Overview of PostgreSQL security

Security is a huge area of related methods and technologies, so we will take a practical approach, covering the most common issues related to database security.

First, we set up access rules in the database server. PostgreSQL allows you to control access based upon the host that is trying to connect, using the pg_hba.conf file. You can specify SSL/GSSAPI connections if needed or skip that if the network is secure. Passwords are encrypted using SCRAM-SHA-256, but many other authentication methods are available.

Next, set up the role and privileges for accessing your data. Modern databases should be configured using the principle of least privilege (POLP). Data access is managed by a privilege system, where users are granted different privileges for different tables or other database objects, such as schemas or functions. Thus, some records or tables can only be seen by certain users, and even those tables that are visible to everyone can have restrictions...