Hacking a SQL Server

Hacking into Web servers and replacing home pages with pictures of scantily clad females and clever, self-ingratiating quips is all fine and dandy, but what can we do about hackers intent on doing more than defacing a few pages? Sooner or later you'll be up against an opponent intent on taking your most valuable assets either for spite or profit. What could be more valuable than the information locked deep in the bowels of your database? Employee records, customer accounts, passwords, credit card information—it's all there for the taking.