ENCRYPT= Data Set Option

Specifies whether to encrypt an output SAS data set.

Valid in:	DATA step and PROC steps
Category:	Data Set Control
Restriction:	Use with output data sets only.

Syntax

Details

Example

Syntax

ENCRYPT=YES | NO

Syntax Description

YES: encrypts the file. This encryption uses passwords that are stored in the data set. At a minimum, you must specify the READ= or the PW= data set option at the same time that you specify ENCRYPT=YES. Because the encryption method uses passwords, you cannot change any password on an encrypted data set without recreating the data set.

CAUTION:

Record all passwords when using ENCRYPT=YES.

If you forget the passwords, you cannot reset it without assistance from SAS. The process is time-consuming and resource-intensive.

NO: does not encrypt the file.

Details

When using ENCRYPT=YES, the following rules apply:

You cannot encrypt SAS views, because they contain no data.
To copy an encrypted data file, the output engine must support the encryption. Otherwise, the data file is not copied.
Encrypted files work only in SAS 6.11 or later.
If the data file is encrypted, all associated indexes are also encrypted.
Encryption requires approximately the same amount of CPU resources as compression.
You cannot use PROC CPORT on SAS Proprietary encrypted data files.

Example: Using the ENCRYPT=YES Option

This example creates an encrypted SAS data set using encryption:

data salary(encrypt=yes read=green);
   input name $ yrsal bonuspct;
   datalines;
Muriel    34567  3.2
Bjorn     74644  2.5
Freda     38755  4.1
Benny     29855  3.5
Agnetha   70998  4.1
;

To use this data set, specify the read password:

proc contents data=salary(read=green);
run;

ENCRYPT= Data Set Option

Syntax

Syntax Description

Details

Example: Using the ENCRYPT=YES Option

See Also