You can encrypt all incoming connections to SQL Server or enable encryption for just a specific set of clients. For either of these scenarios, you first have to configure SQL Server to use a certificate that meets Certificate requirements for SQL Server before taking extra steps on the server computer or client computers to encrypt data.

Data in transit is any information that is being sent over a network. Encrypting this data ensures that it remains secure as it moves from one location to another. Ensuring the use of Secure Socket Layers (SSL)/Transport Layer Security (TLS) for connections to your SQL Server prevents ‘man-in-the-middle’ attacks.

By encrypting the data at rest, you can ensure that even if the physical security measures fail and unauthorized users gain access to the storage, the data remains indecipherable. Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) is a feature of Microsoft SQL Server that provides encryption at the file level.

Configuring SSL/TLS Encryption for SQL Server with a Self-Signed Certificate Step 1: Create a Self-Signed Certificate (If you already have a certificate, you can skip this step and import instead of creating a new cert. Follow the directions at the bottom of this document.)