Authentication selection for connection sharing

[viswaaa]

Hi All

My org sales team wants to create their own reports from our SQL Server database.

We have created some views in our SQL server db and gave access to only those views.

Sales is going to create their own work space and now I need to give access to the connection that I created.

So here my question is when creating a connection I took basic authentication.

Is this authentication method okay for sharing the connection with sales users? or do we need to select Windows authentication?

Please suggest

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Hi, @viswaaa 

Basic Authentication:
Simple to set up and use; Requires users to manually enter their credentials; Less secure as credentials are sent in an encoded but not encrypted format.
Windows Authentication:
More secure as it uses Kerberos or NTLM to authenticate; Users can log in using their Windows credentials; Ideal for environments where users are within the same domain.

If security is a paramount concern and your organization already uses a Windows-based infrastructure, Windows Authentication is generally the preferred method. It leverages existing credentials and provides a more secure mechanism through integrated security. If simplicity and ease of setup are more critical, and you are ensuring that the connection will be used securely (e.g., over HTTPS), Basic Authentication can be acceptable, but it is less secure overall.

Manage a SQL Server data source - Power BI | Microsoft Learn

Best Regards,

Community Support Team _Charlotte

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[Wikkleyn_81]

Hi @viswaaa If the Sale Team should only have access to the views you created, then the credentials used for that connection should also only have access to the views. Wether it is basic or windows depends on how you grant access to the views. I always recommend using a Servcie Account. This way it is more secure thatn using basic and it isn't dependant on a specific user.