DETECTING AND COMBATING THREATS ON DATABASE (A CASE STUDY OF THE SCHOOL OF COMPUTING, FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC OFFA)

Abstract As digital systems become the backbone of academic institutions, protecting the databases that store sensitive information—like student records, faculty profiles, and research outputs—has never been more important. At the School of Computing, Federal Polytechnic Offa, this project set out to tackle the growing threats facing these databases, from SQL injection and malware to insider misuse and unauthorized access. To address these challenges, I designed and implemented a Threat Detection and Mitigation System (TDMS) tailored to our environment. The system combines signature-based and anomaly-based detection techniques to identify suspicious activity in real time and respond automatically. I gathered insights through interviews, questionnaires, and six months of MySQL log analysis, and built the system using open-source tools and modest hardware. Testing showed that TDMS performs with high accuracy and low latency, while keeping resource usage minimal. It also reduced manual log review time by 70%, making it a practical solution for institutions like ours. This project proves that with the right approach, even small academic environments can deploy effective, affordable defenses against evolving cyber threats.