You can decrypt a database using the CREATE DECRYPTED DATABASE statement. As with the CREATE ENCRYPTED DATABASE statement, you are creating a copy of the file (in this case, in decrypted form), and not actually overwriting the original database file.

To decrypt a database (SQL)

1. Connect to an existing database from Interactive SQL.

2. Decrypt the database using the CREATE DECRYPTED DATABASE statement.

   The first statement creates an AES256-encrypted copy of the demo.db database called demoEncrypted.db,. The second statement creates a decrypted copy of demoEncrypted.db called demoDecrypted.db.

   CREATE ENCRYPTED DATABASE 'demoEncrypted.db' FROM 'demo.db' KEY 'Sd8f6654*Mnn' ALGORITHM 'AES256'; CREATE DECRYPTED DATABASE 'demoDecrypted.db' FROM 'demoEncrypted.db' KEY 'Sd8f6654*Mnn';

   If there are transaction logs, transaction log mirrors, or dbspaces associated with the database, decrypted copies of those files are made as well. See CREATE DECRYPTED DATABASE statement.

Decrypting a database for technical support

If you have a database that requires recovery and you want to decrypt it to send it to support, you must use the CREATE DECRYPTED FILE statement. Any database-related files such as transaction logs and transaction log mirrors, and dbspace files, must also be decrypted using this statement. See CREATE DECRYPTED FILE statement.