Exploring the New Security Features in Microsoft SQL Server 2022

Microsoft SQL Server 2022 is the most reliable, secure, and Azure-compatible server ever developed by Microsoft. It comes with multiple enhancements and improvements to streamline the experiences of users.

There has been an increase in cyber-attacks and security threats in the last couple of years. This has prompted Microsoft to respond by building a Windows Server with amazing security parameters. This ensures that data packet security is updated at the cluster level.

Microsoft SQL Server 2022 is built to help organizations run their databases securely, update them to meet their requirements, and enable cloud integrations without any problems. 

So, which security features make the Microsoft SQL Server 2022 better than the other database servers?

New Security Features in Microsoft SQL Server 2022

Microsoft values the security of its products a lot. This is because, with technological advancements, the risk of attacks gets high. The new Microsoft SQL Server 2022 comes with three security improvements. These include the security of their virtual environments, firmware protection, and hardware trust. 

In addition, it comes with TempDB improvements. The use of tempdb in SQL Server in the management of temporary objects has always led to the blockage of processes. This has changed with the new server due to the addition of system page latch concurrency enhancements.

Other notable security improvements with Microsoft SQL Server 2022 include a Server Message Block AES-256, DNS over HTTPS support, Azure Arc, SBM over QUIC, and SBM East-West Encryption.

Here are some of the notable security features in Microsoft SQL Server 2022;

Hypervisor Security

The Microsoft SQL Server 2022 comes with a security technology based on virtualization for its hypervisor security. This technology ensures that individual processes are isolated from the Windows Operating System.

In case there is an attack on the server, these new security measures ensure that the threat does not spread to any other parts of the system. This makes sure that the entire server does not get compromised. 

With such measures, organizations can quickly get rid of any threats and resume normal operations within the shortest time possible.

Prevention of Firmware Attack

Most extended attacks and threats take place when a server is restarted through firmware. This has been a common security issue with some previous versions of the Microsoft SQL Server.

However, Microsoft SQL Server 2022 comes with new securities such as the Direct Memory Access (DMA) and Dynamic Root of Trust for Measurement (DRTM) to help organizations prevent these kinds of threats and attacks.

SMB (Server Message Block)

Using the previous versions of the Microsoft SQL Server, organizations have been forced to implement the use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) especially when they have mobile users or remote workers.

The new Microsoft SQL Server 2020 comes with a Server Message Block functionality that eliminates the need for organizations to use VPN networks. 

The server uses a Use Datagram Protocol (UDP) that ensures that all internet traffic to the server is always encrypted.

Secure Connectivity

Microsoft Server 2022 uses the latest internet protocol version to ensure that there is a secure connection between any two nodes. This protocol is the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol.

It uses DNS queries to encrypt connections and ensure that the highest level of security is maintained. This is going to give organizations a sense of relief since they do not have to worry about the security of connections and the encryption of their data.

Query Store

Even though it is more of a performance improvement compared to a security improvement, Query Store was developed in SQL Server 2016. 

Its main aim was to help with the collection of usage data for SQL Server objects. It was also introduced to help identify any performance issues with T-SQL.

Microsoft SQL Server 2022 has improved the Query Store and come up with new ways through which it can be used. In the new server, Query Store is turned on by default, but users can turn it off if they want to.

In conclusion, the security improvements, enhancements, and protocols discussed above have been introduced with the aim of ensuring that the Microsoft SQL Server 2022 is self-reliant. This is important for organizations to process critical applications and sensitive data without any problems and avoid the different types of cyberattacks.

Microsoft has ensured that the entire server is protected from its drivers, firmware, and hardware in a bid to help organizations beat the ever-advancing tricks of cybercriminals. This means that it is one of the most secure servers any organization can use today.