CTAS Reference Guide.doc - Office of the State Auditor

CTAS REFERENCE GUIDE
SECURING THE DATABASE
Since the CTAS database (ctas09.mdb) contains confidential information such as employee social
security numbers and payroll, it is very important to make sure the file remains secure and is
only available to trusted personnel. The database file can be easily opened and viewed by
anyone with Microsoft Access installed. The file is not password protected and all of the
information is easily viewable.
It is also important to treat all backups with the same level of care. The backup files are not
password protected or encrypted in any way. They can be easily opened by anyone with
Microsoft Access so make sure all backups are placed in a secure location.
NOTE: Before proceeding with any of the options below, make sure you have
successfully made a backup of your current CTAS database. If you incorrectly set your
security settings, it is possible to lock everyone (including yourself) out of your CTAS
database.
Several options exist for securing the data including the following:
Option #1: Set NTFS folder security
If you are running a version of Windows that supports NTFS (such as Windows XP), you can set
permissions on the CTAS folder so only the preferred users can access the file. In order for this
to be available, the hard drive must be formatted as NTFS and not FAT.
To verify your drive is formatted as NTFS, open My Computer. Right­click on the drive where
CTAS is installed (usually C:\) and select “Properties”. You should see something like below:
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