SafeNet HSM now works with MS SQL Server 08

BALTIMORE, USA: SafeNet, Inc. has announced that its Luna SA hardware security module (HSM) is the first HSM to work with Microsoft SQL Server 2008 for greater application security and performance by offloading select management functionality.

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 is a relational database management system that provides organizations with a highly secure data platform for storing and managing sensitive data.

Integration of SafeNet’s Luna SA HSM with SQL Server 2008 will enable customers to store the server’s master cryptographic keys, the foundation of any robust security solution, within the hardware solution and not the software.

“Storing keys in software is risky to an organization’s data, and to its compliance standing, especially under mandates like PCI DSS where best-practice standard suggests organizations protect cryptographic keys separate and apart from cardholder data,” said Derek Tumulak, vice president, product management, SafeNet. “Secure key management and encryption are the most challenging parts of data protection and compliance.”

SafeNet’s Luna SA resolves this risk of exposure and challenge by keeping the keys away from the data. The Luna SA is a network-attached HSM for applications where security and performance are the priority. HSMs are physical devices that keep business critical cryptographic keys at the highest security level.

“SafeNet’s Luna SA provides organizations using SQL Server 2008 additional security features to help meet today’s ever-evolving data threats and compliance mandates,” said Mark Jewett, director of SQL Server marketing at, Microsoft Corp. “Organizations can add a layer of security technology that protects keys to be separate from the data it protects while accelerating complex features such as key rotation.”

The Luna SA can be leveraged by many servers, offering the ability to securely partition and share the HSM resource and extend the data platform environment in a cost-effective manner. The Luna SA, together with the Luna PCI, offers customers of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 two flexible encryption options for their deployment scenarios.

In addition to the Luna SA, SafeNet is also enabling its Luna PCI HSM to work with SQL Server 2008. The Luna PCI is a high-security cryptographic PCI accelerator card that is embedded directly into the database server for added security and provides accelerated cryptographic performance and CPU offload. Both HSMs are widely used by major governments, financial institutions, and large enterprises around the world for hardware-based key management and increased cryptographic performance.

SafeNet’s HSMs are key components of SafeNet’s comprehensive Enterprise Data Protection (EDP) solution for reducing the cost and complexity of regulatory compliance, data privacy, and information risk management. SafeNet EDP is the only solution that secures data across the connected enterprise, from core to edge, protecting data at rest, data in transit, and data in use.