Data is the ultimate weapon in the 21st century, and Hadoop has emerged as a powerful tool for big data processing. However, with the increase in data comes the increased risk of cyber-attacks. Hence, securing Hadoop is crucial to prevent data breaches and maintain data integrity. But unfortunately, Hadoop doesn’t have dedicated security features. So in this article, we will know how this issue was solved and explore some key terminologies in Hadoop Security. The course on Big Data can help you understand better about Hadoop security.

What is Hadoop security?

Hadoop Security refers to the measures taken to ensure the protection of data stored in the Hadoop system from potential cyber threats. The objective is to create a secure barrier around the Hadoop data storage unit to prevent unauthorized access. Hadoop achieves this by implementing a strong security protocol.

The different components of Hadoop security are:

Authentication

The process of verifying the identity of a user or a system is known as Authentication. In Hadoop, authentication ensures that only authorized users can access the Hadoop cluster. Hadoop provides various authentication mechanisms such as Kerberos, LDAP, and Simple Authentication and Security Layer (SASL).

Authorization

The process of granting access to operations or specific resources to authenticated users is called Authorization. In Hadoop, authorization can be managed through Access Control Lists (ACLs) or Role-Based Access Control (RBAC).

Encryption

In Encryption plaintext data is converted into ciphertext to prevent unauthorized access. Hadoop provides encryption at rest and in transit. Encryption at rest encrypts data stored in Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) while encryption in transit encrypts data transmitted between Hadoop nodes.

Key Management

Key management helps in generating, storing, distributing, and revoking encryption keys. In Hadoop, key management is essential to secure encrypted data. Hadoop provides various key management solutions such as Key Management Interoperability Protocol (KMIP) and Hadoop Key Management Server (KMS).

Auditing

Auditing refers to the process of recording events and activities in the Hadoop cluster. Hadoop provides auditing through Hadoop Audit Framework, which logs all user activities, including file and directory operations, cluster configuration changes, and system events.

Different types of Hadoop securities

• HDFS Encryption: Hadoop’s adoption of HDFS encryption is a significant leap forward in data security. With this technology, all data traveling between the source and destination in HDFS is fully encrypted.

• Kerberos security: Kerberos is a prominent network authentication protocol that utilizes secret-key cryptography to offer robust authentication services to servers and clients. Its design aims to provide secure authentication services in a networked environment.

• Traffic encryption: Traffic encryption, also known as HTTPS (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure), is a method employed to safeguard the exchange of data between a website and its users.

• HDFS File and Directory Permissions: HDFS file directory permissions are expressed in a straightforward POSIX format where Read and Write permissions are denoted by “r” and “s” respectively. However, the permissions granted to the Super User and Client vary depending on the level of confidentiality of the file.

Conclusion

Securing Hadoop is crucial to prevent data breaches and maintain data integrity. Hadoop provides various security mechanisms to secure the Hadoop cluster. As the volume of data increases, the importance of Hadoop security also increases. Therefore, it is essential to have a thorough understanding of the key terminologies in Hadoop security to ensure the security of your Hadoop cluster. And to get a deep knowledge of these securities you can avail of the sorted course on Big Data.