AU.L2-3.3.4

Audit logging keeps track of activities occurring on the network, servers, user workstations, and other components of the overall system. These logs must always be available and functional. The company’s designated security personnel (e.g., system administrator and security officer) need to be aware when the audit log process fails or becomes unavailable [a]. Notifications (e.g., email, Short Message Service (SMS)) should to be sent to the company’s designated security personnel to immediately take appropriate action. If security personnel are unaware of the audit logging process failure, then they will be unaware of any suspicious activity occurring at that time. Response to an audit logging process failure should account for the extent of the failure (e.g., a single component’s audit logging versus failure of the centralized logging solution), the risks involved in this loss of audit logging, and other factors (e.g., the possibility that an adversary could have caused the audit logging process failure).

Example

You are in charge of IT operations for a company that processes CUI, and your responsibilities include managing the audit logging process. You configure your systems to send you an email in the event of an audit log failure. One day, you receive one of these alerts. You connect to the system, restart logging, and determine why the logging stopped [a,b,c].

Potential Assessment Considerations