SAS Data File Encryption

SAS passwords restrict access to SAS data files within SAS, but SAS passwords cannot prevent SAS data files from being viewed at the operating environment system level or from being read by an external program. Encryption provides security of your SAS data outside of SAS by writing to disk the encrypted data that represents the SAS data. The data is decrypted as it is read from the disk.

Encryption does not affect file access. However, SAS honors all host security mechanisms that control file access. You can use encryption and host security mechanisms together.

The following example creates an encrypted SAS data set:

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 print this data set, specify the Read password:

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

SAS extends password protection and encryption to other files associated with the original protected file. This includes generation data sets, indexes, audit trails, and copies. When accessing protected or encrypted generation data sets, indexes, audit trails, and copies of the original file, the same rules, syntax, and behavior for invoking the original password protected or encrypted files apply. SAS views cannot have generation data sets, indexes, and audit trails.