Audit logs are the backbone of the FedRAMP High Baseline. They don’t just record what happened — they prove what happened. Every action, every login, every configuration change becomes part of a record that must stand up to the most demanding federal security requirements.
For FedRAMP High, audit logs aren’t optional. They are continuous, automated, and precise. They need to capture events across every layer: application, network, system, and user activity. They must be retained for at least 12 months, searchable within minutes, and protected against tampering.
The controls in the FedRAMP High Baseline define specific log requirements: timestamps synchronized to an authoritative time source, role-based access to log data, alerts for suspicious events, and documented incident response procedures triggered by log findings. Failure to meet any of these can mean losing authorization.
Granularity matters. If a user updates a security group, you need the before and after values, the initiating account, the source IP, and the method. If malware triggers an alert, you need every log entry that leads up to it. Correlation across services is essential to detect patterns that a single stream might miss.