symmetric-keys-on-user-databases.md

title	Symmetric Keys on User Databases | Microsoft Docs
ms.custom
ms.date	03/01/2017
ms.prod	sql
ms.prod_service	database-engine
ms.reviewer
ms.technology	security
ms.topic	conceptual
helpviewer_keywords	Best Practices [Database Engine]
ms.assetid	3333ab5b-2518-4753-a0a8-57df5e5af74f
author	VanMSFT
ms.author	vanto

Symmetric Keys on User Databases

[!INCLUDEappliesto-ss-xxxx-xxxx-xxx-md] This rule checks whether keys that have a length of less than 128 bytes do not use the RC2 or RC4 encryption algorithm.

Best Practices Recommendations

Use AES 128 bit or larger to create symmetric keys for data encryption. If AES is not supported by your operating system, use 3DES.

For More Information

Choose an Encryption Algorithm

See Also

Monitor and Enforce Best Practices by Using Policy-Based Management