What is the recommended approach to access control for an SQL database storing Personally Identifiable Information (PII)?

The recommended approach to access control for an SQL database storing Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is dynamic data masking. Dynamic Data Masking helps protect sensitive data by obfuscating it to unauthorized users while allowing legitimate users to see the unmasked data. This is particularly important in scenarios where developers and analysts need to perform operations on the data without being able to see the actual PII values.

With dynamic data masking implemented, organizations can comply with privacy regulations and maintain user confidentiality. This feature also minimizes the risk of exposing sensitive information in non-production environments, as developers can work with anonymized data rather than the actual personal data.

While other options like Transparent Data Encryption (TDE), Role-based access control (RBAC), and Access Control Lists (ACLs) serve important security functions, they do not focus specifically on the need to protect the visibility of sensitive data at the application level in the same way dynamic data masking does. TDE encrypts data at rest, RBAC helps manage user permissions and roles, and ACLs define specific permissions for particular users or groups, but they don’t prevent users with required access from seeing sensitive information. Thus, dynamic data masking is the most appropriate choice for controlling access to PII in an SQL database.