fix(configuration-database): resolve ConfigurationDatabase-002..007 — remove hardcoded sa creds, fail-fast no-arg DI, encrypt secret columns, resilient audit serialization

src/ScadaLink.ConfigurationDatabase/EncryptedStringConverter.cs

@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+using Microsoft.AspNetCore.DataProtection;
+using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Storage.ValueConversion;
+
+namespace ScadaLink.ConfigurationDatabase;
+
+/// <summary>
+/// EF Core value converter that encrypts a string column at rest using ASP.NET
+/// Data Protection. Plaintext is protected when written to the database and
+/// transparently unprotected when read back, so secret-bearing columns
+/// (SMTP credentials, external-system auth config, database connection strings)
+/// are never persisted verbatim.
+/// </summary>
+/// <remarks>
+/// The protector is purpose-scoped so ciphertext from one column cannot be
+/// unprotected as another. Data Protection keys are persisted to the
+/// configuration database itself (see <see cref="ScadaLinkDbContext"/> implementing
+/// <c>IDataProtectionKeyContext</c>), so all central nodes share the same key ring
+/// and can decrypt each other's writes.
+/// </remarks>
+public sealed class EncryptedStringConverter : ValueConverter<string?, string?>
+{
+    /// <summary>The Data Protection purpose string shared by all encrypted configuration columns.</summary>
+    public const string ProtectorPurpose = "ScadaLink.ConfigurationDatabase.EncryptedColumn";
+
+    public EncryptedStringConverter(IDataProtector protector)
+        : base(
+            plaintext => plaintext == null ? null : protector.Protect(plaintext),
+            ciphertext => ciphertext == null ? null : Unprotect(protector, ciphertext))
+    {
+    }
+
+    private static string Unprotect(IDataProtector protector, string ciphertext)
+    {
+        // A row that predates encryption (or test fixtures inserting raw text) is not valid
+        // protected payload. Unprotect throws CryptographicException in that case; surface a
+        // clearer message rather than a bare crypto failure.
+        try
+        {
+            return protector.Unprotect(ciphertext);
+        }
+        catch (System.Security.Cryptography.CryptographicException ex)
+        {
+            throw new InvalidOperationException(
+                "Failed to decrypt an encrypted configuration column. The Data Protection key " +
+                "ring may be unavailable, or the stored value was not written by this system.",
+                ex);
+        }
+    }
+}