Database Activity Monitoring

An organisation’s most sensitive data does not sit in the application layer, it sits in the database — and the database is usually the least monitored point of access. While every action taken through the application is logged, what an administrator account connecting directly to the database queried leaves no trace at all in most organisations. Database Activity Monitoring closes exactly that gap.

The system records database access together with its source, its timing and its content. Queries against sensitive tables are flagged separately, and unusual behaviour — bulk extraction outside working hours, a connection from an unfamiliar source, an unexpected volume of reads — raises an alert. The aim is not to block access but to make it visible.

The audit trail that accumulates forms a usable record both for internal audit and for accountability obligations under data protection law. When a breach is suspected, “who accessed what data, and when” is answered from records rather than from guesswork.