# CIS Controls v8 8.6 — Collect DNS Query Audit Logs

- Source: https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/8-6-collect-dns-query-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 `8.6`·high·Component: **Detect**

## What this control requires

> Collect DNS query audit logs on enterprise assets, where appropriate and supported.
> 
> — CIS Controls v8, Control 8.6

### In plain English

Collect DNS query audit logs on enterprise assets, where appropriate and supported. In practice, this means you can prove you collect logs-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 8.6) and look for objective evidence on the latest two assessment cycles.

## How to implement

#### Endpoint Protection

**MDM.** Make MDM enrollment a hard gate for device access (Intune compliance + Conditional Access, or Jamf + Okta device trust). Unmanaged devices simply don't get a session token.

**EDR.** Deploy CrowdStrike / SentinelOne / Defender for Endpoint to every server and laptop; alert on any host that stops sending telemetry for >24h.

#### 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.

### Operational checklist

-   **Collect.** Document the trigger, the owner and the cadence.
-   **Scope:** logs, dns query audit logs, edr, enterprise.

## Evidence to collect

-   **Edr Scan.** `edr_scan` evidence

EDR telemetry (CrowdStrike, Defender for Endpoint) confirms threat detection. Focus: Collect DNS Query Audit Logs.

## Common pitfalls

-   Pilot MDM rollouts that quietly exclude executives or engineers; carving out the highest-risk users is the most common audit failure.
-   Per-account logging that nobody stitches together at the org level — incidents that cross accounts go undetected for days.

## Related controls in CIS Controls v8

-   [**Control 8.7** — Collect URL Request Audit Logs](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/8-7-collect-url-request-audit-logs)
-   [**Control 8.9** — Centralize Audit Logs](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/8-9-centralize-audit-logs)
-   [**Control 13.2** — Deploy a Host-Based Intrusion Detection Solution](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/13-2-deploy-a-host-based-intrusion-detection-solution)
-   [**Control 13.11** — Tune Security Event Alerting Thresholds](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/13-11-tune-security-event-alerting-thresholds)
-   [**Control 8.8** — Collect Command-Line Audit Logs](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/8-8-collect-command-line-audit-logs)
-   [**Control 8.11** — Conduct Audit Log Reviews](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/cis-controls-v8/8-11-conduct-audit-log-reviews)

## References

-   [Center for Internet Security — CIS Controls v8](https://www.cisecurity.org/controls/v8)
-   Catalogue identifier: `Control 8.6`

Topics: governance riskedr xdrendpoint protectionlogging monitoringthreat intelligence

## 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.