Application Data Security

Definition security is a form of data security—you use it to control access to particular rows of data (object definitions) in PeopleTools tables. PeopleSoft software also provides other methods to control the application data that a user is allowed to access in the PeopleSoft system. This task is also known as setting data permissions.

With application data security, you can set data permissions at the following levels:

·         Table level (for queries only).

·         Row level.

·         Field level.

Table-Level Security

You use PeopleSoft Query to build SQL queries and retrieve information from application tables. For each PeopleSoft Query user, you can specify the records the user is allowed to access when building and running queries. You do this by creating query access groups in PeopleSoft Tree Manager and then assigning users to those groups with PeopleSoft Query security. PeopleSoft Query security is enforced only when using PeopleSoft Query; it does not control runtime page access to table data.

Row-Level Security

You can design special types of SQL views—security views—to control access to individual rows of data stored within application database tables. Row-level security enables you to specify the data that a particular user is permitted to access. PeopleSoft applications are delivered with built-in row-level security functions that are tailored to specific applications.

For example, PeopleSoft Human Resources security tables enable you to restrict user access to employee rows of data according to organizational roles. You could also permit users to view and update rows for employees in their departments only. Similarly, in PeopleSoft Financials, you can use security views to determine access to business units and ledgers. You can also use security tables to grant privileges by access group to users who use PeopleSoft Query to access data from the database.

See the documentation for your application for details about implementing row-level security for your applications.

Field Security

Use PeopleCode to restrict access to particular fields or columns within application tables. For example, if you want a certain class of user to be able to access certain pages but not to view a particular field on those pages, such as compensation rate, you can write PeopleCode to hide the field for that user class.