Skip to main content
cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

The Power BI Data Visualization World Championships is back! It's time to submit your entry. Live now!

Reply
Monte_S
Regular Visitor

Data Security Question

Hello, all.

I have created a report in Power BI Desktop that has a live connection to one of my organization’s SQL databases. I have published this report to my workspace in the Power BI Service.

I then published the report as an Embed Report (Website or Portal, NOT public).

I was able to place the <iframe> code within our organization’s portal (login required for access), and the report works great!

However, I have a few questions about data security:

  1. When I publish the report to the Service, is our data from the SQL database actually copied to the Power BI Service and stored on a Microsoft server. I guess I’m asking if the data from our SQL database is leaving our organization and now lives on a server outside of our control.
  2. If this is the case, is that presenting a security risk for our organization, and what have others done to preserve the security of their data?
  3. Is there a way to set this up so the data does not get copied to the Power BI service, if that is indeed what is happening? I have developed some very useful reports that I would like to make available to others by logging in to our organization’s portal, but if the data is at risk, I don’t feel comfortable doing that.

Thank you in advance,

Monte

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
lbendlin
Super User
Super User

1. yes

2. you have the choice to "bring your own encryption key"

3.  Use Power Bi Report Server, the on-premise version. It is designed for exactly such a scenario.

View solution in original post

1 REPLY 1
lbendlin
Super User
Super User

1. yes

2. you have the choice to "bring your own encryption key"

3.  Use Power Bi Report Server, the on-premise version. It is designed for exactly such a scenario.

Helpful resources

Announcements
FabCon Atlanta 2026 carousel

FabCon Atlanta 2026

Join us at FabCon Atlanta, March 16-20, for the ultimate Fabric, Power BI, AI and SQL community-led event. Save $200 with code FABCOMM.