1st Edition

Audit and Trace Log Management Consolidation and Analysis

By Phillip Q. Maier Copyright 2006
    186 Pages 18 B/W Illustrations
    by Auerbach Publications

    As regulation and legislation evolve, the critical need for cost-effective and efficient IT audit and monitoring solutions will continue to grow. Audit and Trace Log Management: Consolidation and Analysis offers a comprehensive introduction and explanation of requirements and problem definition, and also delivers a multidimensional solution set with broad applicability across a wide range of organizations.

    Itprovidesa wealth of information in the form of processwalkthroughs. These include problem determination, requirements gathering,scope definition, risk assessment, compliance objectives, systemdesign and architecture, implementation and operational challenges, productand solution evaluation, communication plans, project managementchallenges, and determining Return on Investment (ROI). By using templates, tools, and samples that enhance your understanding of processes and solution sets, the author successfully emphasizes the core themes of the book. He also includes many diagrams throughout his discussion that aid in a clear communication of process and solution recommendations.

    This volume enables you to gain the knowledge, perspective, and insight needed to independently implement a successful audit and monitoring management system tailored to the unique requirements of your organization.

    Introduction to Audit Logging
    The “Why” of Consolidated Audit Logging
    Taking Stock, What Is in Place Today
    What Forms or Levels of Logging Do You Currently Perform on This
                    Device?
    What Is the Volume, Amount of Data Collected in One 24-Hour Period?
    What Is Your Retention Period; That Is, How Long Do You
    Keep Retrievable Logs?
    What Are the Formats for This Retention? 30 Days Online,
    30 Days Tape, 3 Months CD?
    What Is the “Write per Second” Timeframe? How Many Records
    per Second Are Generated and Logged?
    Where Are the Logs Stored Today (Locally on the Box, Locally
    on a Nearby Server, or Remotely)?
    If Stored Externally, How Are They Transported to the External
    Store (Syslog, FTP, Other)?
    Is There a Separate Physical Interface over Which the Logs Are
    Distributed Out of the Box?
    What Are the Access Control Mechanisms over Access to the
    Stored Logs?
    Who Reviews the Logs? At What Frequency?
    What Is the Data Classification of This Log Data (Company
    Secret, Confidential, Internal Use)?
    Is There a Log Reporting System? How Are the Logs Accessed and
    Viewed? How Many People in the Organization Are Required to
    Have Access to These Logs?
    What Is the Nature of the Reviews: Are Keywords Searched,
    Summaries, or Just High-Level Eyeing of the Log Data?
    Are There Additional Log Review, Storage, or Analysis
    Capabilities That You Would Like to Have over This Log Data?
    If So, What Are They?
    The Completed Survey
    Deciding What to Capture and How to Do It
    Requirements Gathering for Whole Log Capture
    The Normalization Process
    Setting Up Correlation Rules, Putting Your Assembled
    Infrastructure to Work
    Security Event Management, Generating Reports from Your
                    System
    Security Event and Incident Management and Reporting
    Security Alert Management (SAM)
    Setting Security Alert Levels and Escalation Processes
    Security Operations Center (SOC) Reporting
    The Escalation Process
    Level 1 Alerts
    Management Reporting
    Pulling It All Together and Making Your Case
    Justifying Your System for Forensic Analysis
    Gaining Buy-In for Your System
    Future Implementation Strategies and Value-Added Components

    Biography

    Maier\, Phillip Q.

    “There are only a few books that I would recommend every security professional keep on the shelf, … this is one of them. It was written by someone who has lived the numbing nightmare of surveying the endlessly proliferating sources of event data in a modern enterprise, of identifying what must be collected, how it should be collected, filtered and stored, and what should be done with it. Most importantly, Maier kept careful notes along the way and has provided a guidebook that will help those of us who follow.”
    —Richard Austin, MSC, CISSP, MCSE, Hewlett Packard, in IEEE Cipher, January 2007
    “Ultimately the readers are provided with a roadmap and a “how to” guideline leading to the successful implementation of a state-of-the-art auditing and monitoring system. Most will want to read it from cover to cover, and also add it to their bookshelves for frequent reference. …Armed with the knowledge from this book, you will be able to champion and guide your organization through a disciplined and well-defined audit and monitoring project. It isn’t a stretch to be able further to design and implement the system while fulfilling a diverse set of requirements and organizational needs.”
    Linda L. McGhie, CISSP, CISM, PCS ISO/Risk Manager, Wells Fargo Bank