A certificate is a cryptographic object used to protect encryption keys. In SQL Server, a database master key can encrypt a certificate, which can then protect a symmetric key used to encrypt data. section 14.6.1
Mistake: treating a certificate as disposable.
- Losing the certificate can make encrypted backups unrecoverable. Back it up, including its private key, to a safe location before using it. section 12.11
- For column encryption, place the certificate below the database master key and above a symmetric key; store encrypted values as VARBINARY. section 14.6.1














