Microsoft Access Database Engine

General Information

Technologies must be operated and maintained in accordance with Federal and Department security and privacy policies and guidelines. More information on the proper use of the TRM can be found on the TRM Proper Use Tab/Section.

Website:	Go to site
Description:	Microsoft Access Database Engine technology allows for the communication and data exchange between files that are proprietary to the Microsoft Office package and other applications. This technology can be used to enable Microsoft Structured Query Language (SQL) Server to import data from existing Microsoft Access database files or Microsoft Excel worksheets.
Technology/Standard Usage Requirements:	Users must ensure their use of this technology/standard is consistent with VA policies and standards, including, but not limited to, VA Handbooks 6102 and 6500; VA Directives 6004, 6513, and 6517; and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards, including Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). Users must ensure sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. Prior to use of this technology, users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Officer (ISO), Facility Chief Information Officer (CIO), or local Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) representative to ensure that all actions are consistent with current VA policies and procedures prior to implementation.
Section 508 Information:	This technology has not been assessed by the Section 508 Office. The Implementer of this technology has the responsibility to ensure the version deployed is 508-compliant. Section 508 compliance may be reviewed by the Section 508 Office and appropriate remedial action required if necessary. For additional information or assistance regarding Section 508, please contact the Section 508 Office at Section508@va.gov.
Decision:	View Decisions

Decision Source:	TRM Mgmt Group
Decision Process:	One-VA TRM v24.4
Decision Date:	04/23/2024 at 01:42:37 UTC
Aliases:	MS Access DB Engine, ACE Engine, Microsoft ACE
Introduced By:	TRM Request
Vendor Name:	Microsoft

Vendor Release Information

The Vendor Release table provides the known releases for the TRM Technology, obtained from the vendor (or from the release source).

Version	Release Date	Vendor End of Life Date	Vendor Desupport Date
12.x/2007
14.x/2010	12/16/2010
2016 RTM	03/15/2017

Current Decision Matrix (04/18/2024)

Users must ensure their use of this technology/standard is consistent with VA policies and standards, including, but not limited to, VA Handbooks 6102 and 6500; VA Directives 6004, 6513, and 6517; and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards, including Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). Users must ensure sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. Prior to use of this technology, users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Officer (ISO), Facility Chief Information Officer (CIO), or local Office of Information and Technology (OI&T) representative to ensure that all actions are consistent with current VA policies and procedures prior to implementation.

The VA Decision Matrix displays the current and future VA IT position regarding different releases of a TRM entry. These decisions are based upon the best information available as of the most current date. The consumer of this information has the responsibility to consult the organizations responsible for the desktop, testing, and/or production environments to ensure that the target version of the technology will be supported. Any major.minor version that is not listed in the VA Decision Matrix is considered unapproved for use.

Legend:

White	Approved: The technology/standard has been approved for use.
Yellow	Approved w/Constraints: The technology/standard can be used within the specified constraints located below the decision matrix in the footnote[1] and on the General tab.
Gray	Unapproved: This technology or standard can be used only if a POA&M review is conducted and signed by the Authorizing Official Designated Representative (AODR) as designated by the Authorizing Official (AO) or designee and based upon a recommendation from the POA&M Compliance Enforcement, has been granted to the project team or organization that wishes to use the technology.
Orange	Divest: VA has decided to divest itself on the use of the technology/standard. As a result, all projects currently utilizing the technology/standard must plan to eliminate their use of the technology/standard. Additional information on when the entry is projected to become unapproved may be found on the Decision tab for the specific entry.
Black	Prohibited: The technology/standard is not (currently) permitted to be used under any circumstances.
Blue	Planning/Evaluation Constraint:The period of time this technology is currently being evaluated, reviewed, and tested in controlled environments. Use of this technology is strictly controlled and not available for use within the general population. If a customer would like to use this technology, please work with your local or Regional OI&T office and contact the appropriate evaluation office displayed in the notes below the decision matrix. The Local or Regional OI&T office should submit an inquiry to the TRM if they require further assistance or if the evaluating office is not listed in the notes below.

