This whitepaper will describe recent database breaches, and examine the common security mistakes made by database administrators, security personnel, and application developers. It will also provide some insight on how hackers can take advantage of those mistakes. The whitepaper will then describe how Fortinet’s FortiDB™ database security platform can help align database security policies with IT security policies; ensure well-defined and formalized database security procedures; enforce role separation of duties; and apply advanced security measures (such as database auditing, monitoring, and vulnerability assessment) to all critical databases that store valuable data.