Power BI is a data visualization and business intelligence tool that is super powerful. But, as organizations become more dependent on data-driven insights, securing sensitive information hidden in the Power BI report becomes a priority. Whether you’re an analyst dealing directly with proprietary data or a business leader sharing reports across teams, data security is essential to ensure confidentiality, integrity and compliance.
In this blog, we will discuss how you can secure data sharing power bi reports with practical steps which you can do to keep your information safe in Power BI without losing the fruits of this beneficial tool. So if you are learning Power BI from a Power BI Course in Chennai this article may help you with some best practices that the working professionals have followed to ensure that their reports are safe and secure.
Power BI Security Features
Some built-in features of Power BI data Security are as follows: Row level security(RLS) Role-based access Encryption They offer a range of security options in protecting reports and data sources against unauthorized access.
- Row-Level Security (RLS): Enables you to restrict data access according to users’ roles. It allows you to set up roles and rules for which users can see specific rows of data inside a report. For instance, a regional manager can view only the sales data of his region whereas a global manager can view all regions.
- Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Using Power BI’s RBAC you can control user permissions and specify who can view, edit and publish reports. You can allow anyone to create custom roles based on their business needs and assign to different users.
- Data encryption: Your data is encrypted in Power BI while it is in transit and at rest, ensuring that it’s kept safe when it is transferred and while it is resting in the service.
Row Level Security (RLS) to Secure Sensitive Data
Row Level Security (RLS) is one of the most efficient methods of protecting the data sharing power bi reports. This is useful when you want to restrict access to sensitive data in a report without creating separate reports for each user group.
So here is how can you implement RLS:
Define roles and rules: You’ll define roles that specify who has access to what data. For instance, you could define roles for sales managers, finance analysts, and regional directors, each of which would have access to different data depending upon geography, department, etc.
Test the Roles: you can test roles to make sure users with different roles can only see relevant data. This helps keep sensitive information secure.
RLS ensures that each user sees only the data they are entitled to, which is very useful for the large organization where each team needs only access to certain data.
Data Protection with Power BI Service Settings
In addition to RLS, Power BI offers multiple other mechanisms for securing data at the service level:
- Data Sensitivity Labels: Power BI connects with the Microsoft Information Protection, a framework that you can use to apply sensitivity labels to your reports. These labels can help lockers sensitivity of data, enforcing policies that help ensure that sensitive data is processed appropriately.
- Permissions and Access Controls: When you share reports, you can manage who can see them by setting permissions either at the workspace or report level. You also can specify whether or not recipients can share the report, export its data, or print it.
- Export restriction: You can restrict data export in Power BI Disabling the export prevents exporting raw data for users to download from reports which is a potential security risk.
They protect your Power BI reports and dashboards so that only authorized users can view and access them at all.
Use Power BI Data Gateways for Secure Data Connections
In case you use on-premises data sources, like SQL Server databases, you need to set it with Power BI Data Gateways. The data gateway is a bridge, providing secure data transfer between on-premises data and the Power BI Service.
A gateway can keep sensitive data behind your organization’s firewall and only allow access through secure, encrypted channels. This is beneficial particularly for an organization with strict data compliance requirements.
Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) to increase layer of security
Security goes beyond the Power BI application itself. Securing Power BI dashboard and report for usersSign-Up to MFA Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is a technology that enhances security by requiring users to provide multiple pieces of evidence (or factors) to verify their identity before sharing power bi reports (e.g. password + code sent to mobile).
MFA prevents unauthorized access, especially when the users’ login credentials may have been compromised. If you run a Power BI account for an organization, enforce MFA for all users, as this will greatly reduce security risks.
Audit logs in Power BI for monitoring activity
For continued security, you’ll need to monitor who is accessing and engaging with your Power BI reports. Audit logs can track activity like who viewed a report, shared a report, or exported data using the Power BI service.
You can also instantly identify any anomalous actions or data breaches by routinely monitoring the audit logs. This empowers you to take immediate corrective actions to safeguard sensitive data.
Keep Power BI Updated
However, Power BI, like all other software, is regularly updated to add new features, fix bugs, and improve security. Let’s start with the most common: the latest version of Power BI can protect you from many of the possible vulnerabilities.
How to install the Power BI latest versions Always update the Power BI desktop app to the latest updates and make sure the Power BI service you’re using is on the latest version. Routine updates ensure not just security but also access to the most recent data management features.
Power BI Report Data Encryption
Data Encryption: In addition to encrypting data in transit and at rest, you can also choose to apply Data Encryption to certain datasets or reports within Power BI. Utilizing Advanced Encryption options means that only users who are entitled to these will be able to utilize and access said data.
In business intelligence, securing data in Power BI reports is of the utmost importance to keep sensitive business data safe. With the use of built-in features such as Row-Level Security (RLS), setting permissions, enabling Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), and Power BI Data Gateways, you can share reports and insights without fear of compromising security.
To learn more about these functionalities, sign up for a Power BI Course in Bangalore. These will equip you to practice these security measures and enable you to leverage the use of Power BI effectively within your domain.
