Security Guide for Siebel eBusiness Applications > Communications and Data Encryption >

RC2 Encryption Administration

You can encrypt sensitive data, such as customer credit card numbers, using the RC2 Encryptor. RC2 encryption can be enabled for business component fields using Siebel Tools. When encryption is enabled for a component, unencrypted data from the business component field is sent through the RC2 Encryptor. The RC2 Encryptor encrypts the data using an encryption key stored in the keyfile.

After the data is encrypted, it is sent back to the business component field to be stored in the database. When a user accesses this data, the encrypted data is sent through the RC2 Encryptor again to be decrypted. The data is decrypted using the same encryption key from the keyfile that was used for encryption. The decrypted data is then sent back to the business component field to be displayed in the application.

The keyfile stores a number of encryption keys that encrypt and decrypt data. The keyfile is named keyfile.bin and is located in the admin subdirectory of the Siebel Server directory. Additional encryption keys can be added to the keyfile. For security, this file is encrypted using an encryption key generated from the keyfile password. To generate a new encryption key to encrypt the keyfile, change the keyfile password.

This section describes how to use the Key Database Manager to add encryption keys and to change the keyfile password. For information on how to enable and disable RC2 encryption for business components fields, see Siebel Tools Reference.

NOTE:  Siebel Systems does not support RC2 encryption for numeric data, but you can use the encryptor for information such as credit card numbers, which are stored as strings in the database. For more information on encrypting numeric data, see Encryption Issues.

CAUTION:  If you are upgrading from 56-bit encryption to 128-bit encryption, make sure you read If You Are Upgrading before installing the Siebel Strong Encryption Package. For more information on the Siebel Strong Encryption Package, see the Upgrade Guide for the operating system you are using.


 Security Guide for Siebel eBusiness Applications 
 Published: 23 June 2003