Could someone help me understand SQL TDE Database encryption?

Posted by SLC on Programmers See other posts from Programmers or by SLC
Published on 2013-11-05T13:18:07Z Indexed on 2013/11/05 16:11 UTC
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sql-server

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encryption

I don't quite follow how it works. According to the MSDN Article there is a big hierarchy of keys protecting other keys and passwords. At some point the database is encrypted. You query the database which is encrypted, and it works seamlessly.

If you're able to simply connect to the database as normal and not have to worry about any of the encryption from a developer point of view, how exactly is it secure? Surely anyone can simply connect and do select * from x and the data is revealed.

Sorry my question is a bit scattered, I am just very confused by the article.

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