Introducing Azure SQL Ledger Blockchain Technology for a Tamper Proof Record of Your Data over Time

  • Dejan Sarka

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This video shows how to use blockchain technology in Azure SQL and SQL Server to provide an immutable record of data change over time, and to prove and attest to business partners that your data is accurate and has not been tempered with. You’ll learn about the new, Ledger tables feature in Azure SQL and soon to be in SQL Server 2022 that enables this blockchain feature set. This video shows how Ledger-enabled tables protect your data from even high-privileged users, preventing even database and system administrators from making changes without a record of those changes being made.

Also covered in this video is the older feature set around system-versioned, temporal tables. You’ll learn how temporal tables are used as the base infrastructure for maintaining the blockchain history in Ledger tables. The video shows how Ledger provides additional protection to ensure that – unlike the case with just temporal tables – rows are cryptographically hashed to ensure against tampering. You can even combine both features, temporal and ledger tables; while ledger tables protect the data, temporal tables allow you to easily see the state of the data on a specific time point.

What You Will Learn

  • Understand the technology behind Azure SQL Ledger

  • Create a database with ledger-enabled tables

  • Combine ledger and system-versioning technology in a single table

  • Modify the data in the ledger-enabled table

  • Change the structure of ledger-enabled tables

  • Verify that the ledger data has not been tampered with

  • Understand ledger technology limitations

Who This Book Is For

For advanced database administrators of Azure SQL Databases who are required to prove that sensitive data has not been tampered with. For administrators requiring a tamper-proof record of history over time. For those who are running SQL Server 2022 either on-premises or through Managed Instances who have the same needs.

This video shows how to use blockchain technology in Azure SQL and SQL Server to provide an immutable record of data change over time.

About The Author

Dejan Sarka

Dejan Sarka Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) and Microsoft Data Platform MVP, is an independent trainer and consultant that focuses on development of database and business intelligence applications. Besides projects, he spends about half of the time on training and mentoring. He is the founder of the Slovenian SQL Server and .NET Users Group. Dejan Sarka is the main author or co-author of nineteen books about databases and SQL Server. Dejan Sarka has also developed many courses and seminars for Radacad, Microsoft, SolidQ, and Pluralsight.

 

About this video

Author(s)
Dejan Sarka
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-8902-0
Online ISBN
978-1-4842-8902-0
Total duration
1 hr 12 min
Publisher
Apress
Copyright information
© Dejan Sarka 2022

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Video Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING]

Hello and welcome to the Introducing Azure SQL Ledger presentation. I will show you how you can add a new level of protection to your data.

My name is Dejan Sarka. I am more than 35 years already in this business. I have nearly 40 years of experience. I am focusing on relational data, especially SQL Server, but also on data science, data quality, and data modeling. I’m a Data Platform Most Valuable Professional and also Microsoft Certified trainer. I authored or co-authored 19 books so far and more than 20 courses for Microsoft Pluralsight, SolidQ, Radaca, and some other companies.

What I will talk about, and what SQL Ledger is about, is data integrity and audits. Everybody probably already knows that data integrity is critical for every database, especially if your organization, your company has to deal with personal or otherwise sensitive data. You might have regular audits, and you might have requirements for legal compliance.

And for audits, you need to prove that your data is safe and has not been tampered with by a malicious party. Malicious activity could be done or performed by an attacker, or by some dissatisfied employee who might be even a privileged user.

SQL Ledger provides tamper-evidence capabilities. It can cryptographically attest data to auditors– and not only auditors, also to other business parties, companies that are involved in business with you. It shows a definitive proof that your data has not been tampered with, so you and other parties can trust your data.

SQL Ledger exists and appeared first in Azure SQL Database, but now it is also available in the community technology preview versions of SQL Server 2022. And I will show you demos for both options.