Release/Version Information:

VA decisions for specific versions may include a ‘.x’ wildcard, which denotes a decision that pertains to a range of multiple versions.

For example, a technology approved with a decision for 7.x would cover any version of 7.(Anything) - 7.(Anything). However, a 7.4.x decision would cover any version of 7.4.(Anything), but would not cover any version of 7.5.x or 7.6.x on the TRM.

VA decisions for specific versions may include ‘+’ symbols; which denotes that the decision for the version specified also includes versions greater than what is specified but is not to exceed or affect previous decimal places.

For example, a technology approved with a decision for 12.6.4+ would cover any version that is greater than 12.6.4, but would not exceed the .6 decimal ie: 12.6.401 is ok, 12.6.5 is ok, 12.6.9 is ok, however 12.7.0 or 13.0 is not.

<Past

CY2016

CY2017

CY2018

Future>

Release

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

12.x/2007

Unapproved

14.x/2010

Approved w/Constraints
[1, 2, 3, 4]

Approved w/Constraints
[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Approved w/Constraints
[1, 2, 5, 6, 7]

Approved w/Constraints
[1, 2, 6, 7, 8]

2016 RTM

Unapproved

Decision Constraints


[1]	Users should check with their supervisor, Information Security Office (ISO) or local OIT representative for permission to download and use this software. Downloaded software must always be scanned for viruses prior to installation to prevent adware or malware. Freeware may only be downloaded directly from the primary site that the creator of the software has advertised for public download and user or development community engagement. Users should note, any attempt by the installation process to install any additional, unrelated software is not approved and the user should take the proper steps to decline those installations.

[2]	Technology must remain patched and operated in accordance with Federal and Department security policies and guidelines in order to mitigate known and future security vulnerabilities.

[3]	Per the May 5th, 2015 memorandum from the VA Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) FIPS 140-2 Validate Full Disk Encryption (FOE) for Data at Rest in Database Management Systems (DBMS) and in accordance with Federal requirements and VA policy, database management must use Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2 compliant encryption to protect the confidentiality and integrity of VA information at rest at the application level. If FIPS 140-2 encryption at the application level is not technically possible, FIPS 140-2 compliant full disk encryption (FOE) must be implemented on the hard drive where the DBMS resides. Appropriate access enforcement and physical security control must also be implemented. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500 and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards. It is the responsibility of the system owner to work with the local CIO (or designee) and Information Security Officer (ISO) to ensure that a compliant DBMS technology is selected and that if needed, mitigating controls are in place and documented in a System Security Plan (SSP).

[4]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISO (Information Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

[5]	Configuration and deployment standards for databases and their host server images must be followed and adhered to. Information on these standards may be found at https://vaww.sde.portal.va.gov/svcs/sma/BCM/SitePages/Home.aspx Usage is limited to databases supporting individual user`s personal productivity and/or training as database administrators. Desktop DBMS technologies may not be used to support line of business operations requiring data durability/persistence. The VA will not being deploying or approving the use of Office 2013 or its components (InfoPath, Excel, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, Access and Word) as Enterprise System Engineering (ESE) is testing and working on a deployment plan for Office 365 ProPlus (Office 2016). As such, Windows Office 365 ProPlus (16.x) is under evaluation and is currently not approved for production. When properly configured as a front-end client, no data at rest should be stored by Microsoft (MS) Access. MS Access may only be used with sensitive data as part of a secured system when Access is configured as a client front-end to an appropriately secured MS SQL Server or MS SharePoint Server following VA security configuration baselines and connected via a Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 certified encrypted connection.

[6]	Veterans Affairs (VA) users must ensure VA sensitive data is properly protected in compliance with all VA regulations. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed by the local ISO (Information Security Officer) to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500.

