This whitepaper from Imperva traces the evolution of database activity monitoring (DAM) agents, highlighting how technological shifts—from packet sniffing to in-memory monitoring—have adapted to encryption, scalability, and cloud adoption. Early agentless solutions became obsolete as encryption advanced, prompting the rise of server-side and kernel-level agents for deeper visibility. Today’s agents must navigate complex environments like containers and DBaaS, often requiring hybrid models that combine native audit logs, client-side agents, and eBPF-based solutions. Ultimately, future-proof database security demands flexible, hybrid approaches for comprehensive audit trails and compliance.

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