diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 55dbc97a3..c4497d133 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -66,17 +66,18 @@ RUN apt-get update && \
   apt-get clean && \
   rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
+RUN \
+  curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/debian/12/prod.list > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mssql-release.list && \
+  curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/microsoft-prod.gpg && \
+  apt update && \
+  ACCEPT_EULA=Y apt install  -y --no-install-recommends msodbcsql18 && \
+  apt clean && \
+  rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
 
 ARG TARGETPLATFORM
 ARG databricks_odbc_driver_url=https://databricks-bi-artifacts.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/simbaspark-drivers/odbc/2.6.26/SimbaSparkODBC-2.6.26.1045-Debian-64bit.zip
 RUN if [ "$TARGETPLATFORM" = "linux/amd64" ]; then \
-  curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/microsoft-prod.gpg \
-  && curl https://packages.microsoft.com/config/debian/12/prod.list > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mssql-release.list \
-  && apt-get update \
-  && ACCEPT_EULA=Y apt-get install  -y --no-install-recommends msodbcsql17 \
-  && apt-get clean \
-  && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/* \
-  && curl "$databricks_odbc_driver_url" --location --output /tmp/simba_odbc.zip \
+  curl "$databricks_odbc_driver_url" --location --output /tmp/simba_odbc.zip \
   && chmod 600 /tmp/simba_odbc.zip \
   && unzip /tmp/simba_odbc.zip -d /tmp/simba \
   && dpkg -i /tmp/simba/*.deb \
diff --git a/redash/query_runner/mssql_odbc.py b/redash/query_runner/mssql_odbc.py
index 2d218912e..ad6ca5dab 100644
--- a/redash/query_runner/mssql_odbc.py
+++ b/redash/query_runner/mssql_odbc.py
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ class SQLServerODBC(BaseSQLQueryRunner):
                 "verify_ssl": {
                     "type": "boolean",
                     "title": "Verify SSL certificate",
-                    "default": True,
+                    "default": False,
                 },
             },
             "order": [
@@ -120,14 +120,29 @@ class SQLServerODBC(BaseSQLQueryRunner):
             db = self.configuration["db"]
             port = self.configuration.get("port", 1433)
 
-            connection_string_fmt = "DRIVER={{ODBC Driver 17 for SQL Server}};SERVER={},{};DATABASE={};UID={};PWD={}"
-            connection_string = connection_string_fmt.format(server, port, db, user, password)
+            connection_params = {
+                "Driver": "{ODBC Driver 18 for SQL Server}",
+                "Server": server,
+                "Port": port,
+                "Database": db,
+                "Uid": user,
+                "Pwd": password,
+            }
 
             if self.configuration.get("use_ssl", False):
-                connection_string += ";Encrypt=YES"
+                connection_params["Encrypt"] = "YES"
 
                 if not self.configuration.get("verify_ssl"):
-                    connection_string += ";TrustServerCertificate=YES"
+                    connection_params["TrustServerCertificate"] = "YES"
+                else:
+                    connection_params["TrustServerCertificate"] = "NO"
+            else:
+                connection_params["Encrypt"] = "NO"
+
+            def fn(k):
+                return "{}={}".format(k, connection_params[k])
+
+            connection_string = ";".join(list(map(fn, connection_params)))
 
             connection = pyodbc.connect(connection_string)
             cursor = connection.cursor()