Cyber Experts Share Top Event Logging Best Practices

In today’s digital landscape, cybersecurity is a crucial concern for businesses across Wirral, Liverpool, Chester, North Wales, and the broader North West England region. With cyber threats evolving rapidly, implementing effective event logging practices is essential to safeguard your organisation. At Hilt Digital, we specialise in providing comprehensive cybersecurity services tailored to small and medium-sized businesses. Here’s how you can enhance your event logging strategy to stay ahead of potential threats.

Understanding Event Logging

Event logging acts as a digital watchdog, monitoring activities within your IT systems to identify and address security breaches swiftly. Whether you’re an accountant, estate agent, law firm, school, or part of the construction industry, understanding and implementing robust event logging is vital.

What is Event Logging?

Event logging involves tracking various activities within your IT infrastructure, such as:

• Login Attempts: Monitoring who accesses your systems and when, including failed login attempts and password changes.
• File Access: Keeping an eye on who views or modifies sensitive data.
• Software Installations: Recording any new software added to your systems.
• Network Traffic: Observing data movement across your network to spot unusual patterns.
• System Changes: Documenting updates or modifications to your systems to detect unauthorized alterations.

By maintaining detailed logs with timestamps, you create a comprehensive overview of your IT environment, enabling prompt detection and response to potential threats.

Why is Event Logging Crucial?

Effective event logging helps you:

• Detect Suspicious Activity: By monitoring user behaviour and system events, you can identify unusual actions that may indicate a security breach.
• Respond Quickly to Incidents: Clear records of events during a breach facilitate a swift and effective response.
• Meet Regulatory Requirements: Many industries mandate accurate record-keeping of system activities to comply with legal standards.

Best Practices for Effective Event Logging

Implementing best practices in event logging ensures that your efforts are both efficient and effective. Here are key strategies to optimise your event logging processes:

Log What Matters Most

Avoid the pitfalls of data overload by focusing on logging critical events that impact security and compliance. Prioritise the following:

• Logins and Logouts: Track user access, including failed attempts and account changes.
• Accessing Sensitive Data: Monitor who accesses valuable information to prevent unauthorized usage.
• System Changes: Keep a record of software installations, configuration changes, and updates to identify potential vulnerabilities.

Starting with these essential areas makes event logging manageable, especially for small businesses.

Centralise Your Logs

Managing multiple logs from different devices and systems can be chaotic. Centralising your logs using a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system is a game-changer. At Hilt Digital, our managed infrastructure services ensure all your logs are gathered in one place, making it easier to:

• Spot Patterns: Identify suspicious activities by connecting the dots across various systems.
• Respond Faster: Access all necessary information quickly during an incident.
• Get a Complete Picture: Understand your network as a unified entity, simplifying vulnerability identification.

Ensure Logs Are Tamper-Proof

Protecting your event logs from tampering is crucial. Cybercriminals often attempt to alter or delete logs to hide their activities. Implement the following measures to secure your logs:

• Encrypt Your Logs: Use encryption to make logs unreadable to unauthorized individuals.
• Use WORM Storage: Write Once, Read Many (WORM) storage prevents modifications or deletions after logs are recorded.
• Implement Strong Access Controls: Restrict log access to trusted personnel only.

Tamper-proof logs ensure accurate records of events, even in the event of a breach, and prevent attackers from manipulating your system activity tracking.

Establish Log Retention Policies

Balancing log retention is essential. Retain logs long enough to meet business and regulatory needs without overwhelming your storage capacity. Consider:

• Compliance Requirements: Adhere to industry-specific regulations about log retention periods.
• Business Needs: Determine how long logs are needed for incident investigations and audits.
• Storage Capacity: Ensure your retention policies do not exceed your storage capabilities.

Striking the right balance ensures you maintain necessary data without compromising system performance.

Regularly Review Your Logs

Event logging is most effective when actively managed. Regularly reviewing your logs helps you identify anomalies and respond to threats promptly. Enhance your review process by:

• Setting Up Automated Alerts: Receive immediate notifications for critical events like failed logins or unauthorized access attempts.
• Performing Periodic Reviews: Regularly examine your logs for patterns that may indicate a security threat.
• Correlating Events: Use your SIEM to connect related activities across different systems, uncovering more sophisticated attacks.

At Hilt Digital, our proactive monitoring and maintenance services ensure your logs are consistently reviewed and analysed for potential threats.

Need Assistance with Event Logging Solutions?

Protecting your business from cyber threats is a top priority. As a trusted managed IT service provider in Wirral, Liverpool, Chester, North Wales, and the North West England region, Hilt Digital is here to help. Our expertise in managed infrastructure, proactive monitoring and maintenance, SentinelOne endpoint protection, penetration testing, dark web monitoring, and Azure cloud consultancy and management ensures your event logging practices are top-notch.

Ready to enhance your cybersecurity strategy? Contact us today to schedule a consultation and secure your business against emerging threats.