DBHawk Partners with Microsoft Azure, Lands Patent for Sensitive Data

DBHawk developer Datasparc has entered into a new partnership with Microsoft that will increase its customers’ ability to work with data in the Azure cloud. The San Diego-based company has also secured a new patent for a method of detecting sensitive data, which should help customers avoid inadvertent data disclosures.

DBHawk is an all-in-one database management and security tool offers a range of database functions for different users. Data analysts can use it to write and execute SQL queries against dozens of databases running on prem or in the cloud, while data engineers can use it to perform joins and schedule SQL queries. It also be used by admins to mask data or audit database access by users.

Datasparc’s partnership with Microsoft Azure will extend the reach of DBHawk deeper into Azure and provide customers with the ability to view, query, analyze, and manage data stored in the Azure SQL Database from the comfort of Web browser. Datasparc has also worked to integrate DBHawk into Azure in several ways.

For instance, integration with Azure Active Directory will give enterprise users a single sign-on experience, while support for Azure Key Vault integration will give users the ability to securely store their sensitive credentials like passwords and API keys, Datasparc says.

The company has already landed Azure clients, including several Switzerland-based insurance companies that are using DBHawk to securely access their private data from Azure SQL Database, Datasparc says. With the Azure partnership in place , the company expects more customers.

Datasparc CEO Manish Shah expressed his enthusiasm regarding the strategic partnership with Microsoft, noting that their database product DBHawk provides security, management, governance and analytics within one platform.

“With Microsoft’s extensive reach, our customers can rapidly and securely access data from any cloud environment while remaining cost-effective,” Shah said. “This is a great opportunity for customers to transition into cloud technology at an accelerated pace.”

Datasparc also announced that it has been awarded a patent for a novel method of detecting whether a system contains sensitive data and then provisioning restrictions on systems that are found to contain sensitive data. According to the website JUSTIA, US Patent No. 11593514 was granted to Shah and Datasparc on February 23 of this year.

Datasparc’s patent describes a method accessing database or a file system via drivers or API, and then scanning it for sensitive data. According to the filing, several methods are used to detect sensitive data, including particular lengths of data strings (such as 16-digit fields); particular sequences of data elements within the data (such as two numbers followed by a forward slash and two more numbers); particular combinations of data attributes that may enable the application to recognize names, addresses, PINs, CVVs, phone numbers, email addresses; and particular data already known to contain sensitive information.

Datasparc’s software may also use machine learning to recognize known data attributes and associated data criteria. It also may use ML to determine the appropriate way to protect the sensitive data once its presence has been detected.

DBHawk supports more than a dozen databases, including AWS’s Amazon Athena and Redshift, Apache Cassandra, Google Cloud BigQuery, MongoDB, MySQL, MariaDB, Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle database, PostgreSQL, SAP HANA, Snowflake, Teradata, and Vertica, among others.

DBHawk can be deployed on the cloud, on-premise, or using a hybrid setup. DBHawk can be deployed on VM, Docker, or Kubernetes. For more information, see www.datasparc.com.

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