ISO 27002:2022, Control 8.15 – Logging

ISO 27002:2022 Revised Controls

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Purpose of Control 8.15

Logs – whether in the form of application logs, event logs or general system information – form a key part of obtaining a top-down view of ICT events and employee actions. Logs allow organisations to establish a timeline of events and scrutinise both logical and physical patterns across their entire network.

Producing clear and easily obtainable log information is an important part of an organisation’s overall ICT strategy, and accompanies numerous major information security controls contained within ISO 27002:2002.

Logs should:

  • Record events.
  • Collect evidence.
  • Protect their own integrity.
  • Secure log data against unauthorised access.
  • Identify actions and events that could lead to an information/security breach.
  • Act as a tool to support internal and external investigations.

Attributes Table

Control 8.15 is a detective control that modifies risk by adopting an approach to logging that fulfils the above objectives.

Control Type Information Security PropertiesCybersecurity ConceptsOperational CapabilitiesSecurity Domains
#Detective#Confidentiality
#Integrity
#Availability
#Detect#Information Security Event Management#Protection
#Defence
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Ownership of Control 8.15

Control 8.15 deals with ICT operations that are performed using system administrator access, and fall under the umbrella of network management and maintenance. As such, ownership of Control 8.15 should rest with the Head of IT, or organisational equivalent.

Guidance – Event Log Information

An ‘event’ is any action performed by a logical or physical presence on a computer system – e.g. a request for data, a remote login, an automatic system shutdown, a file deletion.

Control 8.15 specific that each individual event log should contain 5 main components, in order for it to fulfil its operational purpose:

  • User ID – Who or what account performed the actions.
  • System activity – What happened
  • Timestamps – Date and time of said event
  • Device and system identifiers, and location – What asset the event occurred on
  • Network addresses and protocols – IP information

Guidance – Event Types

For practical purposes, it may not be feasible to log every single event that occurs on a given network.

With that in mind, Control 8.15 identifies the below 10 events as being particularly important for logging purposes, given their ability to modify risk and the part they play in maintaining adequate levels of information security:

  1. System access attempts.
  2. Data and/or resource access attempts.
  3. System/OS configuration changes.
  4. Use of elevated privileges.
  5. Use of utility programs or maintenance facilities (see Control 8.18).
  6. File access requests and what occurred (deletion, migration etc).
  7. Access control alarms and critical interrupts.
  8. Activation and/or deactivation of front end and back end security systems, such as client-side antivirus software or firewall protection systems.
  9. Identity administration work (both physical and logical).
  10. Certain actions or system/data alterations carried out as part of a session within an application.

As explained in Control 8.17, it is vitally important that all logs are linked to the same synchronised time source (or set of courses), and in the case of third party application logs, any time discrepancies catered to and recorded.

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Guidance – Log Protection

Logs are the lowest common denominator for establishing user, system and application behaviour on a given network, especially when faced with an investigation.

It is therefore vitally important for organisations to ensure that users – regardless of their permission levels – do not retain the ability to delete or amend their own event logs.

Individual logs should be complete, accurate and protected against any unauthorised changes or operational problems, including:

  • Message type amendments.
  • Deleted or edited log files.
  • Any failure to generate a log file, or unnecessary over-writing of log files due to prevailing issues with storage media or network performance.

ISO recommends that, in order to improve information security, logs should be protected using the following methods:

  • Cryptographic hashing.
  • Append-only recording.
  • Read-only recording.
  • Use of public transparency files.

Organisations may need to send logs to vendors to resolve incidents and faults. Should this need arise, logs should be ‘de-identified’ (see Control 8.11) and the following information should be masked:

  • Usernames
  • IP addresses
  • Hostnames

In addition to this, measures should be taken to safeguard personally identifiable information (PII) in line with the organisation’s own data privacy protocols, and any prevailing legislation (see Control 5.34).

Guidance – Log Analysis

When analysing logs for the purposes of identifying, resolving and analysing information security events – with the end goal of preventing future occurrences – the following factors need to be taken into account:

  • The expertise of the personnel carrying out the analysis.
  • How logs are analysed, in line with company procedure.
  • The type, category and attributes of each event that requires analysis.
  • Any exceptions that are applied via network rules emanating from security software hardware and platforms.
  • The default flow of network traffic, as compared to unexplainable patterns.
  • Trends that are identified as a result of specialised data analysis.
  • Threat intelligence.

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Guidance – Log Monitoring

Log analysis should not be carried out in isolation, and should be done in tandem with rigorous monitoring activities that pinpoint key patterns and anomalous behaviour.

In order to achieve a dual-fronted approach, organisations should:

  1. Review any attempts to access secure and/or business critical resources, including domain servers, web portals and file sharing platforms.
  2. Scrutinise DNS logs to discover outgoing traffic linked to malicious sources and harmful server operations.
  3. Collate data usage reports from service providers or internal platforms to identify malicious activity.
  4. Collect logs from physical access points, such as key card/fob logs and room access information.

Supplementary Information

Organisations should consider using specialised utility programs that help them search through the vast amounts of information that system logs generate, in order to save time and resources when investigating security incidents, such as a SIEM tool.

If an organisation uses a cloud-based platform to carry out any part of their operation, log management should be considered as a shared responsibility between the service provider and the organisation themselves.

Supporting Controls

  • 5.34
  • 8.11
  • 8.17
  • 8.18

Changes and Differences from ISO 27002:2013

ISO 27002:2002-8.15 replaces three controls from ISO 27002:2003 that deal with the storage, management and analysis of log files:

  • 12.4.1 – Event logging
  • 12.4.2 – Protection of log information
  • 12.4.3 – Administrator and operator logs

27002:2002-8.15 largely corroborates all the guidance points from the above three controls into one clear protocol that deals with logging, with a few notable expansions, including (but not limited to):

  • An expanded set of guidelines that deal with the protection of log information.
  • Additional guidance on the various event types that should be considered for scrutiny.
  • Guidance on how logs should be both monitored and analysed in a joint effort to improve information security.
  • Advice on how to manage logs produced by cloud-based platforms.

