Zero Trust for OCI Databases: Why Basic Access Hygiene Comes Before Architecture

A technical article by Abhilash Kumar Bhattaram, part of a 52-week series, examines how database access control in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) involves multiple overlapping layers including IAM policies, network security groups, compartments, and the database's own privilege model. The piece identifies nine common access misconfigurations — such as overly broad IAM policies, shared admin credentials, and open DB listener ports — that typically stem from convenience decisions never revisited. Bhattaram argues that least privilege must be enforced in practice across each layer of the access chain, not treated as a policy statement alone. He recommends concrete fixes including scoping IAM policies to named groups and compartments, using Dynamic Groups for automation, and conducting periodic access recertification. The article positions foundational access hygiene as a prerequisite to implementing a full Zero Trust architecture for cloud databases.