RMF Control AU-7: Audit Record Reduction and Report Generation requires organizations to implement an audit record reduction and report generation capability that supports on-demand audit review, analysis, and reporting requirements, and after-the-fact investigations of security incidents.
Supplemental Guidance
The Risk Management Framework (RMF) is a cybersecurity framework that provides a process for managing cybersecurity risk to systems and organizations. RMF Control AU-7: Audit Record Reduction and Report Generation is one of the controls in the AU family, which addresses audit and accountability.
Audit records are records of events that occur on information systems. Audit records can be used to detect and respond to security incidents, investigate suspicious activity, and comply with regulations.
Audit record reduction and report generation is the process of converting raw audit logs into a more concise and meaningful format. This can be done through a variety of techniques, such as filtering, aggregation, and summarization.
Benefits of Implementing RMF Control AU-7
There are a number of benefits to implementing RMF Control AU-7, including:
- Improved security posture: Audit record reduction and report generation can help organizations to improve their security posture by making it easier to detect and respond to security incidents.
- Reduced risk of security incidents: Audit record reduction and report generation can help to reduce the risk of security incidents by making it easier to identify and mitigate security vulnerabilities.
- Improved compliance: Many regulations require organizations to retain and analyze audit logs. Audit record reduction and report generation can help organizations to comply with these regulations.
- Reduced costs: Audit record reduction and report generation can help organizations to reduce the costs associated with storing and analyzing audit logs.
How to Implement RMF Control AU-7
To implement RMF Control AU-7, organizations should:
- Identify the audit records that need to be reduced and the reports that need to be generated.
- Select a suitable audit record reduction and report generation tool or process.
- Implement the audit record reduction and report generation tool or process.
- Train employees on how to use the audit record reduction and report generation tool or process.
- Monitor the audit record reduction and report generation tool or process to ensure that it is working effectively.
Examples of Audit Record Reduction and Report Generation
Some examples of audit record reduction and report generation include:
- Filtering: Filtering can be used to remove irrelevant audit records from the audit log. For example, an organization may want to filter out audit records for successful login attempts.
- Aggregation: Aggregation can be used to combine multiple audit records into a single record. For example, an organization may want to aggregate audit records for all login attempts to a single system.
- Summarization: Summarization can be used to create a summary of the audit logs. For example, an organization may want to create a summary of the number of successful and unsuccessful login attempts for each day.
Conclusion
RMF Control AU-7: Audit Record Reduction and Report Generation is an important control that can help organizations to improve their security posture, reduce the risk of security incidents, improve compliance, and reduce costs. By implementing RMF Control AU-7, organizations can implement an audit record reduction and report generation capability that supports on-demand audit review, analysis, and reporting requirements, and after-the-fact investigations of security incidents.
Additional Tips for Implementing RMF Control AU-7
- Choose an audit record reduction and report generation tool or process that is appropriate for the organization’s needs: There are a variety of audit record reduction and report generation tools and processes available. Organizations should choose a tool or process that is appropriate for their needs, such as the size and complexity of their information systems, the types of audit records that they need to reduce, and the types of reports that they need to generate.
- Integrate the audit record reduction and report generation tool or process with the organization’s security information and event management (SIEM) system: If the organization has a SIEM system, they should integrate the audit record reduction and report generation tool or process with the SIEM system. This will help to streamline the process of collecting, analyzing, and reporting on audit records.
- Regularly review and update the audit record reduction and report generation tool or process: Organizations should regularly review and update the audit record reduction and report generation tool or process to ensure that it is working effectively and that it meets the organization’s changing needs.