Every day, organizational performance and success grow more reliant on expanding our technological infrastructure and improving the reliability of our data storage. This has led to an evolving movement towards securing and protecting our local environments, which has rapidly become the dominant focus in mostly supporting roles within the fields of technology. The practice of rotating account credentials is a well-established and familiar standard for security experts. The expansion of this standard and applying the practice to database accounts are becoming more and more common.
However, unlike user accounts or even service accounts, database accounts play a far more personal role in supporting the communication and functionality of individual applications. Database accounts have varying levels of involvement within any application and some are uniquely tasked to support the functionality of specific services. Handling these accounts can appear complex, but with enough understanding and a little planning, the task of confirming the database accounts to routine adjustments can become a more manageable process. Proper usage is important in the fleet industry, as it promotes user and data security for your employees and organization and its assets.
Below are descriptions of the three primary types of database accounts that you should be aware of in fleet management. Please note that each environment is unique and will likely require that a comprehensive routine has been developed internally to accommodate the frequency and scope of password adjustments and the services being maintained in the application.
Type 1- Elevated Accounts
Most, but not all, of these accounts have higher privileges and act as either system administrators or owners of the database or a schema. The main identifying factor of these accounts is the essential role they play in supporting or maintaining the basic functionality of the application. These accounts are generally identified in the Installation and Upgrade documentation and cannot be managed in the application. The credentials can only be maintained at the time of the installation. Manual database configurations are possible, but this will require a more detailed understanding of system configuration and the location of all account references within the application.
The configuration and management of these accounts are only available through the installer or directly from the database. Given the critical nature of these accounts, improper adjustments could result in downtime for the respective environment. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that you do not modify the elevated or essential database accounts distinguished in the installation procedures without first contacting your software provider representative.
Type 2- User Level Accounts
The second category would be user-level accounts. These accounts support application users and grant specific degrees of database access. These are the easiest to maintain. These can be adjusted or created from within the application and the changes will automatically be applied to the database and configured throughout the application where needed.
Type 3- Service Level Accounts
The last type of database account could be called a service level account because the account is used to facilitate specific services within or affiliated with the application like fueling transactions, web services, or certain types of interfaces. The service-level account is fundamentally the same as the user-level account, but it is worth separating into its category because additional configurations for the accounts may exist elsewhere for each type of service.
Understanding the function and purpose of each account is the key to putting together a comprehensive and successful security maintenance plan. AssetWorks FleetFocus and its integrated modules and products make use of the database types and account levels described above. As a result, users can expect optimized security, a pleasant user experience, and efficient data processing and retrieval workflows.
