Logging and Monitoring Policy

The Logging and Monitoring Policy (P22) sets forth a robust and enforceable framework for capturing and analyzing system and security events across the organization’s entire IT environment. The primary purpose of this policy is to support effective anomaly detection, swift threat response, forensic investigation, audit readiness, and stringent legal compliance. To achieve these goals, the policy establishes clear mandates for generating, retaining, and protecting logs, with a focus on accurate event correlation through system-wide time synchronization. The scope of the policy is extensive. It includes all types of infrastructure, on-premises, cloud (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS), hybrid environments, as well as operating systems, databases, applications, network appliances, and specialized security systems like SIEMs and firewalls. The policy applies to a broad range of stakeholders, including system and administrative users, IT operations, SOC teams, software developers, application owners, and third-party service providers. Each of these groups has specific responsibilities, such as ensuring log capture, verifying log integrity, integrating logs with central monitoring systems, and supporting audits and compliance functions. Objectives are clearly defined and address the full lifecycle of event data. All critical systems must generate and retain logs that detail user access, privileged activities, configuration changes, failures, malware detections, and network events, ensuring regulatory and contractual obligations are met. Logs must be protected against unauthorized tampering or deletion, with mandatory use of encrypted channels for log forwarding. Centralized aggregation and correlation through a secure SIEM is required, enabling cooperative monitoring, rule-based escalation, and incident response on a near real-time basis. The policy also introduces strict requirements for clock synchronization using NTP, thereby enabling accurate cross-system correlation and reliable forensic analysis. Governance requirements dictate the need for a Logging and Monitoring Standard, which defines event types, critical assets, retention periods, and log formats, ensuring consistent application across the organization. In the event that systems are unable to adhere to logging requirements due to technical limitations, a formal Logging Exception Request (LER) must be submitted, formally assessed, and periodically reviewed to keep risks acceptable. Compliance is mandatory for all personnel and verified through regular audits, with severe penalties, including removal from production, escalation to HR, or legal action, for purposeful policy violations. Finally, this policy is deeply aligned with current international standards and regulatory frameworks, including ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and 27002:2022, NIST SP 800-53 Rev.5, GDPR, NIS2, DORA, and COBIT 2019. This alignment ensures not only compliance but also operational resilience through thorough event monitoring, detection, protection, and continuous improvement practices.