaseDocumentTx("plocal:/tmp/db/encrypted");
  2. db.setProperty(OGlobalConfiguration.STORAGE_ENCRYPTION_METHOD.getKey(), "aes");
  3. db.setProperty(OGlobalConfiguration.STORAGE_ENCRYPTION_KEY.getKey(), "T1JJRU5UREJfSVNfQ09PTA==");
  4. db.create();

Whether you use the console or the Java API, these commands encrypt the entire database on disk. OrientDB does not store the encryption key within the database. You must provide it at run-time.

Encrypting Clusters

In addition to the entire database, you can also only encrypt certain clusters on the database. To do so, set the encryption to the default of nothing when you create the database, then configure the encryption per cluster through the ALTER CLUSTER command.

To encrypt the cluster through the Java API, create the database, then alter the cluster to use encryption:

  1. ODatabaseDocumentTx db = new ODatabaseDocumentTx("plocal:/tmp/db/encrypted");
  2. db.setProperty(OGlobalConfiguration.STORAGE_ENCRYPTION_KEY.getKey(), "T1JJRU5UREJfSVNfQ09PTA==");
  3. db.create();
  4. db.command(new OCommandSQL("ALTER CLUSTER Salary encryption aes")).execute();

Bear in mind that the key remains the same for the entire database. You cannot use different keys per cluster. If you attempt to apply encryption or an encryption setting on a cluster that is not empty, it raises an error.

To accomplish the same through the console, set the encryption key through storage.encryptionKey then define the encryption algorithm for the cluster:

  1. orientdb> CONFIG SET storage.encryptionKey T1JJRU5UREJfSVNfQ09PTA==
  2. orientdb> ALTER CLUSTER Salary encryption aes

Opening Encrypted Databases

You can access an encrypted database through either the console or the Java API. To do so through the console, set the encryption key with storage.encryptionKey then open the database.

  1. orientdb> CONFIG SET storage.encryptionKey T1JJRU5UREJfSVNfQ09PTA==
  2. orientdb> CONNECT plocal:/tmp/db/encrypted-db admin my_admin_password

When opening through the Java API, given that the encryption settings are stored with the database, you do not need to define the encryption algorithm when you open the database, just the encryption key.

  1. db.setProperty(OGlobalConfiguration.STORAGE_ENCRYPTION_KEY.getKey(), "T1JJRU5UREJfSVNfQ09PTA==");
  2. db.open("admin", "my_admin_password");

In the event that you pass a null or invalid key when you open the database, OrientDB raises an OSecurityException exception.