Here at DubLow Digital, we believe that today’s businesses—especially small businesses in Colorado—must prioritize cybersecurity to combat the growing wave of cyberattacks, from ransomware to sophisticated phishing schemes. One critical aspect of a robust cybersecurity strategy that not every business owner may be aware of is event logging.
Think of event logging as your digital detective. Tracking activities and events across your IT systems helps detect potential security breaches and enables swift responses. As your managed IT service provider, DubLow Digital is committed to helping you understand the importance of event logging and how to implement best practices to safeguard your network.
What is Event Logging?
Event logging is the process of tracking all events occurring within your IT systems. An “event” can encompass a wide range of actions, including:
- Login attempts
- File access
- Software installations
- Network traffic
- Denial of access
- System changes
- And many others
Event logging records these activities and adds a timestamp, creating a comprehensive picture of what is happening in your IT environment. This ongoing picture is crucial for detecting and responding to threats in real time.
Why is it critical to track and log all these events?
- Detect suspicious activity by monitoring user behavior and system events.
- Respond quickly to incidents by having a clear record of what occurred during a breach.
- Meet compliance requirements that mandate accurate records of system activities.
Best Practices for Effective Event Logging
Event logging works best when you follow proven best practices. Here are some key guidelines to help you get started or improve your existing event-logging processes.
Focus on What Matters Most
Let’s be honest: there’s no need to track every digital action. Logging every single event on your network can create an overwhelming amount of data that’s difficult to manage. Instead, prioritize logging the events that matter most—those that can indicate security breaches or compliance risks.
The most important events to log are:
- Logins and Logouts: Track who is accessing your systems and when, including failed attempts, password changes, and new user accounts.
- Access to Sensitive Data: Monitor who is viewing your most valuable information. Tracking file and database access can help detect unauthorized activity.
- System Changes: Record any changes to your system, such as software installations, configuration adjustments, and system updates. This helps you identify potential vulnerabilities or backdoors.
Starting with the most critical areas makes event logging more manageable, especially for small businesses.
Centralize Your Logs
Imagine trying to solve a puzzle with the pieces scattered in different places. That’s what it feels like to work with separate logs for each device and system. Centralizing your logs can be a game-changer. Using a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system brings all your logs together in one place, from different devices, servers, and applications.
Centralized logging makes it easier to:
- Identify Patterns: Connect the dots between suspicious activities across different systems.
- Respond Quickly: Have all the evidence readily available when an incident occurs.
- See the Bigger Picture: Gain a complete view of your network, making it easier to spot vulnerabilities.
Protect Your Logs from Tampering
It’s important to keep your event logs secure—attackers often try to delete or alter logs to cover their tracks. To ensure logs are tamper-proof:
- Encrypt Your Logs: Use encryption to make your logs unreadable to unauthorized users.
- Utilize WORM (Write Once, Read Many) Storage: This prevents any changes or deletions to logs once they’re written.
- Implement Strong Access Controls: Restrict log access to trusted personnel only.
Tamper-proof logs ensure you have an accurate record of events, even if a breach occurs, while keeping attackers from viewing your tracking systems.
Establish Log Retention Policies
Keeping logs forever is neither practical nor necessary. Deleting them too soon, however, can pose risks. It’s essential to establish clear log retention policies.
Consider the following:
- Compliance Requirements: Some industries have regulations that dictate how long you must retain logs.
- Business Needs: Determine how long you need logs for incident investigations or audits.
- Storage Capacity: Ensure your retention policies do not exceed your storage limits.
Strike a balance between keeping the data you need and maintaining system performance.
Review Logs Regularly
Event logging is only effective if you use it actively. Don’t set up logging and forget about it—check your logs regularly. This allows you to detect anomalies, identify suspicious behavior, and respond to threats before they escalate. Use security software to automate this process where possible.
To do this effectively:
- Set Up Automated Alerts: Receive notifications for critical events, like failed logins or unauthorized access attempts.
- Schedule Periodic Reviews: Regularly examine your logs for patterns that could indicate a security threat.
- Correlate Events: Utilize your SIEM to connect related events, helping reveal more sophisticated attacks.
Need Assistance with Event Logging Solutions?
As a trusted managed IT service provider, DubLow Digital is here to help businesses in Colorado stay secure. We can guide you in setting up effective event logging practices to ensure your network remains protected.
Give us a call or send us an email to schedule a consultation today.
