Encrypted EPIM database, and network packets

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salamander
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Encrypted EPIM database, and network packets

Post by salamander »

I use EPIM network edition across a small group of users. It works very well.

Now the system is being actively used, and some users are VPNing into it from home (using Hamachi free VPN), I am thinking about data(base) security. There is one group shared database, running on the EPIM Server in the office.

EPIM server edition has the ability to password protect the database using a wide range of encryption methods. Consider the situation where the database on the server has been encrypted by the administrator.

:?:
1) My question relates to network traffic between the now encrypted server database and clients, registered EPIM users. Is data served from the encrypted server database as encrypted traffic across the network en route to the client, to be decrypted on the individual logged-in clients? Or is the data decrypted as it exits the server and sent as plain, unencrypted data across the network to the clients?

2) How much additional processing is required in the server or in the clients to decrypt the database, and does this slow-down the user experience at all?

You can imagine that in a closed-loop, local office network, encrypting the server EPIM database possibly adds little practical value, but with remote clients VPNing into the server across the public internet, database encryption is of great value.

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Max
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Re: Encrypted EPIM database, and network packets

Post by Max »

Hello,

data is decrypted on server-side.
We have not run tests to determine whether that creates any significant additional load on server.
Maxim,
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MetalDrop
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Re: Encrypted EPIM database, and network packets

Post by MetalDrop »

Max wrote:Hello,

data is decrypted on server-side.
We have not run tests to determine whether that creates any significant additional load on server.
This interests me a great deal, as to the best of my research Firebird server 2.1 offers no built in encryption, and EPIM doesn't need to be installed on the server system. Any chance you could share a couple details on what is actually decrypting the data on the server? From my process monitoring the FB server and all it offshoots seem to use extremely few resources both RAM & CPU.
EPIM Portable Pro Running/Tested On: Windows 11 Pro 64-bit US-ENG|i5-6400+Quadro P620|i7-7700K+1050ti|i7-8700K+970GTX|AMD 5600x+1080ti|16GB+RAM&NVMe SSDs
[I'm helpful and often reply to questions, however I am just a fellow user and not staff.]
salamander
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Re: Encrypted EPIM database, and network packets

Post by salamander »

So I decode the answer to my question as ... 'no, networks packets between the EPIM server and EPIM clients are not encrypted. They are in plain text."

That looks like a full answer, in English, to a clearly stated question.
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