Database Logging Rule
This rule ensures database logging is enabled for compliance.
| Rule | Database logging should be enabled |
| Framework | NIST 800-53 Revision 5 |
| Severity | ✔ Low |
Rule Description:
Database logging is a crucial security measure to monitor and record activity within a database. Enabling database logging helps ensure compliance with the security requirements outlined in the NIST 800-53 Revision 5 standard. This rule requires database logging to be enabled on all systems that handle sensitive information.
Enabling database logging allows for the tracking of unauthorized access attempts, suspicious activities, and potential data breaches. It provides an audit trail that can be used for forensic investigations and compliance reporting.
Troubleshooting Steps:
If database logging is not already enabled, follow the steps below to troubleshoot and enable it:
- 1.
Verify if the current database system supports logging. Different database systems have varying capabilities when it comes to logging. Check the documentation of your database system to ensure that logging is supported.
- 2.
Review the current database configuration settings. Determine if logging is currently enabled or disabled. This information can often be found in the configuration files of the database system.
- 3.
Check if the necessary disk space is available. Enabling database logging will generate log files that consume disk space over time. Confirm that sufficient disk space is available to accommodate the increased storage requirements.
- 4.
Ensure that the database user has appropriate privileges to enable logging. The user account used to enable logging must have the necessary permissions to modify the database configuration settings.
- 5.
Restart the database service. Once logging has been enabled and configuration changes have been made, restart the database service to apply the new logging settings.
Necessary Codes:
In some database systems, enabling logging requires executing specific commands or modifying configuration files. Here are examples of necessary codes for enabling logging in popular database systems:
Microsoft SQL Server:
To enable database logging in Microsoft SQL Server, execute the following SQL query:
ALTER DATABASE [YourDatabaseName] SET RECOVERY FULL;
The above code sets the database recovery model to full, which enables transaction log-based database logging.
Oracle Database:
To enable database logging in Oracle Database, use the SQL*Plus tool with a privileged user account and run the following command:
ALTER SYSTEM SET audit_trail=db SCOPE=SPFILE;
This command modifies the database initialization parameter to enable database logging.
MySQL:
MySQL does not have built-in database logging. To enable logging in a MySQL database, you may need to enable the general query log or use third-party tools for database auditing and logging.
Remediation Steps:
To remediate this issue and enable database logging for NIST 800-53 Revision 5 compliance, follow these step-by-step instructions:
- 1.
Identify the database system you are using and refer to its documentation for specific instructions on enabling database logging.
- 2.
Log in to the database server using an account with sufficient privileges to modify database settings.
- 3.
Determine the location of the database configuration files.
- 4.
Open the appropriate configuration file (e.g.,
for MySQL,my.cnf
for Oracle Database, etc.) in a text editor.init.ora - 5.
Look for a configuration parameter related to logging (e.g.,
for Oracle Database).audit_trail - 6.
Modify the configuration parameter to enable database logging as per the instructions provided in the database documentation.
- 7.
Save the configuration file and exit the text editor.
- 8.
Restart the database service to apply the changes. The specific command to restart the service depends on the operating system and the database system being used.
- 9.
Verify that database logging is enabled by checking the database logs or using any provided monitoring tools.
- 10.
Periodically review the database logs to ensure that they are being correctly generated and contain the necessary information for compliance.
By following these remediation steps, you will enable database logging and meet the requirements of NIST 800-53 Revision 5 for your database system.