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Snowflake · ADA-C02

Security and Authentication

Snowflake implements comprehensive security controls spanning authentication, authorization, network security, data encryption, and governance. Authentication mechanisms include native username/password, MFA via Duo Security, SSO through SAML 2.0 identity providers, OAuth for programmatic access, and key pair authentication for automated processes.

By PracticeTestSoftware Editorial Team1 min read

Snowflake implements comprehensive security controls spanning authentication, authorization, network security, data encryption, and governance. Authentication mechanisms include native username/password, MFA via Duo Security, SSO through SAML 2.0 identity providers, OAuth for programmatic access, and key pair authentication for automated processes.

Authorization follows a role-based access control model where permissions are granted to roles rather than directly to users. System-defined roles include ACCOUNTADMIN (full account control), SECURITYADMIN (user and role management), SYSADMIN (object creation and management), and PUBLIC (granted to all users). Organizations extend these with custom roles implementing specific access requirements.

Advanced Security Features

  • Dynamic data masking that obscures sensitive data based on user roles
  • Row access policies that filter visible rows based on user context
  • External tokenization integration for protecting sensitive identifiers
  • Secure views that prevent unauthorized access to underlying query definitions
  • Tri-Secret Secure combining Snowflake-managed keys with customer-provided keys
  • Private connectivity through AWS PrivateLink, Azure Private Link, Google Cloud Private Service Connect
Exam tip Know the difference between SECURITYADMIN and ACCOUNTADMIN privileges. SECURITYADMIN manages users, roles, and grants but cannot create warehouses or manage resource monitors. ACCOUNTADMIN has full account control including billing and account-level parameters. The principle of least privilege means granting SECURITYADMIN to security teams, not ACCOUNTADMIN.