What is network device logging and why is it necessary?

What is network device logging and why is it necessary?

Network device logging is the process of documenting every event that takes place on a device. Events can be classified as errors, warnings, or informational activities. Network device logs come in handy when IT admins want to find out the root cause of an issue and troubleshoot the device or conduct post-breach forensic analysis. The logs provide detailed information about the users’ activities: what they were doing, when they were doing it, and how they were doing it. Additionally, they help with successful and unsuccessful login events, account creation, data access, and more.

5 recommended methods for network device logging

The following practices can optimize the device's network logging:

• Enable logging

  Network devices don't generate logs by default. Therefore, the first and most important step is to enable logging on all or specific network devices. To achieve thorough coverage and prevent any blind spots that could be exploited as weak points, every component in the system design should be set to produce audit events.

• Manage what should and should not be logged

  Learn about the auditing capabilities of each component in the device, then decide specifically what events should be audited while taking logging policies into consideration. What should be included in an organization's network logs depends on factors such as log volume, security relevance, and more. It's important to tune out unwanted log events as these can likely cause log overload. For instance, in a firewall, it's essential you monitor rule changes in order to identify the root of an issue efficiently.

• Learn to differentiate regular activity from unusual activity

  Organizations must understand the regular and routine activities that comply with their objectives and policies in order to identify a malicious attempt appropriately. This can be achieved by implementing regular auditing and behavioral analytics.

• Employ logging tools

  Given the daily volume of incoming data, most organizations require a dedicated log management system to help with event correlation and analysis. The quality of dashboard data and reports is increased by a specialized system, and it is simpler to fine-tune a logging tool to find actions that deviate from regular behavior patterns.

• Familiarize with event detection

  To recognize and comprehend attack patterns, it's critical to have an understanding of event analysis. Learning to detect an unauthorized login from a regular login event will help detect any breach right away.

Because of the complexity of today's enterprise networks, especially in organizations adopting remote, hybrid, and cloud work models, there is an increase in attack surface. To stay ahead of the attackers and to troubleshoot complex network issues, it's important that you enable centralized log management.

EventLog Analyzer is a comprehensive log management software that enables you to centrally collect, analyze, and manage logs from all the different log sources in your network. You also get reports and alerts on your network security, making it a power-packed IT security tool. With several notable features, such as application auditing, security analytics, and log management, it's the solution for all your log management needs. Check out the free, 30-day trial of EventLog Analyzer to see all the features in action.