Audit Trail
A chronological record of system activities that provides documentary evidence of the sequence of events — including who accessed what, when, and what actions were taken. Audit trails are essential for security monitoring, incident investigation, and compliance evidence.
An audit trail (also called an audit log) is a time-stamped record of events within a system. Audit trails capture who performed an action, what the action was, when it occurred, and from where (IP address, device, or location). In compliance contexts, audit trails serve as evidence that security controls are operating as intended.
Effective audit trails typically cover authentication events (logins, failed login attempts, logouts), authorization events (access grants, denials, privilege escalations), data events (creation, modification, deletion, and access of sensitive records), system events (configuration changes, software deployments, system restarts), and administrative events (user provisioning, role changes, policy modifications).
Audit trails serve multiple purposes across compliance frameworks. For SOC 2, they provide evidence that controls operated effectively during the observation period. For ISO 27001, they support the monitoring and logging controls in Annex A. For GDPR, they help demonstrate accountability and support data breach investigations. For all frameworks, audit trails enable organizations to detect unauthorized activity, investigate security incidents, and demonstrate compliance during audits. The key is not just collecting logs, but ensuring they are tamper-proof, retained for an appropriate period, and actually reviewed — logs that are never analyzed provide limited security value.
Related frameworks
Related terms
Access Control
The set of policies, procedures, and technical mechanisms that govern who can access which information assets, systems, and resources. Access control ensures that only authorized individuals can view, modify, or interact with sensitive data and systems.
Compliance Gap Analysis
A structured assessment that compares an organization's current security posture and practices against the requirements of a specific compliance framework. Gap analysis identifies areas where the organization falls short and helps prioritize remediation efforts.
Incident Response
The organized approach to detecting, containing, investigating, and recovering from security incidents. An incident response plan defines roles, procedures, and communication protocols to minimize the impact of security breaches and other adverse events.
SOC 2 Type 2
A SOC 2 audit report that evaluates whether an organization's security controls are both suitably designed and operating effectively over a defined observation period, typically 3 to 12 months. Type 2 is the gold standard for third-party assurance in the US market.
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