Secure Multi-Tenant Data Rotation Policies in Oracle Cloud Databases

Abstract

Secure data rotation is a critical component of multi-tenant cloud database security, ensuring that
encryption keys, credentials, and privilege artifacts are refreshed regularly to prevent long-term
exposure and unauthorized persistence. In Oracle multi-tenant environments, rotation policies must
operate without disrupting ongoing transactions, altering tenant isolation boundaries, or
compromising application consistency. This study evaluates three rotation strategies full database re
encryption, incremental table-level key cycling, and token-only credential refresh across varying
concurrency and workload conditions. Results show that while full re-encryption provides the highest
confidentiality guarantee, incremental rotation offers a more practical balance of stability and
performance for live systems. Token-based rotation proved efficient for preventing credential
persistence but required precise synchronization across distributed session layers. Across all
approaches, coordinated rollback logic, checkpoint-based state tracking, and verifiable audit logging
were found to be essential for ensuring reliable and compliant rotation execution. The findings
emphasize that secure data rotation must be orchestrated as a continuous operational process rather
than a periodic administrative action.