Patent ID: 7085780

Claim:
A method for monitoring a database system that includes a database server executing on one or more processors of a computer system, the method comprising the steps of: making a copy of content, managed by the database system, into a location of a device that is separate from the computer system without removing the content from the computer system, wherein said content is data that populates a database managed by the database system and does not form part of the structure, metadata, or schema of the database; and in the device, detecting potential anomalies by: a) reading criteria data, previously provided by a user through an interface for receiving user-specified security rules, that specifies criteria used by the one or more analysis operations, wherein the criteria data includes data that defines a condition that must be satisfied by a particular value within the copy of the content. b) performing the one or more analysis operations on the copy of the content in order to identify one or more data elements, within the copy of the content, that are potentially anomalous based on the criteria specified in the criteria data, wherein one of the one or more analysis operations involves determining whether the particular value within the copy of the content satisfies the condition; and c) signaling a notification after identifying that the one or more data elements are potentially anomalous.