Data Encryption with H2 Database in Spring Boot

November 02, 2025

This guide shows how to enable data encryption in H2 database when using it with Spring Boot for improved security.

1. Add Dependencies

In pom.xml:

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
  <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-data-jpa</artifactId>
</dependency>
<dependency>
  <groupId>com.h2database</groupId>
  <artifactId>h2</artifactId>
</dependency>

2. Configure Encrypted H2 Database

In application.properties:

spring.datasource.url=jdbc:h2:file:./data/securedb;CIPHER=AES
spring.datasource.driver-class-name=org.h2.Driver
spring.datasource.username=sa
spring.datasource.password=filepwd userpwd
spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto=update

Explanation:

CIPHER=AES → enables AES encryption.
filepwd → encryption password for database file.
userpwd → login password for the DB user.

3. Create Entity

@Entity
public class Secret {
  @Id @GeneratedValue
  private Long id;
  private String message;
}

4. Repository

public interface SecretRepository extends JpaRepository<Secret, Long> {}

5. Save Encrypted Data

@SpringBootTest
class SecretRepoTest {
  @Autowired SecretRepository repo;

  @Test
  void testEncryption() {
    repo.save(new Secret(null, "Top Secret Message"));
  }
}

The message is stored in an encrypted H2 file.

6. Verify

Check the ./data/securedb.mv.db file.
It will be encrypted and unreadable without the correct password.