Transparent Data Encryption Certified for Apps 11i

Stories of lost backup tapes have become embarrassingly common. UPS lost Citigroup backup tapes containing personal information for 3.9 million customers. Bank of America backup tapes containing personal information for 1.2 million federal employees were stolen off a commercial plane. Marriot lost backup tapes with personal information for over 200,000 employees and customers. Iron Mountain lost Time Warner backup tapes containing personal information on 40,000 Time Warner employees. And the list just keeps getting longer...

If one assumes that any small physical object can be lost, then the odds of your losing a backup tape increase with every backup that you make.

Encrypting E-Business Suite Data
An option is to ensure that your backups are encrypted with the 10gR2 Database Transparent Data Encryption feature in the Oracle Advanced Security Option, reducing the risk of security breaches if backup tapes are physically lost or stolen. Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) is now certified with the E-Business Suite, allowing you to encrypt selected columns in the E-Business Suite's database files. This encryption is transparent to the E-Business Suite during runtime and requires no E-Business Suite patches. Backups of E-Business Suite database files are encrypted, requiring an Oracle Wallet for decryption.

For complete details, including a list of recommended columns to encrypt, see:
Using Transparent Data Encryption with the E-Business Suite (Metalink Note 403294.1)