[7]	Per the May 5th, 2015 memorandum from the VA Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) FIPS 140-2 Validate Full Disk Encryption (FOE) for Data at Rest in Database Management Systems (DBMS) and in accordance with Federal requirements and VA policy, database management must use Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2 compliant encryption to protect the confidentiality and integrity of VA information at rest at the application level. If FIPS 140-2 encryption at the application level is not technically possible, FIPS 140-2 compliant full disk encryption (FOE) must be implemented on the hard drive where the DBMS resides. Appropriate access enforcement and physical security control must also be implemented. All instances of deployment using this technology should be reviewed to ensure compliance with VA Handbook 6500 and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards. It is the responsibility of the system owner to work with the local CIO (or designee) and Information Security Officer (ISO) to ensure that a compliant DBMS technology is selected and that if needed, mitigating controls are in place and documented in a System Security Plan (SSP).

[8]	Users must adhere to configuration and deployment standards for databases and their host server images. Information on these standards may be found at https://vaww.sde.portal.va.gov/svcs/sma/BCM/SitePages/Home.aspx Usage is limited to databases supporting individual user`s personal productivity and/or training as database administrators. This technology may not be used to support line of business operations requiring data durability/persistence. The VA will not being deploying or approving the use of Office 2013 or its components (InfoPath, Excel, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, Access and Word) as Enterprise System Engineering (ESE) is testing and working on a deployment plan for Office 365 ProPlus (Office 2016). As such, Windows Office 365 ProPlus (16.x) is under evaluation and is currently not approved for production. When properly configured as a front-end client, no data at rest may be stored by Microsoft (MS) Access. MS Access must only be used with sensitive data as part of a secured system when Access is configured as a client front-end to an appropriately secured MS SQL Server or MS SharePoint Server following VA security configuration baselines and connected via a Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 certified encrypted connection.

Note:

At the time of writing, version 2016 RTM is the latest version, released 08/11/2020.

References

The following reference(s) are associated with this entry:
Type	Name	Source	Description
*NOTE: Vendor provided information is subject to the accuracy of the manufacturer.

Technology Components

Note: This list may not be complete. No component, listed or unlisted, may be used outside of the technology in which it is released. The usage decision for a component is found in the Decision and Decision Constraints.
Name	Description
No components have been identified for this entry.

VA Categories View the VA Categorization Framework

Domain Area	Category	Customer Guidance	Category Locked By ELT Date
Information Management Technologies Data Management	Database Connectivity

Operating Systems Supported by the Technology

Windows Client - Approved w/Constraints
Windows Server - Approved w/Constraints

Technologies/Standards Relationships

Runtime Dependencies:

Comparable Technologies:

No comparable entries have been identified.

Companion Technologies/Supported Standards:

General Analysis

Adoption Benefits

At the time of writing, no National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) vulnerabilities had been reported and no VA Cyber Security Operations Center (CSOC) bulletins had been issued for the latest versions of this technology.
This technology has a comprehensive set of documentation.
This technology may improve productivity for specific staff whose responsibilities include data transfer.
The vendor of this technology is an industry leader in the subject matter.
There is no licensing fee associated with this technology.
This technology supports several industry standard file formats.

Adoption Risks

The product is not Federal Information Processing standards (FIPS) 140-2 certified, although vendor documentation mentions it can be used in FIPS compliant mode.
This technology can integrate with and alter database technologies.
The potential of vendor lock exists when utilizing proprietary vendor technology.
There has been no recent development activity on this technology.
The potential exists to store Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected Health Information (PHI) and/or VA Sensitive data and proper security standards must be followed in these cases.
This technology is available as freeware. If commercial support is not purchased, the product will be without clearly defined support options which may result in suboptimal enterprise level support.

Architectural Benefits

This technology can use a VA-preferred database.

Architectural Risks

This technology is not portable as it runs only on Windows platforms.

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Current Decision Matrix (04/18/2024)

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VA Categories View the VA Categorization Framework

Operating Systems Supported by the Technology

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