Securing Data

What this chapter covers

Securing Data is 8% of the Databricks Data Analyst Associate exam. It covers how Unity Catalog controls who can find, read and change data, and how analysts protect sensitive columns and rows.

The chapter has one topic: Unity Catalog privileges and sharing settings, the three level namespace of catalog, schema and table or volume, and good practice for ownership, storage and personally identifiable information (PII).

Questions are mostly short scenarios in which the stated requirement (who may see what, least privilege, what happens when someone leaves) decides the answer. They are single-answer multiple choice, and short SQL is shown as text. There are no exhibits.

How the topics fit together

Access is checked at every level of the namespace. A user needs the usage privileges on the containers, a data privilege on the object, and then sees only the rows and column values that filters and masks allow.

• Namespace questions ask how a three part name resolves and which container a privilege belongs on.
• Privilege questions ask for the smallest set of GRANT statements that meets a requirement.
• Ownership questions ask who can grant, drop or change an object, and who should own it.
• PII questions ask how to hide sensitive values from some users while keeping the table shared.

How to use these pages

Each topic page has the same shape, so you can skim for what you need.

• What it is: the idea in plain words.
• How it works: the mechanism, with tables and examples.
• What to remember for the exam: the facts to memorize and how questions are phrased.
• Common mistakes: the classic traps.
• Check yourself: three questions to test your understanding.