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Security Fundamentals & Crypto · Intermediate

Column-Level Encryption

Encrypting specific database columns so sensitive fields remain protected even from users with table access.

Definition

Column-level or field-level encryption protects individual sensitive fields such as SSNs. Solutions like SQL Server Always Encrypted keep keys on the client so the database engine never sees plaintext. It offers finer granularity than TDE but can complicate querying and indexing.

Example

Always Encrypted lets an application read card numbers while DBAs see only ciphertext.

Exam tip

Choose column/field encryption when admins must not see specific sensitive values.

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