# CIS Controls v8 8.5 — Collect Detailed Audit Logs - Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/8-5-collect-detailed-audit-logs - Section: [Compliance](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance) › [CIS Critical Security Controls v8](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8) › Control 8 — Audit Log Management - Last updated: 2026-06-05 - Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com) **CIS Controls v8**·Control `8.5`·high·Component: **Detect** ## What this control requires > Configure detailed audit logging for enterprise assets containing sensitive data. Include event source, date, username, timestamp, source addresses, destination addresses, and other useful elements that could assist in a forensic investigation. > > — CIS Controls v8, Control 8.5 ### In plain English Configure detailed audit logging for enterprise assets containing sensitive data. In practice, this means you can prove you configure network-level controls on a defined cadence. ## Why it matters The CIS Controls are an industry-vetted, prioritised defence: skipping a safeguard widens the attack surface that the safeguards above and below it assume is closed. Audit frameworks (FedRAMP, PCI DSS, HIPAA) all cite CIS as evidence of due care. This control is rated **high**. Auditors expect a named owner, a remediation SLA, and a tooling artefact that evidences continuous operation. ## What an auditor looks for A CIS-aligned reviewer wants to see (a) which Implementation Group you are targeting, (b) a documented owner for the safeguard, and (c) a tooling or process artefact (config, scan output, ticket) that proves the safeguard runs on the cadence the control demands. Within **Detect**, the assessor will trace your implementation back to the catalogue reference (Control 8.5) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles. ## How to implement #### Cloud Posture **CSPM.** Run Wiz / Prisma / Defender for Cloud / Security Command Center over every account; auto-ticket findings above your accepted-risk threshold. #### Logging Monitoring **AWS.** Org-trail CloudTrail to a central log archive account, GuardDuty in every region, and Security Hub for cross-source correlation. **Azure.** Pipe every diagnostic setting into a central Log Analytics workspace; onboard Microsoft Sentinel for SIEM/SOAR. **GCP.** Aggregate audit logs in a dedicated logging project with sink to BigQuery; enable Security Command Center Premium and route findings to Chronicle SIEM. #### Configuration Management **Policy-as-code.** Codify the control as Service Control Policies (AWS), Azure Policy initiatives, or Organisation Policy (GCP) so the platform enforces what the document promises. **IaC.** Gate Terraform / Pulumi / CloudFormation changes with Checkov / tfsec / OPA so misconfigurations never reach production. **Drift.** Run a CSPM (Wiz / Prisma / Defender for Cloud / Security Command Center) over every account and route findings to a single risk register. ### Operational checklist - **Configure.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Collect.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence. - **Scope:** network, sensitive, data, logs, event source, date, username, timestamp. ## Evidence to collect - **Infra Scan.** Continuous infrastructure-posture telemetry — AWS Config, Azure Policy compliance, GCP Organisation Policy, Wiz / Prisma findings. Infrastructure posture tooling (AWS Config, Azure Policy, Nessus) verifies platform hardening. Focus: Collect Detailed Audit Logs. ## Common pitfalls - Treating CSPM findings as a backlog instead of a hot queue: findings older than the policy SLA accumulate until the auditor asks why. - Per-account logging that nobody stitches together at the org level — incidents that cross accounts go undetected for days. - Manual cloud-console changes that never make it back to Terraform — drift accumulates until the next outage forces a reconciliation. - Default-allow egress rules; East-West traffic with no segmentation; jump hosts on the public internet with password auth. ## How it maps to other frameworks Computed from shared tags, control component and key-operation subjects — handy when you are reconciling controls across an audit. - [**BSI C5:2020 OPS-12** — Logging and Monitoring - Access, Storage and Deletion](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/bsi-c5-2020/ops-12-logging-and-monitoring-access-storage-and-deletion) ## Related controls in CIS Controls v8 - [**Control 8.10** — Retain Audit Logs](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/8-10-retain-audit-logs) - [**Control 3.12** — Segment Data Processing and Storage Based on Sensitivity](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/3-12-segment-data-processing-and-storage-based-on-sensitivity) - [**Control 14.4** — Train Workforce on Data Handling Best Practices](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/14-4-train-workforce-on-data-handling-best-practices) - [**Control 13.1** — Centralize Security Event Alerting](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/13-1-centralize-security-event-alerting) - [**Control 1.3** — Utilize an Active Discovery Tool](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/1-3-utilize-an-active-discovery-tool) - [**Control 8.3** — Ensure Adequate Audit Log Storage](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/8-3-ensure-adequate-audit-log-storage) ## References - [Center for Internet Security — CIS Controls v8](https://www.cisecurity.org/controls/v8) - Catalogue identifier: `Control 8.5` Topics: logging monitoringcloud postureconfiguration managementnetwork security ## Related compliance guidance - [SOC 2 compliance: a practical implementation guide for cloud-native SaaS teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria): Configuration checks like this one are the technical half of a SOC 2 / ISO 27001 programme — the guide shows where they fit, what else an auditor expects, and how to evidence them. - [ISO/IEC 27001:2022 compliance: a practical implementation guide](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022): ISO 27001 Annex A.8 (technological controls) is where cloud hardening evidence lands; the guide shows how to run the ISMS around it.