xcPEP Logging and Monitoring Policy

xcPEP Logging and Monitoring Policy

 

1. Purpose and Scope

This Logging and Monitoring Policy defines Advanced Structures India Private Limited's approach to logging security-relevant events, monitoring system activities, and responding to anomalies within the xcPEP SaaS platform and its supporting infrastructure. The policy aims to enhance security posture, facilitate incident detection and response, ensure compliance, and support forensic investigations.

2. Policy Objectives

  • To provide sufficient audit trails for security incidents and compliance.
  • To detect unauthorized activities, intrusions, and system misconfigurations.
  • To enable timely response to potential security threats.
  • To support troubleshooting and performance analysis.
  • To comply with regulatory and contractual logging requirements.

3. Scope of Logging

We log a comprehensive set of events across various layers of our environment, including but not limited to:

  • Application Logs:
    • User authentication attempts (successful and failed).
    • User authorization successes and failures.
    • Significant data modifications or deletions (CRUD operations on sensitive data).
    • Configuration changes within the application.
    • API calls and critical application events.
    • Error messages and exceptions.
  • Operating System Logs (AWS Instances):
    • System start-up and shut-down events.
    • User login/logout activity.
    • Privilege escalation attempts.
    • Software installation/uninstallation.
    • System errors and warnings.
  • Network Logs:
    • Firewall activity (accepted/denied connections).
    • WAF (Web Application Firewall) alerts.
    • VPC Flow Logs (network traffic metadata).
    • IDS/IPS alerts.
    • VPN connection logs.
  • Database Logs:
    • Database connection attempts.
    • Significant schema changes.
    • High-privilege user activities.
  • Cloud Infrastructure Logs (AWS CloudTrail, CloudWatch):
    • API calls to AWS services.
    • Configuration changes to infrastructure resources.
    • Access to AWS management consoles.

4. Logging Standards and Tools

  • Centralized Logging: Logs from all sources are collected and aggregated into a centralized logging system (e.g., AWS CloudWatch Logs, a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solution, or similar).
  • Timestamping: All log entries include accurate timestamps.
  • Integrity: Measures are in place to protect the integrity of log data from unauthorized alteration or deletion.
  • Tools: We utilize a combination of native AWS logging services (e.g., CloudTrail, CloudWatch Logs, VPC Flow Logs) and specialized monitoring tools for log aggregation, analysis, and alerting.

5. Log Retention

Log data is retained for a defined period based on its criticality, compliance requirements, and business needs. Retention periods are documented in our xcPEP Data Retention and Deletion Policy.

6. Monitoring and Alerting

  • Continuous Monitoring: Logs are continuously monitored for suspicious activities, security events, and operational anomalies.
  • Anomaly Detection: Automated tools and rules are configured to detect unusual patterns, threshold breaches, and known indicators of compromise.
  • Alerting and Escalation:
    • Alerts are generated for detected anomalies or security incidents.
    • Alerts are categorized by severity and automatically routed to the appropriate personnel (e.g., security team, operations team) via defined escalation paths.
    • The xcPEP Incident Response Policy details the procedures for responding to security alerts.

7. Audit Trails

Comprehensive audit trails are maintained to reconstruct events, identify responsible parties, and support forensic investigations in the event of a security incident.

8. Roles and Responsibilities

  • Operations/DevOps Teams: Responsible for configuring and maintaining logging mechanisms across systems and applications.
  • Security Team: Responsible for defining logging requirements, configuring monitoring rules and alerts, analyzing logs, and responding to security incidents.
  • Management: Ensures adequate resources are allocated for logging and monitoring infrastructure and processes.

9. Policy Review and Updates

This xcPEP Logging and Monitoring Policy is reviewed at least annually and updated as necessary to reflect changes in our systems, security controls, and regulatory requirements.