Firebird Database Encryption Techniques in Spring Boot

January 11, 2026

Database encryption ensures sensitive information remains protected from unauthorized access. Firebird offers multiple encryption options that integrate smoothly with Spring Boot.

1. Why Use Encryption in Firebird?

Encryption safeguards both data at rest and data in transit. In modern applications, especially those handling personal or financial data, this is essential for compliance and security.

2. Enabling Database-Level Encryption

Firebird supports Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) for encrypting data files directly. You can enable it with the following SQL command:

ALTER DATABASE ENCRYPT WITH AES;

This encrypts the entire database using the AES algorithm. Once enabled, all data pages are stored in encrypted form.

3. Managing Encryption Keys

Firebird uses a keyholder file to store encryption keys securely. You can define it in your Firebird configuration:

KeyHolder = /opt/firebird/keys.conf

Then specify your key inside the file:

AES256 = MySecureKey123!

Keep this file outside your code repository and restrict file permissions to the database user only.

4. Configuring Spring Boot for Secure Connection

Your application.properties should include the Firebird connection details:

spring.datasource.url=jdbc:firebirdsql://localhost:3050/app.fdb?encoding=UTF8
spring.datasource.username=sysdba
spring.datasource.password=masterkey

For added security, store the password in environment variables or use Spring Cloud Vault instead of hardcoding it.

5. Encrypting Data at Application Level

Besides TDE, you can encrypt sensitive data before saving it to the database using Java’s crypto library.
Example using AES encryption:

public String encrypt(String data, String secret) throws Exception {
    Cipher cipher = Cipher.getInstance("AES");
    SecretKeySpec key = new SecretKeySpec(secret.getBytes(), "AES");
    cipher.init(Cipher.ENCRYPT_MODE, key);
    return Base64.getEncoder().encodeToString(cipher.doFinal(data.getBytes()));
}

You can call this method before saving sensitive data to Firebird.

6. Encrypting Communication

Enable Wire Encryption in Firebird to secure communication between the application and the database server.
In firebird.conf:

WireCrypt = Required

This ensures all JDBC connections from Spring Boot use SSL-based encryption automatically.

7. Best Practices

Rotate encryption keys periodically.
Keep the keyholder file safe and backed up.
Avoid storing keys or credentials in plain text.
Regularly test backup and restore for encrypted databases.

Ads go here

#ads