Database encryption and connecting to such a database

We have a project where the client would like their SQLServer2008 database to be encrypted. I understand that it is possible with SQL server 2008 to easily encrypt the database, but I don't really know how. Can anybody help me with this ?

Also, once this database is encrypted, how can we connect to it ? I can't see开发者_JAVA百科m to find any way in the connection strings found in ConnectionStrings.com to enter any information about the encryption key. If we can't connect to the database once it's encrypted, there is no incentive to encrypt it...

Thanks

Full documentation on encrypting a SQL Server 2008 database is here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc278098(v=sql.100).aspx#_Toc189384672

In a nutshell, the encryption can be transparently achieved either through an internal "TDE" mechanism or through encryption of the underlying database files using either Windows EFS or Bitlocker. The article neatly discusses the pros and cons of each approach.

It also points out that you'll want to consider encrypting the communication between the client and the database server with HTTPS.

On the client side, you'd encrypt the connection string. Details on doing this in a configuration file for a .NET application are here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff647398.aspx.

Do you know what it is that you want encrypted? You can encrypt stored procedures so that they can't be (accidentally) opened or modified by anyone looking at the database with SSMS. In that case, the procedures are still executable but you can't see the logic without decrypting them.

Looks like you can also encrypt data in SQL Server 2008, although I've not tried it myself. There is a ton of reading on Technet and MSDN around the subject which seems like it should be good background!