Database Encryption


Because they are highly sensitive and confidential, the names and descriptions of private projects are encrypted in the site database once the project is made private by checking the private project checkbox on the project’s access tab (and saving the project).  When the site database’s Activity table, which tracks when projects are created and updated, is opened in SQL Server – note that few users (if any) would normally have these permissions even if the site is privately hosted - private project names do not appear. In place of each project’s name, the phrase “Private Project” will be displayed.

At the time projects are created, however, they are not private.  Project names for non-private projects DO appear in the Activity table of the site database to provide an audit trail. Creators of private projects can enhance security by ensuring that project names do not expose private business information, or simply use a generic alias when the project is imported or created. The project name can be safely changed once the project has been made private and saved.