What type of encryption is recommended for sensitive data transmitted to Oracle Autonomous Database?

Using TLS encryption for transmitting sensitive data to Oracle Autonomous Database is essential because TLS (Transport Layer Security) ensures that data is securely sent over a network. It provides a robust level of security by encrypting the data in transit, thus protecting it from eavesdropping and man-in-the-middle attacks. TLS also authenticates the communicating parties, ensuring that sensitive information is being sent to the legitimate database server.

In the context of cloud databases like Oracle Autonomous Database, which are often accessed over the internet, the integrity and confidentiality of data are paramount. TLS helps maintain confidentiality by encrypting the data so that even if intercepted, it cannot be easily understood by unauthorized parties. It also protects against data integrity issues, ensuring that the data has not been altered in transit.

While other encryption methods like MD5, AES, and SHA serve important roles, they are not specifically tailored for protecting data in transit. MD5 and SHA are hashing algorithms and do not provide encryption; rather, they are used for data integrity checks. AES is a symmetric encryption algorithm that is effective for securing data at rest rather than data that is actively in transit. Hence, the recommended approach for secure communication with Oracle Autonomous Database is to leverage TLS encryption.