Audit Logs

What are audit logs?

Audit logs, also known as audit trails, are chronological records that document events and actions within a system. These logs capture a wide range of activities, such as login attempts, data access events, permission changes, and administrative actions. Each entry typically includes information about who performed the action, what action was taken, when it occurred, and often where the action originated.

In the context of identity and access management (IAM), audit logs are critical for understanding user activity, maintaining system integrity, and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards.

Purpose of audit logs

The primary purpose of audit logs is to provide visibility into the behavior of users and systems. This visibility supports several key objectives:

• Security monitoring: Logs help detect and investigate unauthorized access or suspicious behavior.
• Compliance reporting: Logs serve as evidence that security and access control policies are being enforced.
• Operational transparency: Logs allow organizations to track changes to data and configuration across environments.

Audit logs are essential for maintaining accountability within any system that handles sensitive data or provides access control features.

Common use cases

Audit logs are used across teams for different purposes, but they all come back to one core function: understanding what happened, when, and why. Whether the goal is to investigate a security anomaly, verify a user request, or meet regulatory standards, audit log entries provide the critical context teams need to take informed action. 

Here are some of the most common use cases where audit logs play a central role.

Security incident response

Audit logs play a vital role in incident detection and investigation. If an account is compromised or a security breach occurs, audit log entries provide the historical data needed to understand what happened. They enable teams to reconstruct timelines, identify root causes, and take corrective action.

Compliance and regulatory requirements

Many data protection standards and industry regulations require organizations to implement audit logging. These include SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA, and ISO 27001. Audit logs help ensure compliance by offering traceability of data access and policy enforcement actions.

User activity monitoring

Audit logs allow teams to track how users interact with systems. For example, administrators can see who changed permissions, updated configuration settings, or accessed specific types of data. This visibility is useful not only for security but also for operational oversight and accountability.

Access review and audit

During periodic reviews, audit logs support evaluations of whether users have appropriate levels of access. Logs show when and how access was granted or modified, which helps validate that access control practices are being followed consistently.

What an audit log entry includes

A typical audit log entry includes the following components:

• Actor: The user or system process that initiated the action
• Action: The specific event, such as “user login” or “role modified”
• Timestamp: The exact time the action occurred
• Target: The object affected by the action, such as a user account or data resource
• Metadata: Additional details, such as IP address, device information, or status of the operation

These components make audit log entries both human-readable and machine-processable.

Log management considerations

Effective audit logging depends on proper log management practices. These include:

• Retention policies: Logs should be stored for a period that aligns with business needs and compliance obligations.
• Access control: Only authorized users should be able to view or export logs.
• Indexing and searchability: Logs should be easy to search, filter, and analyze.
• Tamper resistance: Logs should be immutable or protected against unauthorized changes.
• Export capabilities: Logs may need to be exported for audits or integrated with external systems such as SIEM platforms.

Log management tools often provide dashboards and alerts to help organizations act on important log data in real time.

Benefits of audit logs

Audit logs provide value across multiple teams and roles:

• Security teams use them to detect and respond to threats
• Compliance teams use them to ensure data access aligns with regulations
• Developers use them to diagnose application behavior
• Support teams use them to trace user-reported issues

By offering a complete history of system and user activity, audit logs contribute to stronger security, improved accountability, and reduced risk.

Audit logs in IAM

In IAM systems, audit logs are particularly important for tracking authentication attempts, user provisioning, role assignments, multi-factor authentication (MFA) changes, and other identity-related events. These logs help demonstrate that users are being authenticated correctly and that their access rights are being granted and enforced according to policy.

Because identity systems often serve as a gateway to other services and data, ensuring thorough and accurate logging is essential.

How Frontegg handles audit logs

Frontegg automatically records key identity events such as logins, permission changes, MFA updates, and failed access attempts. Each audit log entry is structured, timestamped, and designed to be easily searchable. This gives teams a clear view of user activity and access control changes without needing to involve engineering.

Logs are accessible directly in the admin portal, so infosec, product, and customer success teams can investigate issues, confirm changes, or support audits independently. No internal tickets. No developer bottlenecks.

With support for advanced filtering, export capabilities, and customizable retention policies, Frontegg makes log management practical and scalable. Real-time updates and role-based access controls ensure that the right people have the visibility they need to track behavior, maintain security, and meet