What's new in AskiaField 5.4.8?
Multiple Database connections allowed
With the 5.4.8 you can specify, for confidentiality purposes, specific SQL databases on Survey, List and CTscript level.
Previous database connection strings have been moved from the "CCA Settings" to a specific option on supervisor ribbon > Extra >Database Connections.
You will need to edit some Supervisor restrictions to allow a Supervisor to edit it . . .
Once you have access to it, then you can visualise this window:
From this window, you have the ability to add extra connection strings for Surveys, CTScript and Lists. For this click on the Add... button and select the type of connection string you want to add:
On the Database connection properties, enter a Name for the connection and enter the connection string to the new SQL database you want to connect to:
Once information has been entered, click on "Test" button to test the connection string:
Then press OK to save the new connection string. It is now available on the database connections window:
And this new connection string is available when initialising a new survey, in the "interview storage" drop down menu:
The same applies for the list properties:
Survey Data Encryption
For the full details, please refer to this article: https://support.askia.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005488545
The master encryption key
That's the critical point here. You should never lose or delete this key. So, once the 5.4.8 is installed on your system, please make multiple backups of this key. Without it, all data encrypted while using this key will be forever lost.
By default, the key is set at the root of the CCA folder on the CCA server. You can check the path to it in CCA settings (if your supervisor restriction allowed you to see the CCA settings window):
At each CCA update/Upgrade, the cca.key will be part of the backup process.
Encryption settings
The main rule is that every anonymised question (in design) will be automatically encrypted. That's why there is only two types of encryption in Task properties > Data Encryption drop down menu.
A/ Anonymised questions (except quota questions)
Only questions set as "Anonymise the data" in Design will be encrypted into SQL databases:
Data will be stored into a specific column in AskiaXXXInterview table, and cannot be read:
If the anonymised question is set in quota, then it will be decrypted. You will get a warning on the quota monitor side:
Here, the questionID 5, set as anonymised data, has been added into quota monitor. Data for this question has been decrypted:
B/ All Questions (except quota questions)
That the second option of the drop down menu for Data Encryption in Task properties:
Here, all questions apart from quota questions will be encrypted (anonymised or not).
Please note that settings can be changed on the fly. For example, if you set the setting from "all questions" to "anonymised questions", you will get your data back in clear:
When a survey is exported, data will be decrypted.