Security Logging and Monitoring Best Practices

Security Logging and Monitoring Best Practices

Security logging and monitoring failures leave applications blind to attacks in progress, unable to detect breaches, and incapable of forensic analysis after incidents. It's like having security cameras that aren't recording—they might deter casual intruders, but provide no value against determined attackers or for understanding what happened after a break-in. This vulnerability doesn't directly cause breaches but ensures that when breaches occur, they go undetected for months or even years.

The average time to detect a breach exceeds 200 days, during which attackers can leisurely exfiltrate data, establish persistence, and cover their tracks. Many organizations discover breaches only when notified by law enforcement or when stolen data appears for sale online. This detection failure amplifies the impact of every other vulnerability—what might have been a minor incident becomes a catastrophic breach simply because no one was watching.