Apparatus for protection of database objects from unwanted access, particularly from external connections via a firewall (20). The apparatus comprises a data packet parsing unit (54) for parsing a data packet to find database operation commands in the packet, and an enforcement unit (56) for applying enforcement rules to the data packet, thereby to protect respective database objects. The apparatus may form an additional layer (50, 52) of protection in conjunction with a firewall (20) to protect internal data.