TiDB Unveils New Whitepaper Titled 'Secure by Design: TiDB Cloud on Alibaba Cloud'

SINGAPORE, July 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- TiDB, a leading distributed SQL database management system company, today unveiled its latest whitepaper titled 'Secure by Design: TiDB Cloud on Alibaba Cloud'. The paper provides a comprehensive overview of the security architecture, data protection mechanisms, compliance frameworks, and operational controls governing TiDB Cloud when deployed on Alibaba Cloud.

As enterprises increasingly modernize mission-critical workloads and AI applications in the cloud, security has become a foundational requirement rather than an afterthought.

"Security today must be engineered into the platform from day one, not added later through configuration," said Siddon Tang, Chief AI Officer & GM of APAC, TiDB. "This whitepaper demonstrates how TiDB Cloud on Alibaba Cloud delivers a secure-by-design architecture that allows enterprises to confidently migrate business-critical and AI-driven workloads while helping enterprises meet stringent governance and compliance requirements."

The scope of this white paper covers the following areas:

• Infrastructure & Control Plane: Secure provisioning and automated deployment of the Regional Control Plane and underlying infrastructure utilizing Alibaba Cloud Container Service for Kubernetes (ACK). This covers continuous integration workflows, strict RAM role assignments, and API gateway security.
• Data Plane & Core Services: The secure initialization, management, and scaling of core TiDB cluster components (TiDB, TiKV, TiFlash). This includes the integration of data management features like Backup & Restore (BR) and Change Data Capture (CDC), leveraging Alibaba Cloud PrivateLink to ensure isolated, private network transit.
• Security & Observability Operations: The implementation of regional observability (O11y) and metering systems, secure component image synchronization via Alibaba Cloud Container Registry (ACR), high-risk privilege management, and continuous vulnerability and compliance monitoring.

Designed for CISOs, security architects, infrastructure leaders, and cloud platform teams, the whitepaper offers practical insights into how organizations can deploy TiDB Cloud on Alibaba Cloud securely while satisfying regulatory, governance, and operational requirements.

TiDB Cloud on Alibaba Cloud is delivered as a fully managed Database-as-a-Service (DBaaS), enabling customers to provision, manage, and scale databases through the TiDB Cloud Console, APIs, and SQL endpoints without managing the underlying infrastructure.

Alibaba Cloud provides the underlying compute, storage, networking, and physical infrastructure to TiDB but has no direct security or contractual relationship with TiDB Cloud customers. Customers, in turn, are responsible for securing their applications, managing database users and access policies, configuring network connectivity, and administering customer-managed encryption keys (CMEK), where applicable.

Security should be built in, not bolted on. With TiDB Cloud on Alibaba Cloud, enterprises inherit a secure-by-design foundation from day one. The white paper reinforces TiDB's continued investment in enterprise security and transparency as organizations increasingly adopt cloud-native databases to support digital transformation and AI initiatives.

Secure by Design: TiDB Cloud on Alibaba Cloud is available for download here.

About TiDB

TiDB is a leading open-source, distributed SQL database. It powers modern applications with a streamlined tech stack, elastic scaling, real-time analytics, and continuous access to data—all in a single database solution. With TiDB's advanced capabilities, growing businesses can focus on the future instead of complex data infrastructure management. Some of the world's largest companies across technology, financial services, travel, Web3, and gaming trust TiDB to handle their business-critical workloads. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, TiDB is backed by Sequoia Capital, GGV Capital, Access Technology Ventures, Coatue Management, and others. For more information about TiDB please visit tidb.io.

Media Contact:
Yan Yang - TiDB, APAC Marketing Lead
yan.yang@pingcap.com