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New Controls

ISO/IEC 27002:2022 Control IdentifierISO/IEC 27002:2013 Control IdentifierControl Name
5.7NewThreat intelligence
5.23NewInformation security for use of cloud services
5.30NewICT readiness for business continuity
7.4NewPhysical security monitoring
8.9NewConfiguration management
8.10NewInformation deletion
8.11NewData masking
8.12NewData leakage prevention
8.16NewMonitoring activities
8.23NewWeb filtering
8.28NewSecure coding

Organisational Controls

ISO/IEC 27002:2022 Control IdentifierISO/IEC 27002:2013 Control IdentifierControl Name
5.105.1.1, 05.1.2Policies for information security
5.206.1.1Information security roles and responsibilities
5.306.1.2Segregation of duties
5.407.2.1Management responsibilities
5.506.1.3Contact with authorities
5.606.1.4Contact with special interest groups
5.7NewThreat intelligence
5.806.1.5, 14.1.1Information security in project management
5.908.1.1, 08.1.2Inventory of information and other associated assets
5.1008.1.3, 08.2.3Acceptable use of information and other associated assets
5.1108.1.4Return of assets
5.12 08.2.1Classification of information
5.1308.2.2Labelling of information
5.1413.2.1, 13.2.2, 13.2.3Information transfer
5.1509.1.1, 09.1.2Access control
5.1609.2.1Identity management
5.17 09.2.4, 09.3.1, 09.4.3Authentication information
5.1809.2.2, 09.2.5, 09.2.6Access rights
5.1915.1.1Information security in supplier relationships
5.2015.1.2Addressing information security within supplier agreements
5.2115.1.3Managing information security in the ICT supply chain
5.2215.2.1, 15.2.2Monitoring, review and change management of supplier services
5.23NewInformation security for use of cloud services
5.2416.1.1Information security incident management planning and preparation
5.2516.1.4Assessment and decision on information security events
5.2616.1.5Response to information security incidents
5.2716.1.6Learning from information security incidents
5.2816.1.7Collection of evidence
5.2917.1.1, 17.1.2, 17.1.3Information security during disruption
5.30NewICT readiness for business continuity
5.3118.1.1, 18.1.5Legal, statutory, regulatory and contractual requirements
5.3218.1.2Intellectual property rights
5.3318.1.3Protection of records
5.3418.1.4Privacy and protection of PII
5.3518.2.1Independent review of information security
5.3618.2.2, 18.2.3Compliance with policies, rules and standards for information security
5.3712.1.1Documented operating procedures

People Controls

ISO/IEC 27002:2022 Control IdentifierISO/IEC 27002:2013 Control IdentifierControl Name
6.107.1.1Screening
6.207.1.2Terms and conditions of employment
6.307.2.2Information security awareness, education and training
6.407.2.3Disciplinary process
6.507.3.1Responsibilities after termination or change of employment
6.613.2.4Confidentiality or non-disclosure agreements
6.706.2.2Remote working
6.816.1.2, 16.1.3Information security event reporting

Physical Controls

ISO/IEC 27002:2022 Control IdentifierISO/IEC 27002:2013 Control IdentifierControl Name
7.111.1.1Physical security perimeters
7.211.1.2, 11.1.6Physical entry
7.311.1.3Securing offices, rooms and facilities
7.4NewPhysical security monitoring
7.511.1.4Protecting against physical and environmental threats
7.611.1.5Working in secure areas
7.711.2.9Clear desk and clear screen
7.811.2.1Equipment siting and protection
7.911.2.6Security of assets off-premises
7.1008.3.1, 08.3.2, 08.3.3, 11.2.5Storage media
7.1111.2.2Supporting utilities
7.1211.2.3Cabling security
7.1311.2.4Equipment maintenance
7.1411.2.7Secure disposal or re-use of equipment

Technological Controls

ISO/IEC 27002:2022 Control IdentifierISO/IEC 27002:2013 Control IdentifierControl Name
8.106.2.1, 11.2.8User endpoint devices
8.209.2.3Privileged access rights
8.309.4.1Information access restriction
8.409.4.5Access to source code
8.509.4.2Secure authentication
8.612.1.3Capacity management
8.712.2.1Protection against malware
8.812.6.1, 18.2.3Management of technical vulnerabilities
8.9NewConfiguration management
8.10NewInformation deletion
8.11NewData masking
8.12NewData leakage prevention
8.1312.3.1Information backup
8.1417.2.1Redundancy of information processing facilities
8.1512.4.1, 12.4.2, 12.4.3Logging
8.16NewMonitoring activities
8.1712.4.4Clock synchronization
8.1809.4.4Use of privileged utility programs
8.1912.5.1, 12.6.2Installation of software on operational systems
8.2013.1.1Networks security
8.2113.1.2Security of network services
8.2213.1.3Segregation of networks
8.23NewWeb filtering
8.2410.1.1, 10.1.2Use of cryptography
8.2514.2.1Secure development life cycle
8.2614.1.2, 14.1.3Application security requirements
8.2714.2.5Secure system architecture and engineering principles
8.28NewSecure coding
8.2914.2.8, 14.2.9Security testing in development and acceptance
8.3014.2.7Outsourced development
8.3112.1.4, 14.2.6Separation of development, test and production environments
8.3212.1.2, 14.2.2, 14.2.3, 14.2.4Change management
8.3314.3.1Test information
8.3412.7.1Protection of information systems during audit testing
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